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If you've ever wondered what the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is and what it defends, you have come to the right place.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 1 is a single statement and all that follows is subject to that statement.
1. Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:
Section 2 is a list of Fundamental Freedoms.
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a. freedom of conscience and religion;
b. freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c. freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d. freedom of association.
The sections that follow deal with Democratic Rights, Mobility Rights, Legal Rights, Equality Rights, Official Languages of Canada, Minority Language Educational Rights, Enforcement, General and Application of the Charter.
The section of the Charter most often at issue in court is Section 2. It takes leaders of strong character, not willing to bend to the whims of the party or electorate or the latest ideology, capable of leading in a way that unifies and does not divide, to stand and hold true to these Fundamental Freedoms.
Our present Prime Minister made this statement concerning the Charter recently:
(a) “Regardless of the fact that we are attacking your fundamental rights or limiting your fundamental rights, and the Charter says that is wrong, we are still going to go ahead and do it.” “It’s basically a loophole that allows a majority to override fundamental rights of a minority. And that’s why I agree with my father that it’s not a great thing to have in a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
As a statement before the media, it sounds like he is concerned for the rights and freedoms of the minority, but if he were truly concerned, his actions as of late would have been substantially different.
What raises further concern is the support of the majority for leaders that use fear and intimidation as an excuse to trample on the rights of even those who are unwittingly supporting them.
The word totalitarianism is being used quite a bit lately in reference to our government, and not just by people here in Canada. Please understand, we do not believe our present government is striving to create a totalitarian state. In fact, we don’t believe most dictators start out that way. From what we have seen over time, leaders begin to believe their own propaganda and see themselves as the only answer to the country’s problems.
Propaganda is a powerful tool.
Hannah Arendt wrote the book "The Origins of Totalitarianism" in 1951 about Nazism and Stalinism as the major totalitarian political movements of the first half of the 20th century. If you didn’t know that, you would swear that she was speaking of today.
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.” ― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
The pandemic provided ample opportunity for governments to learn how to use mass propaganda.
One study stated:
(b) “Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts.”
The study went on to say:
“…including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping.”
If you think back, it becomes apparent that those “tools” were in full use during, and, if you are watching, after the pandemic.
As I mention above, rarely does a country become a totalitarian state by public servants intentionally wanting to become dictators. It comes about by those servants unwilling to allow others to express their opinion or, heaven forbid, oppose the governments opinions.
Those courageous individuals that the Rights and Freedoms Advocate support are experiencing firsthand public servants enforcing their opinion on them and using the same tools totalitarian states around the world use to control the populations of their countries.
If there has ever been a time for all of us to stand and oppose government who willingly trample the rights and freedoms of its people, it is now.
Rights and Freedoms Advocate has been honoured to support those among us willing and brave enough to stand and fight back by funding legal representation for some of our nation’s most important constitutional challenges. Rights and Freedoms Advocate has supported hundreds of individuals and groups across Canada, securing wins in key jurisdictions.
Taking any level of government to court is expensive. They willingly use tax dollars to build their case with little consideration that they are breaching the Charter.
We not only need your financial support, but the support of those you know who are concerned about the trajectory our nation is on.
Please, please share this page to any and all that you know, and encourage them to go to our website and support this work:
https://www.freedomsadvocate.ca
If you are hesitant to send this to someone, please consider this statement made by a man who was watching his government oppress its citizens:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. —Martin Niemöller
As you consider your year-end donations, please consider Rights and Freedoms Advocate – it is one of very few donations you will make that has a direct impact on you, your family and the county we all call home.
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