Is liberal democracy dying in Canada?

Canada was plunged into the worst constitutional crisis in its history on Monday, as the Canadian Ministry invoked the power of the Emergencies Act of 1988 for the first time. By unilaterally invoking this law, the country’s Cabinet granted itself powers that most Western liberal democratic governments have up to now only assumed in times of war.

What is declared to be the constitutional emergency threatening the nation? A group of truckers blocking some bridges and roads. In four weeks of demonstrations, there has not been a single death because of the protests. Some large corporations have lost some money because some automobile factories had to close for a few days. The politicians in downtown Ottawa have been bothered by honking horns. But no cities have been burned down, no riots or political assassinations have occurred, and no law enforcement personnel have been injured.

The nation’s government has shut down vast sectors of the Canadian economy, destroyed thousands of small businesses, and wrecked the education of Canadian children for two years. But the truckers are the threat just because they want to keep their jobs?

The CBC explained the purposes of the act: “Before invoking these powers, the federal government must determine that the emergency ‘exceeds the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it’ or that the situation ‘seriously threatens’ the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of Canada.”

In a massive understatement, the Canadian Press reported: “There are some concerns about the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end antigovernment blockades against COVID-19 measures that are being held across the country.”

The CP goes on to say that the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has said it does not believe the current situation meets the criterion for a justifiable use of this law. Its executive director, Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, warned that normalizing emergency legislation “threatens our democracy and our civil liberties.”

The key point here is that the “normalization” of emergencies is being used to erode civil liberties. We are finding out that Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms is not worth the paper it is written on.

The last surviving minister who was at the table in 1982 when the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was adopted as Canada’s basic law, Brian Peckford, has tried to sound the alarm about the erosion of civil liberties by the federal and provincial governments throughout the pandemic. He launched a lawsuit against the federal government, accusing it of violating the Charter.

“It was never meant to be used in this kind of circumstance,” he said. “It was meant for very serious circumstances, like if the state was in peril, war, or insurrection or other things that threatened the state as a country. Not this kind of circumstance where 99 percent of people recover from a virus. That’s not a threat to the state.”

The erosion of civil liberties, such as the Charter’s right to mobility within Canada, has led to this point. Peckford is a rational man who is trying to save Canada from destruction.

The main purpose of invoking the Emergencies Act, at least so far, seems to have been to give the government the power to steal the money of a political opposition group. The deputy prime minister said (and I’m quoting her own press release—she is proud of this): “This is about following the money. This is about stopping the financing of these illegal blockades. We are today serving notice: If your truck is being used in these protests, your corporate accounts will be frozen. The insurance on your vehicle will be suspended.”

She also said, “As of today, a bank or other financial service provider will be able to immediately freeze or suspend the account of an individual or business affiliated with these illegal blockades without a court order. In doing so, they will be protected against civil liability.”

This represents the criminalizing of political dissent. It goes way beyond just removing the blockades. It effectively criminalizes opposition groups by taking away donations made in good faith. Freedom of association is gone.

Christians ought to be extremely concerned for two reasons. One, of course, is the loss of the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Canadian Charter more generally. But we should also assume that these powers will be used against the church in the future. Once governments assume such powers, they seldom surrender them willingly. We are witnessing in Canada what happens when a government declares itself more important than the liberties it is supposed to protect.