1. Seeking Justice in a BC Courtroom If the architects of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates thought their power would insulate them from consequences, they were badly mistaken. According to Freedom Rising’s [1] Covid Court Case Watch, there are currently 24 court cases filed or already underway in Canada and likely many more in the US. (Only five American cases are listed in the report.) Among the issues addressed by these lawsuits are Trudeau’s travel restrictions, failing to address medical experts’ advice, draconian enforcement of Covid measures, invoking the federal Emergency Act in response to the truckers’ convoy, the government’s coercive use of the ArriveCAN app, and of course the multiple infractions against Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Thanks Finn. What I have tried to tell Freedom leaders is that the government is an old hand at sowing dissension among the ranks of resisters, while we are mostly well-meaning but inexpert dissidents. As you say, the cracks in the dissent are what will be exploited and prolonged. But humans being what they are, I'm not sure there's any easy answer to the problem. The courts are sometimes the only language power brokers understand but the gatekeepers ensure that the costs are so high that for most justice is too expensive.
Here's an editorial I wrote on the topic of Hate Speech:
Hate Speech; bring it on !
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but hate is certainly in the ear as well!
Being born into a Jewish family you can reasonably assume that I am well aware when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head. The mildest form of a-S are words (sticks and stones etc!), at least they are not physical! Anti-Semitism is the World's oldest and perennial prejudice and nothing will change that. That some people have an antipathy, an irrational hatred of Jews is just a fact of their lives, and trying to forbid its peaceful(?) expression is more than just a waste of time, it drives it underground to be later possibly expressed in violent acts. But enough about me.
So then, Hate Speech has its uses (or abuses!). The tragedy is that the term Hate Speech has become so widely interpreted as to include almost everything that offends. There already exist laws against a-S; what good have they done, and will more do better? Freedom includes Freedom Of Speech; if you don't like what I'm saying, don't listen. If you don't like what's on TV, change the channel. If you don't like what you're reading, don't buy it: Grow Up!
If I say something that offends you although that's not my intention, then who has created the problem? Freedom Of Speech would eliminate the need for or impact of Political Correctness (Ugh!), Wokeness including CRT, Cancel Culture and Virtue Signalling, and wouldn't that be a relief?
Now don't get me wrong, I am totally against HS that is intended to generate and encourage acts of actual physical violence, or the 'legal' stealing of one's assets as in frozen Bank Accounts and blocked Credit Cards etc as was employed by our government recently. I also consider the physical violation of our bodies by mandated jabs as covert HS by using incessant propaganda. Even the Heritage Minister has targeted 'offensive' to him, books and documents in the Archives to be (figuratively) burned; how's your memories on this? And where will it all end?
Removing statues of historical figures is also another form of HS; if the statue offends you, don't look at it. Elevating one race or ethnic group over any or all others is also HS, or should I say, BS!
HS then is an extreme manifestation of intolerance of the Other or their views, and a-S between Moslems and Jews is ethnically, religiously or culturally a form of self hate; go figure!
As the saying goes, Who among you can cast the first stone? Or better, If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out!
Thank you for this summary, Art! I have been looking for this information, trying to figure out what the status and scope of the Bonnie Henry lawsuit is. Thanks for writing such a cogent summary!
It will be interesting to see if the courts can nudge our present course and if so how effective a positive decision will change things if at all!
Conflict and disharmony once created can be played out for a long time with shifting ploys and manipulations. Efforts to restore some sort of “Justice” will be undermined or ignored until the desired outcome is achieved. Having lived through many years of an ever morphing conflict that had many off ramps that were avoided because they did not serve the purpose of the beneficiaries nudging events from the sidelines. The ordinary folk endured the many loses and pain, they were but pawns who had to suffer in someone else’s game.
Much that I pray such injustices will end quickly I know from experience it is a long slow battle, so prepare oneself for the ups and downs.
Take care and thanks for your part in this journey. We can learn and support each other.
Thanks Finn. What I have tried to tell Freedom leaders is that the government is an old hand at sowing dissension among the ranks of resisters, while we are mostly well-meaning but inexpert dissidents. As you say, the cracks in the dissent are what will be exploited and prolonged. But humans being what they are, I'm not sure there's any easy answer to the problem. The courts are sometimes the only language power brokers understand but the gatekeepers ensure that the costs are so high that for most justice is too expensive.
Thanks Sean, very hopeful summary.
Here's an editorial I wrote on the topic of Hate Speech:
Hate Speech; bring it on !
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but hate is certainly in the ear as well!
Being born into a Jewish family you can reasonably assume that I am well aware when anti-Semitism rears its ugly head. The mildest form of a-S are words (sticks and stones etc!), at least they are not physical! Anti-Semitism is the World's oldest and perennial prejudice and nothing will change that. That some people have an antipathy, an irrational hatred of Jews is just a fact of their lives, and trying to forbid its peaceful(?) expression is more than just a waste of time, it drives it underground to be later possibly expressed in violent acts. But enough about me.
So then, Hate Speech has its uses (or abuses!). The tragedy is that the term Hate Speech has become so widely interpreted as to include almost everything that offends. There already exist laws against a-S; what good have they done, and will more do better? Freedom includes Freedom Of Speech; if you don't like what I'm saying, don't listen. If you don't like what's on TV, change the channel. If you don't like what you're reading, don't buy it: Grow Up!
If I say something that offends you although that's not my intention, then who has created the problem? Freedom Of Speech would eliminate the need for or impact of Political Correctness (Ugh!), Wokeness including CRT, Cancel Culture and Virtue Signalling, and wouldn't that be a relief?
Now don't get me wrong, I am totally against HS that is intended to generate and encourage acts of actual physical violence, or the 'legal' stealing of one's assets as in frozen Bank Accounts and blocked Credit Cards etc as was employed by our government recently. I also consider the physical violation of our bodies by mandated jabs as covert HS by using incessant propaganda. Even the Heritage Minister has targeted 'offensive' to him, books and documents in the Archives to be (figuratively) burned; how's your memories on this? And where will it all end?
Removing statues of historical figures is also another form of HS; if the statue offends you, don't look at it. Elevating one race or ethnic group over any or all others is also HS, or should I say, BS!
HS then is an extreme manifestation of intolerance of the Other or their views, and a-S between Moslems and Jews is ethnically, religiously or culturally a form of self hate; go figure!
As the saying goes, Who among you can cast the first stone? Or better, If thine eye offends thee, pluck it out!
Steve Friedman, West Kelowna.
Thank you for this summary, Art! I have been looking for this information, trying to figure out what the status and scope of the Bonnie Henry lawsuit is. Thanks for writing such a cogent summary!
Thanks Sean for the interesting read.
It will be interesting to see if the courts can nudge our present course and if so how effective a positive decision will change things if at all!
Conflict and disharmony once created can be played out for a long time with shifting ploys and manipulations. Efforts to restore some sort of “Justice” will be undermined or ignored until the desired outcome is achieved. Having lived through many years of an ever morphing conflict that had many off ramps that were avoided because they did not serve the purpose of the beneficiaries nudging events from the sidelines. The ordinary folk endured the many loses and pain, they were but pawns who had to suffer in someone else’s game.
Much that I pray such injustices will end quickly I know from experience it is a long slow battle, so prepare oneself for the ups and downs.
Take care and thanks for your part in this journey. We can learn and support each other.
T