NOTE: Writing Challenge below!
So many dots – attack on freedom of speech (Charter section 2)
Just under two years ago now, C3RF was formed to fight a singular attack on a singular Charter Right. The attack was that posed by Motion M-103 and the right that it threatened was the fundamental Canadian right of free speech. The threat came in the form of a false, “Islamophobia” narrative that conflated the term with a form of “religious discrimination” - along the lines of “antisemitism”. This, of course, was never the case. In effect, the ambiguous term was meant to provide cover for an enterprise that would punish criticism of the ideas bound up in Islam and manifested through sharia law. One need only look to the EU court system to see the truth of this assertion.
So many dots – attack freedom of religion, conscience and association (Charter section 2)
As noted in this space over the past several weeks, Canadians have moved from having to defend one Charter Right to saving others on multiple fronts. Some of these other Rights include the freedoms of religion, conscience and association. These Rights are now under pressure, in part, through the mandating of gender and sex-related equality rights as grounds for discrimination in all federal and provincial human rights codes. These new equality rights, such as “gender identity and expression”, are now challenging fundamental rights of religion, conscience and association for primacy in courts across the land. Such cases include those proffered against 16 estheticians in British Columbia who balked at providing waxing services to a transwoman who presents with male genitalia. Apparently, their right to live and work in consonance with their beliefs and traditions has no place in a country that proudly states that “diversity is our strength”.
So many dots – attack on security of the person (Charter section 7)
The Charter legal right to “security of the person” obliges the Government of Canada to operate in accordance with the fundamental principles of justice. These principles include the application of “natural law” or “the law of common sense”. These are principles that escaped Canada’s government when it ordered the importation of 25,000 Syrian refugees within the first few months of its current mandate. The decision to do so flew in the face of the need to properly vet this refugee stream to accommodate national security concerns and the safety of the Canadian public. The fact that this due diligence was not exercised was demonstrated by the Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, when he stated that the system was caught short and surprised by the number of children in refugee families. His statement begs the question; were these refugees vetted at all? The question bears scrutiny as the “system” was also found to come up short when it welcomed refugee Ibrahim Ali into Canada in March of 2017. He now stands charged with the murder of the former 13 year-old Burnaby resident; Marissa Shen. So much for her “security of the person” and so much for the application of “the law of common sense”.
So many dots – attack on freedom from unreasonable search and seizure (Charter section 8)
Yet another attack on an individual Charter Right is evident in the StatsCan call for Canadian financial institutions to hand over private customer data. The initiative is ambitious and sweeping in nature as it calls for the transfer of all financial transactions linked to the specific Social Insurance Numbers of 500,000 Canadians – per year! This measure is incredibly bold and intrusive. Could it be that StatsCan really needs to have such information to validate household addresses and residential occupancy as explained or could it be something else? Indeed, is there a common factor driving all of these, seemingly, disparate attacks on the fundamental and legal rights of Canadians?
Are the dots connected?
When looking for common drivers behind all of these assaults on Canadian Charter Rights two things stand out; they rise up quickly on the heels of the Liberal Party’s assumption of power and follow Prime Minister Trudeau’s startling declaration that Canada had “no core identity” and was the “first post-national state” – both of which occurred in late 2015. All this, even as the Prime Minister issued “mandate letters” that stressed multilateral international relations, particularly with the United Nations, and a complementary emphasis on “climate change”. All of these priorities would be consistent with the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which Canada had adopted the month before Trudeau’s Liberals came to power. It seems the stars had aligned and Agenda 2030 had found a willing and energetic ally in the form of Canada’s new Prime Minister. Could Agenda 2030 be the driver of change that would ultimately challenge the individual Charter Rights of Canadians?
Dot connected – Attack on freedom of speech
Canada’s commitment to meeting Agenda 2030’s ambitious migration goals is readily apparent in its “voluntary national review” of that Agenda. When discussing “Sustainability Development Goal 10: Reduce Inequality within and among Countries” the nation stated that it is four-square behind the requirements of the derivative accord; the U.N. Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. This Compact is clear in its call for nations to accommodate new migrants, be they regular or “irregular”, with laws that prevent the host community from discriminating on the basis of “political or other opinion” even as it called for the defunding of media outlets that were intolerant of migrants. These required constraints on the free speech of Canadians and their news services go a long way to explaining the need for new “Islamophobia” measures. It also explains Liberal Party entrenchment and refusal to consider changing the term or even defining it. Indeed, the term was fit for purpose as it accommodated the Compact’s intent to provide favoured treatment to inbound migrant populations – most of which, as seen by the Syrian refugee program, were of the Islamic faith.
Dot connected - freedom of religion, conscience and association
Canada has approached all 17 Agenda 2030 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) with heartfelt dedication but has declared particular enthusiasm for the key areas of the elimination of poverty, the advancement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the narrowing of socio-economic gaps that exist between different groups, the improvement of relationships with Indigenous peoples and the fostering of inclusion. Of particular note are Canada’s references to the LGBT community as deserving of special attention regards their equality rights. Given these stated, special priorities, it is easy to understand how the collective equality rights of “identifiable groups” are now edging out the fundamental, individual rights of Canadian citizens to live, work and learn as they please.
Dot connected – security of the person
While “security of the person” can be seen to be freedom from government ineptitude in the formulation of policies and plans, as noted in the case of the Syrian refugee program, it also speaks to the realization of “due process” in the legal sense. Along these lines, it is noteworthy that the plight of indigenous peoples is addressed in the Canadian review of Agenda 2030 in each and every one of the 17 SDGs. Of particular note is the SDG 1 (end poverty in all its forms everywhere) observation that indigenous peoples have a “disproportionate presence in the justice system”. The rectification of this situation has the potential to impact non-indigenous citizens if the justice system is re-balanced to their disadvantage. Such was demonstrated in the Colten Boushie case when politicos, at the highest levels, intervened inappropriately to de-stabilize a considered court decision that acquitted the killer of Mr. Boushie. The decision was construed to be a slight against the indigenous community and national leaders, including the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice, voiced this concern while proposing related changes to the judicial system. These interventions, if legislated to advantage one group over another, have the power to severely impact the right of individual Canadians to secure their persons in a system where all are not equal before the law.
Dot connected – freedom from unreasonable search and seizure
The intersection between the StasCan “data-grab” of citizen financial transactions and Canada’s stated approach to Agenda 2030 is worrisome. In the latter, Canada has declared that Statistics Canada is a valuable asset that will be at the “forefront of Canada’s strategy on the SDGs”. This will be accommodated by having the organization take a proactive approach to Canada’s global and national reporting of statistics. This reporting will explore new ways to work with traditional and non-traditional partners by examining new sources of data. More than this and in accordance with the referenced “Whistler principles to accelerate innovation for development impact”, Canada promises to share data, standards, results and learning widely. This begs the question; just what and whose data does Canada intend to share?
In answering that question it is interesting to note that Prime Minister Trudeau has been very active in high level U.N. venues proposing to “unlock private-sector money needed to help meet a set of ambitious United Nations sustainable-development goals as a key part of Canada’s bid for a UN Security Council seat in New York”. This ambitious goal is seen to help the Prime Minister’s efforts in securing a U.N. Security Council seat down the road. He is also reported to have emphasized the Canadian private sector’s commitment to help achieve the SDGs in Canada and around the world and secure same “through channels such as pension, private equity and insurance funds”. These will all be required to meet the “US $7-trillion required annually to meet the SDGs' 2030 deadline”. These are enormous sums that are being planned to be funneled into Agenda 2030’s 17 SDGs over a very time-compressed period. Is it too much of a stretch to wonder if the StatsCan “data-grab” is designed to better understand just where this money is? As an interesting aside, should individual Canadians worry, not only that their personal financial data might be shared to benefit Agenda 2030 information requirements but, that their pension holdings might be used in high risk ventures with suspect returns on investment?
Question – is your government working for you or Agenda 2030?
Attacks on the individual rights and freedoms of Canadians has proceeded in lock step with the ramping up of Canadian government efforts to ingratiate itself with U.N. and build an Agenda 2030 presence. Given the links between the two, as noted in the discussion above, is it unrealistic to assume that your Prime Minister and Member of Parliament are more interested in progressing a global agenda over and above your interests, rights and freedoms?
What to do – why not contact your Prime Minister and MP?
Maybe its time to contact both to confirm one way or the other. Tell them you feel your rights are being whittled away by incessant cow-towing to U.N. Agenda 2030 and its derivative accords - such as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. You’ve had enough and want them to attend to your concerns. Your MP’s email address can be found here.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU CONTACT YOUR PM OR YOUR MP – WHAT DID HE OR SHE SAY?
Ongoing operations and trends
C3RF is committed to raising public awareness on matters that involve your fundamental Charter Rights. As can be seen above, the list of threats to these freedoms is increasing and growing fast. It’s as though they represent a threat to certain political agendas and must be diminished come hell or high water.
Please note that efforts aimed at preserving the fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadians are not without cost. For those of you who have recently contributed to our coffers, thank you very much. We cannot continue to operate and progress such initiatives without such aid. Having said that, we could certainly use a lot more of it from all others and hope you can contribute towards making a difference. If you are able to make a monthly donation, no matter how small, even $5/month, it will help us plan our finances and provide funding for a rainy day which is sure to come.
And while you're considering making a difference, please follow C3RF on Twitter, on Facebook and on our web site and share with friends our great content and a realistic outlook on the continuing battle for Charter Rights in Canada.
Major Russ Cooper (Ret'd)
Co-Chair C3RF
