I have spoken repeatedly of the Left’s sanctimonious conviction that if the Law proves inconvenient to its agenda, it feels entitled to simply disregard it, as, for example, Joe Biden is simply disregarding the integrity of America’s national borders. The basic Marxist belief that the Law is often no more than a tool of oppression, leads inexorably to autocratic rule. Welcome to Canada!
A wonderful article by Isaac Teo written for The Epoch Times on Feb. 22 reveals that 35 lawyers sent a letter to all Canadian M.P.s on the morning of the 21st in anticipation of the vote to be held later that day on Trudeau’s imposition of the Emergencies Act. Teo summarizes the details of the letter which basically argued that the “threat” posed by the truckers in no way met the dire conditions the Act was designed to quell and that its imposition by a Prime Minister who refused to even talk to them set a dangerous precedent for the future. The lawyers begged those about to vote to set aside their partisanship and support both the Rule of Law and the Civil Liberties of Canada’s citizens, which include the right to peaceful political dissent. While several Liberals had expressed their concern with the legislation, aware that authorities already had sufficient powers to deal with the situation at hand, they nevertheless supported it unanimously, no doubt convinced that its defeat might ultimately cost them their jobs. So on the evening of the 21st, the Liberal Party of Canada basically acquired dictatorial powers.
The ramifications of this turn of events are too numerous to exhaust. But the financial leverage granted government authorities enabling them to destroy the lives of law abiding Canadians who three weeks ago decided to give a few bucks to what seemed a perfectly legal protest, are utterly fascistic! With no court order necessary, without due process, the bank account of any individual or corporation which donated to the Freedom Convoy can now be frozen. In outlining this protocol on Feb. 14, Chrystia Freeland suggested it was only those who offended after her announcement that would suffer that fate. But B.C. M.P. Mark Strahl Tweeted on Feb. 20 that one of his constituents, a single mom named Briane working at a minimum wage job, had had her account frozen even though her minor contribution had been made well before the Convoy had been declared illegal. Lest you are concerned for the welfare of those banks which might be assailed with legal challenges in the future, Trudeau’s piece of legislation grants them complete immunity from all such legal actions. Lovely! We can do whatever we want, however unjustified, and You Can’t Touch Us!
The Liberal Party’s impulse to obliterate rather than respond to criticism of its policies has informed its promotions over the last few years of Bills C 10 and C 11, both of which would give the CRTC powers over internet content that could very easily be abused for political purposes. The ridiculously subjective but ever popular “crime” of “hate speech” is included among those offenses worthy of censorship. But any statement which offends anyone on this planet becomes, in the world of the Woke Left, hate speech! I and indeed thousands more were offended by Justin Trudeau’s moronic demonizing of the Freedom Convoy and its multitude of supporters. Was his statement not “hate speech”? Ought he not to be banned from the public airways if not removed from office? Is “hate speech” in any way worthy of being enshrined as a Legal Principle? The efforts of Canada’s Liberals over the last two years to stifle Freedom of Speech out of sheer political bias ought to have served as a warning that they were not beyond invoking something like the Emergencies Act. We’re right and you’re wrong and if you think the Law entitles you to an opinion, we’ll simply change the Law and destroy you. The result? An utter disregard for the Rule of Law in what used to be a Western Democracy!
Stephen LeDrew is a lawyer, a broadcaster and the former president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1998 to 2003. Yet in spite of his party affiliation, he published an article in the Toronto Sun on Feb. 21 in which he denounced Justin Trudeau as arrogant, hypocritical, immature and “unschooled” [i.e., ignorant]. These, I would suggest, are qualities typical of most on the “woke” Left.
How appalling is it that according to a recent Maru Public Opinion poll, 66% of Canadians agree with Trudeau’s imposition of dictatorial rule! Dennis Prager has stated that Canada is now more similar to Cuba than to any truly free, Western Democracy. Those responsible for this decline call themselves liberals while we “conservatives” concerned with the maintenance of our personal liberties are all, of course, racists, misogynists, homophobes, blah, blah, blah.