Don't Canada America, Redux
You were warned here in February not to ignore what was happening in Canada. It is getting worse. And Conservatives there are powerless to stop it. Democrats here are inspired.
What started as a Chinese-style “social credit” financial system focused on protesting truckers four months ago has now expanded to guns, mainstream and social media, and religion.
Following the tragic massacre in Uvalde, Texas last week, Canada’s government, some 2,000 miles away, decided they needed to do something. There is no right to gun ownership in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, backed by masked and clapping seals from his Liberal Party caucus, announced that legislation would be forthcoming to ban (sorry, a “national freeze”) the sale and transfer of all handguns.
No handguns were reportedly used by the Uvalde shooter during his massacre. Or Buffalo. Or in Tulsa at a medical center on Wednesday, what is reported to be a vendetta by a black shooter against a black doctor. You didn’t hear about that? Oh.
But with allusions to Uvalde, Trudeau cited less growing handgun crime but rising handgun ownership. “The number of registered handguns in Canada increased by 71 percent between 2010 and 2020, reaching approximately 1.1 million. Handguns were the most serious weapon present in the majority of firearm-related violent crimes (59 percent) between 2009 and 2020.”
Meanwhile, I’m sure, the Prime Minister will continue to be protected by security officers trained and prepared to use handguns and “military-style” (read: scary-looking) weapons.
In addition, Canada is about to lower the limit of rounds in a magazine from 10 to 5. That will make trips to the gun range more frustrating, although magazines typically can be replaced easily in seconds. You’ll just need more of them. And the gun range is the only place you can carry a gun in Canada. You can’t carry, open or concealed. And don’t forget your license, which can be pulled not just by a judge, but a firearms official. You can appeal their decision, but good luck with that.
Maybe Canadians save their violence for the hockey rink.
They are also launching immediately a mandatory “buy back” program for owners of “assault-style” weapons. Canada is broadening their definition of these “weapons of war.” Of course, it includes the AR-15 (“AR” stands for its manufacturer, ArmaLite, not “Assault Rifle,” as stupid people claim). Some 1,500 guns are on the list. I wonder what isn’t included.
No word from criminals if they plan to comply. But I’m sure they support disarming law-abiding citizens.
Canada also plans to expand so-called “red flag” laws, increase penalties for gun crimes, and bolster law enforcement capabilities, whatever that means. Their red flag laws are already broad and about to become broader. A cautionary tale for gun rights advocates in the US Senate as they negotiate over national red-flag laws. Be careful what you negotiate.
US Courts have long supported a right to self-defense. It was referenced in the celebrated 2008 Heller vs. District of Columbia decision by the US Supreme Court. In Canada, it’s a bit more complicated. You can “use as much force as necessary” to deter, say, a burglar from entering your home, but if you go much beyond a baseball bat, you might be in trouble. Don’t know if he has a gun? That’s your problem. Maybe hockey sticks are okay.
But if you were looking for any pushback or challenging questions from the media - or even reporting Conservative opposition, such as it is - you might need a microscope. That’s because of another anomaly between the US and Canada. The latter heavily subsidizes its lone “national broadcaster,” the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) to the tune of $1.2 billion annually.
In addition, in 2018, Canada’s Liberal government spewed some $600 million to subsidize “local” Canadian media.
Canada’s media isn’t going to bite the hand that feeds it. Especially the lone national broadcaster. The two largest independent Canadian media outlets, True North and Rebel News aren’t considered “qualified” media under their subsidy laws. I’m not sure if Canada’s version of the Wall Street Journal, the National Post, is subsidized.
Don’t scoff. There’s a serious bipartisan effort in the US Congress - the Local Journalism Sustainability Act - to do the same. It came close to passing last year as part of the Democrat’s $3.5 billion “Build Back Better” tax bill.
And if you thought Joe Biden’s “Ministry of Truth” at the Department of Homeland Security was bad, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Bill C-36 would enable citizens to bring legal claims against people who engage in “hate speech” online, and if a member or panel of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal finds the accused guilty, the tribunal can either order the accused to “cease the discriminatory practice” and take steps to prevent it from happening again; order the accused to pay compensation of up to $20,000 “to any victim personally identified in the communication that constituted the discriminatory practice”; or order the accused to “pay a penalty of not more than $50,000 to the Receiver General” if the tribunal “considers it appropriate” considering “the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the discriminatory practice.”
The “Canadian Human Rights Tribunal” seems similar to bodies like the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which discriminated against Christian baker Jack Phillips. Phillips refused to bake a custom cake celebrating a same-sex wedding, and the commission found him guilty of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, even though the same commission defended another baker’s right to refuse to create cakes that stated a message with which she disagreed.
Hate speech, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder. Ask journalist Mark Steyn about that. There’s more.
While many churches curtailed or moved religious services online during the height of the Covid pandemic, some did not. There wasn’t a major push in most states to “punish” or arrest pastors. At least in the United States. Abridging the freedom of religion is a thing here.
Not in Canada. Officials arrested and prosecuted several pastors for defying Canada’s draconian lockdown rules, even holding outdoor services. Ohio legislators voted this week to put Canada on a “watch list” for religious freedom violations.
Ohio legislators are calling on the US government to add Canada to a Special Watch List for countries that violate the rights of their citizens.
The state’s legislature adopted a bill on Wednesday requesting the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recognize its northern neighbour as a country that abuses religious liberty.
The resolution – titled “Urge addition of Canada to religious freedom Special Watch List” – had as its main sponsors Republican state representatives Reggie Stoltzfus and Timothy E. Ginter.
“Indeed Ohio is not alone in valuing freedom,” the bill states. “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that ‘Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms,’ which include the ‘freedom of conscience and religion.’ The arrests and actions described below, taken to enforce overly burdensome and unjustified orders, however, do not seem to live up to this praiseworthy statement.”
There are many things Canada’s government does better than America’s. Their food safety system, reorganized in 1995, is a model for the United States. There’s no infant formula crisis in Canada (or anywhere else), thanks to the sclerotic FDA. Canadians have high confidence in their elections. People vote by paper and in person, with rare exceptions. Winners are always known on election night. It probably helps to be ten times smaller in population than the USA.
Some may ask, why aren’t Canada’s conservatives fighting back? They are. But under their parliamentary system, power is concentrated in the Prime Minister and his party or coalition. He has partnered with the far-left National Democrats to form a uber-left coalition. The Liberal Party used to be a “center-left” party that competed with the “progressive conservative” center-right party. No more. There is no filibuster nor incentive to “negotiate” with conservatives. Conservatives are in the wilderness, powerless. Maybe their Senate can intervene, but don’t count on it. It’s not the same as our US Senate. Their powers are really limited. And major media, bought and paid for, plays along. Elections really matter in Canada.
Maybe this is what Canada’s electorate wants. If so, they deserve it. Good and hard.
I’m grateful for our system of checks and balances. Our founders despised and feared the concentration of political power. It’s why we have three co-equal branches of government, including a bicameral Congress.
Canada is slouching towards a Gommorah of intolerance and tyranny. And it’s not a good look. Except for US Democrats. Pay attention. Vote accordingly.
Recommended reading: “Gun Control: Canada’s Ban Is What Democrats Want in America,” National Review magazine.