I do not subscribe to a black and white picture and do not paint a rosy picture of the situation in the west; the Vancouver airport incident for example is as bad as any similar incident in Iran. However the comparison you are giving in the above, especially the examples you gave, is like garden party comparing to the situation in Iran and many other third world countries. The scope and magnitude of it is perhaps beynd comprehension of an average Canadian. Let's compare:

1. Canada: Stealing membership lists of political parties

Iran: Mass arrest of top exectives of the two legal parties that challenged Ahmadinejad in election. Most of them have not been heard from since the election.

2. Canada: Officer gets two years of community service for shooting a antive protester

Iran:  No one has ever been brought to justice for any of the murders in police custody: from Zahra Kazemi and Zahra Bani-yaghoub in previous years to more than 30 who have been confirmed dead in police custody after this election.

3. Canada: CSIS gets scolded for its activities

Iran: 25 newspapers get shut down over night for "crimes" ranged from suggesting that a specific trial was unfair, to "insulting" an official by linking him to murder of a journalist. Not even "scolding".

4. Canada: An inquiry leads to another ineffective organization

Iran: What is an inquiry?

I can continue the list, but no doubt you know it as much as I do. This is not a "West is paradise and Iran is hell" argument. Just the fact that even thinking that a Canadian activist has to face the same level of problems that an Iranian or other third world activist has to, requires a huge deal of fantasy.