I’ve vented once already about the awful nonsense being spouted around the so-called trucker’s protest, or occupation of Ottawa, but it irritates me so much that I have to do it again.

Truckers and their associated Proud Boys and Western Separatists and whoever else is in Ottawa this week, when they’re not waving swastikas or American flags or Donald Trump 2024 flags, are proclaiming how they are fighting for freedom, or “our freedoms” plural. So, let’s take them seriously. What freedom is it they are fighting for?

The Canadian Bill of Rights section 1 lays out our fundamental freedoms provided for by law in this country. It says:

It is hereby recognized and declared that in Canada there have existed and shall continue to exist without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour, religion or sex, the following human rights and fundamental freedoms, namely,

• (a) the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law;
• (b) the right of the individual to equality before the law and the protection of the law;
• (c) freedom of religion;
• (d) freedom of speech;
• (e) freedom of assembly and association; and
• (f) freedom of the press.

 Now, let’s just follow the wording.

 – “without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour religion or sex” … OK, you want the freedom provided for in Canadian law? Take those friggin’ swastikas off your signs. Remove the anti-Semitic yellow stars and bandanas. Stop harassing women and brown-skinned people and Muslims in the down town core. Those can be your first steps in fighting for freedom

The right of the individual to life, liberty and security of person. You’re upset about the expectation that you should have a vaccination, and one might argue that being mandated to have a vaccination, (in which you don’t believe because of some weird non-scientific reason), is a violation of your right to security of the person.

There are two arguments that I would use to refute that argument.First, no-one has mandated that you have to have a vaccination. Your person is secure. You can refuse. Now if you refuse, you have to accept the consequences of that refusal. And that means that you don’t qualify for some kinds of work, and specifically it means that you need to isolate for 14 days after you enter the country, which impacts on your ability to work. Now, check that list of rights up above. Does it include the right to be employed in work of your choice despite your refusal to abide by work requirements? It does not.

The second argument is that in addition to your personal right to security of the person, every other citizen of Canada has a right to security of the person. What that means is that the government is obligated to make decisions that balance the freedom of the individual against the safety of the whole. Every country in the world is struggling with this balance, and they are all handling it in somewhat different ways. China always mandates things on the basis of the whole population. Their Covid control has been excellent, but we don’t envy their population because we perceive a serious infringement of personal liberty. America is strongly driven to demand individual freedom at the expense of public safety, which is why their Covid response has been terrible for a supposedly modern and highly developed country. So, our governments (all three tiers) have made decisions that place us somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between China and America. No matter what decision were made, there would be room for criticism and discussion. But those decisions affect you and you don’t like the outcomes. That doesn’t mean you have been deprived of freedom. It just means that you want to change their decisions.

There has been no loss of life, freedom or security of the person, unless you count the 35000 people who have died of Covid. Does the next possible victim – the cancer patient with a compromised immune system, or the aged grandmother in a senior’s home – not have the same right to security of the person that you do? And if they do, don’t you have a responsibility under the Bill of Rights to respect the provisions of Public Health law that is seeking to protect those vulnerable people?

Enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law.

Whose enjoyment of property is being deprived here? Is that yours, you silly trucker, or the resident of downtown Ottawa who has been driven from their home by your goddamn horns blaring at all hours? You, or the business owner who has been forced to close for a week because they’ve felt it unsafe to open their doors? You, or the mentally ill patients who were deprived of treatment in the psychologists’ clinic because they felt terribly threatened by your aggressive behaviours? You, or the homeless shelter you invaded and forced to feed you?

What due process of law have you invoked to deprive Ottawa residents of the enjoyment of their property? Has the City of Ottawa approved a permit for this extensive demonstration? Have you gone to court and demanded the legal right to piss on the tomb of the unknown soldier?

You have not been deprived of the right to Enjoyment of Property, but you are most certainly depriving others of that right without due process of law.

Equality before the law and the protection of the law;

Has anyone complained that Ottawa police have been unfair, violent, abusive to any of you? In fact, the opposite is true. Citizens complain that police have failed to enforce the law, leaving them vulnerable to a bunch of aggressive, loud, and abusive demonstrators. No, I think you have little reason to complain about your treatment by law enforcement.

Freedom of speech

TV cameras, always seeking dramatic images, have repeatedly shown us images of trucks emblazoned with huge signs suggesting a sexual act be perpetrated on the Prime Minister of Canada. I’m not a huge fan of the PM myself, but I challenge you to go to Moscow and start waving those signs suggesting the same thing for Vladimir Putin. Or to North Korea and take on Kim Jong Un. Or to any number of other autocratic countries around the globe. No, you have no complaints about your freedom of speech.

Freedom of Assembly and Association

You jokers drove, in some cases, thousands of kilometers to Ottawa, loudly proclaiming all the nasty things you were going to do when you got there. No-one stopped you. Your protest was being funded by public subscription driven by a woman who is trying to organize the separation of Alberta from Canada. Still nobody tried to stop you. That funding has been suspended now, as a result of the unlawful activities of the protestors, but still there has been no concerted attempt to disperse you. So, no, there has been no infringement of your right to Freedom of Assembly and Association.

I’m not going to discuss freedom of religion or freedom of the press, as they are somewhat irrelevant in this context.

The problem is, what you are really frustrated with and protesting against is government. But think about what government is. To govern is often thought of in the context of politics as “to control and direct the making and administration of policy in…”, but that definition really draws from the more general definition “to control, direct, or strongly influence the actions and conduct of…”. What you people are really protesting about isn’t the loss of any freedoms captured in our Bill of Rights. You are protesting about the fact that you are being controlled, directed or influenced. Be careful of what you ask for. Being governed means that we have standards and expectations for how we act in a civilized society. The absence of rules and controls on our behaviours is called anarchy – a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority. You might think you’d like that. You’d be wrong.

So, protestors, get your act together. Make a reasonable argument about why you dislike the government’s decision if you can, but go home to do it. Go ahead and protest government decisions in your local paper and on Social media and by writing to your member of Parliament or Provincial Legislature.. But be thankful we have stable government. Why don’t you go and live in Haiti for a month and see what it’s like when government is lost.