Playing Favourites: The Disgusting Double-Standard In The Response To The Freedom Convoy Vs. The PSAC Strike

OpinionSpencerFernando

Forget about two-tier healthcare. We seem to have two-tier rights and freedoms in this country.

During the covid pandemic, the Trudeau government and many provincial governments imposed unprecedented restrictions on our rights and freedoms.

The right to travel. The right to gather. The right to worship. The right to leave our homes. All were – at various times and places – heavily restricted.

Justin Trudeau even ran an election campaign largely based on directing public hatred towards unvaccinated Canadians, one of the most devious and divisive actions ever undertaken by a Canadian leader.

And then, after narrowly remaining in power (losing the popular vote for the second election in a row), Trudeau imposed a vaccine mandate on Canadian truckers.

It was an outrageous policy, and it proved to be the tipping point.

Canadians had – for the most part – meekly put up with escalating restrictions, even as those restrictions remained in place in Canada far longer than in many comparable countries. Among ‘free’ nations, Canada had some of the harshest restrictions and those restrictions were imposed for some of the longest timelines.

But Trudeau’s vaccine mandate on truckers was so obviously political, so obviously a retaliation for Canadians ‘daring’ to speak out against him that for many Canadians it was the “enough is enough” moment.

The Freedom Convoy emerged from that rising public outrage. And it got results. Numerous provinces removed their restrictions shortly after the Convoy happened, and public pressure to get rid of mandates and restrictions grew.

Of course, we know how Trudeau responded.

He invoked the Emergencies Act, using authoritarian state power to shut down bank accounts, seize property, and override the rights of protestors.

This was ‘justified’ on the grounds that the protest was doing damage to the economy and interfering with important infrastructure.

And that brings us to the PSAC Strike.

A disgusting double-standard

Let’s take a look at a few Tweets, shall we?

“In their latest email to members, PSAC is calling on their members to keep escalating their actions on the picket line to let the feds know their offer isn’t good enough.

The union says they “escalated” 25 different picket lines today”

Image

“Military Commander Threatens Legal Action on Union Picketing at Kingston Base “We … respectfully ask that you take the appropriate measures to ensure that all unlawful picketing activities cease immediately.””

Look at that massive list of public infrastructure being blocked. Think of the economic damage that will result.

Think of the national security implications of a military commander feeling that threatening legal action to end the blockade of a base is what they have to resort to?

And then, once you’ve thought about, ask why Trudeau or the Liberals haven’t mused about invoking the Emergencies Act.

The answer is as simple as it is disturbing: Our rights and freedoms now depend on how ideologically aligned we are with the government.

Andrew Scheidl explained it perfectly:

“The pattern is ideological test before all else.

We saw it with Trudeau/CPHO early in COVID discouraging public gatherings for epidemiological reasons, but making an exception for BLM.

Blocking trade routes is similarly intolerable unless it’s groups they’d like to co-opt.”

This is another way in which the Trudeau Liberals are increasingly turning Canada into a country reminiscent of an authoritarian socialist state: The idea of ironclad rights and freedoms get thrown out the window, and we are only as ‘free’ as the government allows us to be. 

A clear message is being sent: If you are a centrist or right-wing protestor, the full force of the government will be used against you. If you are a left-wing protestor, you can do whatever you want and the government will look the other way – and likely even give you exactly what you want.

For all the fearmongering about ‘two-tiered healthcare,’ it’s clear that we now have ‘two-tiered rights and freedoms’, and that should disgust every Canadian who still believes in real justice and the rule of law.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – YouTube

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