Following Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he will be stepping down as prime minister, Canada is now in search of new leadership after a decade under his governance. The burning question remains – will Canadians be able to reclaim their lost freedom of speech amidst the aftermath of the Trudeau administration?
Jonathan Turley, in his book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” delves into the decline of free speech in Canada under the Trudeau regime.
Canada has always been torn between the influences of the United Kingdom and the United States, sharing similarities with both nations. Regrettably, it has leaned towards the British model, treating free speech more as a privilege than a fundamental right.
Over the past decade, this trend was exacerbated by a relentless assault on free speech that was deemed offensive, insulting, or triggering to various groups.
Canada’s trajectory serves as a cautionary tale for the United States, as similar voices advocating for censorship and criminalization are gaining traction on American campuses and in Congress.
Trudeau’s tenure exemplifies how speech codes and virtue signaling have become fashionable on the left.
During a town hall event, Trudeau reprimanded a woman for using the term “mankind,” insisting on the more inclusive term “peoplekind.”
(He later claimed it was a joke, but many of his policies mirror the same sentiment and are no laughing matter.)
Trudeau’s authoritarian tendencies came to light during his crackdown on the trucker protests against COVID-19 mandates in 2022, with widespread media support. He invoked the Emergencies Act to freeze the bank accounts of protesters and other Canadian citizens, actions that drew condemnation from civil liberties groups.
Notably, it was Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, who first utilized the precursor to the Emergencies Act to suspend civil liberties during peacetime.
Trudeau faced criticism for his policies aimed at curbing free speech, including amendments to criminalize certain forms of expression that target individuals or groups based on discriminatory grounds.
Under Trudeau, human rights commissions morphed into speech commissars, prosecuting individuals for allowing derogatory comments on their websites or making insulting jokes.
Recently, a Canadian mayor and town were prosecuted for not displaying an LGBTQ2 rainbow flag during Pride Month, despite the absence of a flagpole.
Despite quelling the trucker protests, the Canadian parliament extended Trudeau’s emergency powers to continue targeting right-wing groups. However, Canadian courts later deemed these powers unconstitutional.
Several legislators advocated for harsher penalties, including life imprisonment, for certain speech crimes.
One of the most ironic incidents involved the Canadian government blocking the citizenship of a Russian dissident due to a conviction in Russia for exercising free speech critical of the Ukrainian war.
As Trudeau exits the political stage, the burning question remains – how can Canadians reclaim their right to free speech?
* * *
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Loading…
given sentence:
The cat sat lazily in the sun, basking in its warmth.
Rewritten sentence:
Basking in the warmth of the sun, the cat sat lazily.