“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

— Benjamin Franklin

This quote very accurately summarizes the question: should we have supported the federal government’s Emergencies Act, which was invoked on February 14. It was revoked on Wednesday (February 23).

Let there be absolutely no doubt about where I stand on the truckers Ottawa blockade. I am adamantly opposed. Their beliefs are an anathema to all right-thinking people.

They oppose COVID restrictions on the basis that their “freedoms” were being impacted. Yet every day the truckers safely drive through controlled intersections on a green light, knowing that traffic crossing the other way stops for the red light, even though their “freedom” has been curtailed. These same truckers drive their trucks safely on the right side of road, confident that they will not be driven into by oncoming traffic because of the “restriction on their freedom” to drive on the other side of the road.

In society, we all accept certain restrictions for the good of all.

Even worse, from the beginning the truckers’ convoy was infiltrated, hijacked, and co-opted by very evil forces—neo-Nazis, antisemites, and the like.

They literally wanted to, and had planned for, the overthrow of our federal government.

Given all of the above, how could anybody oppose invoking the Emergencies Act?

Any time a government ever curtails our civil liberties in the name safety, it is the beginning of a slippery slope. While it is true that our Charter of Rights and Freedoms was not suspended by this act, it does give the government sweeping powers including the right to freeze the bank accounts of any individual who donated to the protest.

While the government showed restraint this time and only targeted the accounts of key individuals and companies involved in the blockade, it had the power to target many more given enough time and intention.

I fear that once used, the Emergencies Act could be invoked again in the future.

I fear that today’s truckers’ blockade could be tomorrow’s Indigenous protesters’ blockade. Would my modest donation to support the Wet’suwet’en pipeline protest result in the closure of my law firm, which would occur immediately upon my bank account being frozen?

If I donated to Extinction Rebellion and it was successful in bringing about a stoppage of traffic in Downtown Vancouver, would my bank account be frozen?

If I donated to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a group of mostly young activists pushing for a global treaty to ban the cataclysmic bombs, and they undertook a march that closed bridges, would I be unable to purchase food or pay my heat bill because my bank account had been frozen?

Tommy Douglas, former leader of the federal NDP, voted against Trudeau Sr.'s invoking the War Measures Act to deal with the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ). which was exploding bombs during the day and kidnapping at night.

Trudeau Jr. invoked the Emergencies Act when those behind the Ottawa blockade were blowing their horns day and night, exploding no bombs, and kidnaping no one.

Where is Tommy Douglas when we need him?

For more on Tommy Douglas, see my February 17 blog. And join me online on Friday (February 25) at 7 p.m., when I will be showing the NFB film, Tommy Douglas: Keeper of the Flame.  You can register here.

Daily atmospheric CO₂ [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]

Latest daily total (Feb. 23, 2022): 420.31 ppm

One year ago (Feb. 23, 2021): 416.33 ppm