Australia’s Medico-Stalinist Police State Intensifies — Troops Called Out to Enforce Lockdown in Sydney
Sydney police call for military to enforce lockdown
Issued on: 29/07/2021 – 09:36Modified: 29/07/2021 – 09:34
Police in Sydney want more powers to enforce a coronavirus lockdown Farooq KHAN AFP
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Sydney (AFP)
Police in Australia’s largest city have requested military help to enforce a coronavirus lockdown as infections in Sydney reached a new record Thursday.
Commissioner Mick Fuller said New South Wales police had asked for 300 Australian Defence Force personnel to be deployed “to boost its operational footprint”.
The city of five million people is in its fifth week of a lockdown that is set to run until the end of August.
Stay-at-home orders have failed to reduce new infections to zero, and compliance has been patchy.
Sydney residents are only allowed to leave their homes for exercise, essential work, medical reasons, and to shop for necessities such as food.
But for weeks, parks and beach promenades have been filled with Sydneysiders drinking coffee and chatting with friends.
Police have increasingly been doling out fines to those violating the restrictions and Fuller said those efforts would be stepped up in the coming days.
Last weekend thousands of people gathered in central Sydney to protest against the measures, and further demonstrations have been mooted.
Police have also requested more powers to shut down businesses that they say are not abiding by rules on social distancing.
On Thursday state premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the outbreak — which began mid-June when a driver for an international flight crew contracted the virus — is “likely to get worse”.
Officials announced 239 new infections in Sydney, a record for this outbreak, which now totals 2,810 cases.
With under 14 percent of the Australian population vaccinated, many experts have warned that Sydney’s lockdown could run for months more.
Supplies of Pfizer-BioNTech shots are low and there has been widespread scepticism about the AstraZeneca jab, slowing the vaccine rollout.
Pastor Art Pawlowski arrested by Calgary Police, May 8, 2021 for the “crime” of holding church and refusing to turn away worshippers during our so-called Wuhan virus pandemic. It is worth noting that in close to a year and a half, Pastor Art’s church has operated at full capacity, with no physical distancing and no mask wearing, yet there is not one single Wuhan virus death attached to his ministry. Alberta Health Services on the other hand is responsible for many deaths related to their lockdown, but the media will never talk about that.Police officer wears a face diaper and helps collect evidence to prosecute restaurant owner Chris Scott and the supporters of economic, religious, and political freedom at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror AB, May 8, 2021
Dear Friends,
Yesterday, I went to the Whistle Stop Cafe to lend my support to owner and protest organizer Chris Scott and the other supporters of freedom who were gathered there to resist the pseudo scientific tyranny being imposed on us. I would estimate a thousand or so people were in attendance, which for me is quite encouraging, given Mirror, AB is a small village that is literally in the middle of nowhere. And it was a cold, rainy day and the Alberta government was threatening people with $2000 fines if they dared to come to the protest. Premier Kenny also threatened potential protesters with permanent driver’s license suspensions if they refused to pay the $2000 Wuhan virus fines. Yet, literally a thousand or so people came out and demanded an end to the Alberta government’s destructive lockdown.
While at the Whistle Stop, I was blessed to be served a delicious Beef Brisket sandwich by Adam Skelly, of Adamson Barbecue fame. Adamson BBQ was forcibly shut down by 200 Toronto Police Officers, some of them on horseback, ostensibly in order to keep Toronto safe from the Wuhan virus. It is worth noting that while Mayor Tory was deploying massive police resources to insure Toronto’s adults could not purchase Adam’s delicious beef briskets, Torontonions were allowed to stand in line ups to buy the lesser quality, mass produced, briskets at the Costcos that remained open in Toronto.
While I was at the Whistle Stop rally, I received the news Pastor Art Pawlowski and his brother Dawid were arrested for holding a church service in Calgary. As of now both men are being held in the Calgary Remand Centre. Please pray for them and for the state of our country.
I tried to post on a Calgary Herald story covering Pastor Art’s arrest in defence of Pastor Art’s ministry and tried to show the lockdown is irrational and harmful, but as it is with all large media and social media platforms it seems debate that is critical of our unelected public health czars is deleted. Judge for yourself if my comments violated the Calgary Herald’s “community guidelines” or wether they promoted so-called “misinformation.”
Lots of nasty comments were allowed by the Calgary Herald story that were critical and derogatory of Christians, but reminding people of the nutty and inconsistent comments/actions of our Public Health czars gets your comments promptly deleted.
Anyways, please pray for Pastor Art Pawlowski, Pastor James Coates and Dawid. They are suffering unjustly. The lockdown of churches and destruction of small businesses and isolation of people from friends and families is completely unjustified. South Dakota never locked down their churches for a single day nor has the state’s governor destroyed her small businesses. My friend who lives in North Dakota and regularly travels to South Dakota reports there are no bodies lying in the streets of either state, nor is South Dakota’s health care system collapsing from Wuhan virus sickness. Outside forces and the national media tried hard to push South Dakota into a lockdown and forced mask wearing for her citizens and they failed. The evidence is clear when one looks at South Dakota’s approach vs Alberta’s approach to the Wuhan virus that such draconian violations of our civil and religious liberties cause financial and psychological distress, but don’t actually yield as much benefit as the Public Health Doctors would have you think in the way of saving citizens from the Wuhan virus.
It is hard for me to fathom that Canada has now joined the former Soviet Union and present day China as nations where Pastors are imprisoned for ministering the Gospel to their flocks.
As for other news. One might remember I advocated homosexual parade attendees changing their sexual behaviours to protect people from serious communicable diseases such as HIV, HPV of the rectum, and anal cancer. I would argue from the point of view of mortality and morbidity, HIV is more serious than the Wuhan Virus. The measures I advocated (keeping one’s pants up and abstaining from sodomy) was certainly less onerous than Bonnie Henry’s and Deena Hinshaw’s advocacy for closing all businesses, churches, separating friends and families, and forcing healthy people into face diapers.
While Bonnie Henry and Deena Hinshaw make over $350,000 per year (that was their predecessor’s salaries), but I note the BC and Alberta Premiers think we the taxpayers have no right to know the current Chief Public Health doctor’s salaries and bonuses; even as they croon “we are all in it together.” These top “Doctors,” while handsomely lining their pockets advocate for the destruction of livelihoods, the isolation of the elderly and everyone else, and huge fines for those of us who don’t want to wear their sacred face diapers or stay home in perpetual fear of their much hyped virus. I on the other hand never charged the taxpayer a penny for my public and spiritual health literature at the Toronto Homosexual Pride parade in 2016.
While a reasonable person could certainly argue Bonnie Henry’s and Deena Hinshaw’s advocated restrictions on millions of healthy people have caused widespread death (suicides, overdoses, delayed lifesaving surgeries, etc) and despair (weight gain, isolation, depression, unemployment) in the name of fighting the Wuhan virus; even if homosexuals accepted my advice on abstaining from sodomy, their lives and livelihoods would have remained intact had they listened to me. Indeed their physical and psychological health outcomes would have definitely improved, as they would have avoided the behaviours that put them at risk of so many deadly and debilitating viruses.
Yet, unlike Bonnie Henry and Deena Hinshaw who are looking forward to comfy retirements, with defined benefit pensions and perks that we are not entitled to know about; me for my public health efforts have to look forward to a “hate crime” charge and a 3 day preliminary trial on June 9, 10, 11th, and my actual trial remains scheduled to take place on October 4th and is expected to last a month.
While multiple criminal cases have been dropped in Toronto over the past year and thousands of criminals have been released from Ontario’s prisons in the name of fighting the Wuhan virus, the Crown Prosecutor for my case is adamant that my now 5 year old public and spiritual health ministry at the Toronto Homosexual Pride parade is such a serious “hate crime” that my trial will go ahead and if a conviction is secured, there will be room in an Ontario prison to keep me confined for 18 months, Wuhan virus or no Wuhan virus.
Such is the state of Canada now, so please remember me in your prayers as you remember Pastor Art, his brother Dawid, Pastor James Coates, and Chris Scott in your prayers as well.
In Christ’s Service, Bill Whatcott
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Matthew 18:15 Advertisements about:blank Report this ad
“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:21-25 View more posts
Bill Whatcott, Blog at WordPress.com. Create your website with WordPress.comGet started Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Whatcott commentary and update: Canada is no longer free. We lost it. The ship has sailed.
Pastor Art Pawlowski arrested by Calgary Police, May 8, 2021 for the “crime” of holding church and refusing to turn away worshippers during our so-called Wuhan virus pandemic. It is worth noting that in close to a year and a half, Pastor Art’s church has operated at full capacity, with no physical distancing and no mask wearing, yet there is not one single Wuhan virus death attached to his ministry. Alberta Health Services on the other hand is responsible for many deaths related to their lockdown, but the media will never talk about that.Police officer wears a face diaper and helps collect evidence to prosecute restaurant owner Chris Scott and the supporters of economic, religious, and political freedom at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror AB, May 8, 2021
Dear Friends,
Yesterday, I went to the Whistle Stop Cafe to lend my support to owner and protest organizer Chris Scott and the other supporters of freedom who were gathered there to resist the pseudo scientific tyranny being imposed on us. I would estimate a thousand or so people were in attendance, which for me is quite encouraging, given Mirror, AB is a small village that is literally in the middle of nowhere. And it was a cold, rainy day and the Alberta government was threatening people with $2000 fines if they dared to come to the protest. Premier Kenny also threatened potential protesters with permanent driver’s license suspensions if they refused to pay the $2000 Wuhan virus fines. Yet, literally a thousand or so people came out and demanded an end to the Alberta government’s destructive lockdown.
While at the Whistle Stop, I was blessed to be served a delicious Beef Brisket sandwich by Adam Skelly, of Adamson Barbecue fame. Adamson BBQ was forcibly shut down by 200 Toronto Police Officers, some of them on horseback, ostensibly in order to keep Toronto safe from the Wuhan virus. It is worth noting that while Mayor Tory was deploying massive police resources to insure Toronto’s adults could not purchase Adam’s delicious beef briskets, Torontonions were allowed to stand in line ups to buy the lesser quality, mass produced, briskets at the Costcos that remained open in Toronto.
While I was at the Whistle Stop rally, I received the news Pastor Art Pawlowski and his brother Dawid were arrested for holding a church service in Calgary. As of now both men are being held in the Calgary Remand Centre. Please pray for them and for the state of our country.
I tried to post on a Calgary Herald story covering Pastor Art’s arrest in defence of Pastor Art’s ministry and tried to show the lockdown is irrational and harmful, but as it is with all large media and social media platforms it seems debate that is critical of our unelected public health czars is deleted. Judge for yourself if my comments violated the Calgary Herald’s “community guidelines” or whether they promoted so-called “misinformation.”
Lots of nasty comments were allowed by the Calgary Herald story that were critical and derogatory of Christians, but reminding people of the nutty and inconsistent comments/actions of our Public Health czars gets your comments promptly deleted.
Anyways, please pray for Pastor Art Pawlowski, Pastor James Coates and Dawid. They are suffering unjustly. The lockdown of churches and destruction of small businesses and isolation of people from friends and families is completely unjustified. South Dakota never locked down their churches for a single day nor has the state’s governor destroyed her small businesses. My friend who lives in North Dakota and regularly travels to South Dakota reports there are no bodies lying in the streets of either state, nor is South Dakota’s health care system collapsing from Wuhan virus sickness. Outside forces and the national media tried hard to push South Dakota into a lockdown and forced mask wearing for her citizens and they failed. The evidence is clear when one looks at South Dakota’s approach vs Alberta’s approach to the Wuhan virus that such draconian violations of our civil and religious liberties cause financial and psychological distress, but don’t actually yield as much benefit as the Public Health Doctors would have you think in the way of saving citizens from the Wuhan virus.
It is hard for me to fathom that Canada has now joined the former Soviet Union and present day China as nations where Pastors are imprisoned for ministering the Gospel to their flocks.
As for other news. One might remember I advocated homosexual parade attendees changing their sexual behaviours to protect people from serious communicable diseases such as HIV, HPV of the rectum, and anal cancer. I would argue from the point of view of mortality and morbidity, HIV is more serious than the Wuhan Virus. The measures I advocated (keeping one’s pants up and abstaining from sodomy) was certainly less onerous than Bonnie Henry’s and Deena Hinshaw’s advocacy for closing all businesses, churches, separating friends and families, and forcing healthy people into face diapers.
While Bonnie Henry and Deena Hinshaw make over $350,000 per year (that was their predecessor’s salaries), but I note the BC and Alberta Premiers think we the taxpayers have no right to know the current Chief Public Health doctor’s salaries and bonuses; even as they croon “we are all in it together.” These top “Doctors,” while handsomely lining their pockets advocate for the destruction of livelihoods, the isolation of the elderly and everyone else, and huge fines for those of us who don’t want to wear their sacred face diapers or stay home in perpetual fear of their much hyped virus. I on the other hand never charged the taxpayer a penny for my public and spiritual health literature at the Toronto Homosexual Pride parade in 2016.
While a reasonable person could certainly argue Bonnie Henry’s and Deena Hinshaw’s advocated restrictions on millions of healthy people have caused widespread death (suicides, overdoses, delayed lifesaving surgeries, etc) and despair (weight gain, isolation, depression, unemployment) in the name of fighting the Wuhan virus; even if homosexuals accepted my advice on abstaining from sodomy, their lives and livelihoods would have remained intact had they listened to me. Indeed their physical and psychological health outcomes would have definitely improved, as they would have avoided the behaviours that put them at risk of so many deadly and debilitating viruses.
Yet, unlike Bonnie Henry and Deena Hinshaw who are looking forward to comfy retirements, with defined benefit pensions and perks that we are not entitled to know about; me for my public health efforts have to look forward to a “hate crime” charge and a 3 day preliminary trial on June 9, 10, 11th, and my actual trial remains scheduled to take place on October 4th and is expected to last a month.
While multiple criminal cases have been dropped in Toronto over the past year and thousands of criminals have been released from Ontario’s prisons in the name of fighting the Wuhan virus, the Crown Prosecutor for my case is adamant that my now 5 year old public and spiritual health ministry at the Toronto Homosexual Pride parade is such a serious “hate crime” that my trial will go ahead and if a conviction is secured, there will be room in an Ontario prison to keep me confined for 18 months, Wuhan virus or no Wuhan virus.
Such is the state of Canada now, so please remember me in your prayers as you remember Pastor Art, his brother Dawid, Pastor James Coates, and Chris Scott in your prayers as well.
In Christ’s Service, Bill Whatcott
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Matthew 18:15 Advertisements about:blank Report this ad
“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:21-25 View more posts
ONTARIO, Canada, April 7, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — An Ontario politician is calling for Ontarians to disobey Premier Doug Ford’s province-wide stay-at-home order announced today that will close non-essential retail stores, continue to restrict church attendance, and ultimately deny Canadians their rights and freedoms as guaranteed by the Charter, especially freedom of religion and peaceful assembly.
“This is a war on freedoms,” Randy Hillier, an independent Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), told LifeSiteNews in a telephone interview.
“This is not about using bullets but about using shame and scorn and fear — they’re bombarding people with fear and trying to have people cower. They want people to throw away their freedoms, throw away the things that are important to them, throw away family, throw away faith, throw away and discard all the essential components of human dignity and they want to isolate and confine people,” he said.
The Ford government announced a province-wide stay-at-home order today, similar to what was enacted in January, in a bid to stem what the government is calling the third wave of COVID-19. The order, which will take effect on Thursday, April 8 at 12:01 in the morning, comes as excess deaths due to indirect consequences of the pandemic, such as drug overdoses and missed medical treatments, continue to skyrocket.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ontario over a year ago, there have been only 370,817 confirmed cases in a population of just over 14 million, meaning that only 2.6 percent of the province’s entire population has been confirmed to be infected with the virus, according to today’s data provided by Public Health Ontario. The vast majority of those confirmed cases (90.6 percent) has recovered. There have been 7,475 COVID-related deaths in the past 14 months. The majority of the province’s COVID-related deaths have been among elderly residents of long-term care homes. SUBSCRIBE to LifeSite’s daily headlines U.S. Canada World Catholic
Ford’s move comes in the wake of medical officers from the province’s three largest public health units demanding in an open letter released on Sunday a province-wide shutdown and stay-at-home order. The letter was a critical response to the Ford government having pulled what it called the “emergency brake” on Holy Saturday that moved the province into the “grey” zone that effectively shuttered restaurants, gyms, and allowed churches to operate at only 15 percent capacity during the most sacred time of the year when Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus.
Ivana Yelich, Ford’s Director of Media Relations, told LifeSiteNews that the new measures will continue to allow churches to operate at 15 percent capacity. There are “no changes to places of worship,” she said.
The Stay-at-Home order requires “everyone to remain at home except for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services (including getting vaccinated), for outdoor exercise, or for work that cannot be done remotely,” a news release today from the Ontario government stated. People are also allowed to attend a religious gathering, such as for a worship service or for a funeral or wedding.
While numerous businesses will be forced to close, garden centers and schools will be permitted to stay open.
Ford said during his announcement today that the situation in the province is “getting worse.”
“With these additional measures, we will limit mobility, limit the spread, keep people safe, and allow more time to deliver vaccines. And, be assured, vaccines remain our best hope to beat this virus.”
Hillier told LifeSiteNews that the most effective action Ontarians, alarmed at the erosion of their rights and freedoms, can make right now is to “disobey every unjust, unconstitutional order.”
“Take your mask off, they’re ineffective, they do nothing. The evidence demonstrates clearly they have no impact on the spread of the virus,” he said.
“Do not buy into the fear that this government is peddling and all governments are peddling. Open up your business, face some of the short-term bruises. Defend your freedom to worship, your freedom to speak, your freedom to earn a living, your freedom to visit with family — these are not the jurisdiction of governments, but the jurisdictions of free people,” he added.
Hillier said that big government along with public health is “lying” to people when using people’s health and safety as a justification for lockdowns.
“The data and the evidence clearly demonstrate that this [virus] is not a threat to most people. We know that there is a small demographic who are susceptible and who are at great risk. Right now, over 96 percent of all fatalities are seniors with significant preexisting illnesses who are very frail and who are close to death’s door to begin with. You know, the average age of fatalities is 84, greater than our average life expectancy,” he said.
Stats Canada released a report last month detailing the negative social and economic impacts of “lockdowns” and “restrictions” put in place by government authorities in an attempt to keep people safe from the virus.
Three Canadian doctors, heart surgeon Dr. Dennis L. Modry, Ontario’s former chief medical officer of health Dr. Richard Schabas, and pathology and virology specialist Dr. Roger Hodkinson, have publicly urged Canadian policymakers against using lockdowns because of the devastation they cause.
In February, a group of both federal and provincial politicians banded together to form the non-partisan “End the Lockdowns National Caucus” with the sole goal of ending lockdowns. “After careful examination and scrutiny of mitigation measures undertaken by all levels of government, it is now evident that the lockdowns cause more harm than the virus and must be brought to an end,” a position statement of the group reads.
The lockdowns have negatively affected all segments of society, including the youngest.
The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) reported in January how it’s seeing a “disturbing trend” of babies coming to the hospital with “fractures and head trauma” in the wake of COVID-related lockdowns across Ontario and Quebec. “In my 16 years at CHEO, I have never seen this many infants with serious maltreatment injuries,” said Dr. Michelle Ward, pediatrician and Medical Director for Child and Youth Protection at CHEO, in a Jan. 29 press release.
Other doctors and health professionals from all over the world have also banded together in opposition to lockdowns to stop the spread of COVID.
The Great Barrington Declaration, signed by some 56,000 medical practitioners and medical and public health scientists, raises “grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies.”
The signers call upon policymakers to allow those who are less vulnerable to COVID-19 to be “allowed to resume life as normal.”
“Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short- and long-term public health. The results (to name a few) include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health — leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice,” the declaration states.
Hillier told LifeSiteNews that citizens must arm themselves with knowledge to effectively resist an overreaching government.
“What I have to say to people is to arm yourself with knowledge, arm yourself with evidence and data, and shield yourself from the fear-mongering,” he said.
“And I would also say that you must never displace your faith in God with that of government,” he added.
Hillier said that governments are abusing power that is meant to serve the people, not strip them of their rights and freedoms.
“We know government must be constrained, that there are checks and balances in our system to ensure governments don’t abuse the power. We have forgotten and we have discarded our checks and balances on government, and now they are abusing power.”
These nurses are ‘leveling up’ their moves to Ciara’s hit dance challenge
COVID 19 is a rather unimpressive “pandemic.” The government is lying to you. Masks, lock-downs, social distancing – think about what they’re really doing to you. They don’t want to protect you; they want to control you. They use the standard formula for brainwashing: despair, deprivation, and dread. That’s what we have with our so-called pandemic. Not protection. Control. There have been various “pandemics” over the last few thousand years. The 14th-century Black Death may have killed 200 million people, and that was when the world population itself was much smaller. The Spanish Flu of 1918-1920 killed perhaps 40 or 50 million people. In 1957 the Asian Flu killed about a million people, and in 1968 the Hong Kong Flu also killed a million. Neither of those events in 1957 and 1968 was a major news item. The big news of 1957 was that Elvis Presley was starring in two movies.
The main difference between 1957 and 1968 and now? Then: no masks, no lock-down, no social distancing, no global economy crushed down to Great Depression level, and no government by martial law. (By the way, one million is only one percent of one percent of 8 billion, the world population. No, that’s not a misprint.)
There are about 77,000 radio and TV stations around the world. Starting in early 2020, it seemed that all of them were talking almost all day about COVID 19. At the same time, political leaders started chanting expressions such as “the New Normal” and “the Great Reset.” It was hard to imagine what sort of organization would be big enough to jump-start such an operation as “COVID 19” and keep it rolling for such a long time.
The expressions being intoned were in fact the words of Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, disguised as a great new opportunity for humanity, but really a massive attempt at global dictatorship. Imagine a “lock-down” that goes on for the centuries.
Don’t let your own fear be used as a weapon against you.
Preston Manning: Lockdown rules are violating our rights. I’m calling on the justice minister to intervene
Author of the article:Preston Manning, Special to National PostPublishing date:Jan 26, 2021 • 20 hours ago • 7 minute read
The following is an edited excerpt from a letter sent by Preston Manning, former leader of the Reform party and former leader of the official Opposition in Parliament, to Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti.
The primary purpose of this letter is to request action on the part of yourself and the House of Commons’ standing committee on justice and human rights to achieve a better and more equitable balance between: the protection of the health of Canadians through government measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the protection of the rights and freedoms of Canadians as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
One of the unfortunate and presumably unintended consequences of the health protection measures has been the widespread and prolonged infringement of “fundamental rights” that are guaranteed by the charter:
Regrettably, it must also be emphasized that these violations have been occurring for more than 10 months and in large and ever-increasing numbers throughout the country. Moreover, in addition to these violations of “fundamental freedoms,” other important rights and freedoms guaranteed by the charter are also being infringed, including widespread violations of democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights and the right of every citizen and permanent resident to “pursue the gaining of a livelihood.”
The denial of the right to pursue the gaining of a livelihood, which includes the right to work and operate a business, is particularly devastating, as it affects the social, economic and financial well-being of millions of Canadians.
While health under our Constitution is primarily a provincial responsibility, given the federal role in responding to COVID-19 and in bringing the charter into being, surely it is the federal government that ought to take the lead in balancing our COVID response with the rights and freedoms that are enumerated in the charter.
I acknowledge that Section 1 of the charter does permit governments to impose limits on the rights and freedoms of Canadians, so long as those limits can be “demonstrably justified” as “reasonable” in a free and democratic society. But in order for these measures to be seen as legitimate, the government has an obligation to provide Parliament, and the public, with evidence that it has done its due diligence and taken into account all the scientific evidence, including the views of those who disagree with the government’s assumptions.
For example, if the governmental response includes continued lockdowns, a demonstrable and reasonable justification would require the government to present a clearly written plan. Such a plan should:
show exactly why such extraordinary measures are required;
identify the nature and magnitude of the anticipated impacts of such measures;
propose concrete measures for mitigating the known collateral damage that such lockdowns produce; and
specify when these supposedly “temporary” measures will end, and on what basis (to say that lockdown measures will be lifted when the number of “cases” is “low enough” is not a satisfactory criterion and only generates massive uncertainty among workers, employers and investors).
The charter provides for the protection of the rights and freedoms of Canadians by declaring that: “Anyone whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed by this charter, have been infringed or denied may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such remedy as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances.” The Constitution also empowers courts to declare that “any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force or effect.”
However, I would suggest that these provisions are insufficient under the circumstances, given that the process of applying to the courts for relief is unfamiliar to, and beyond the means of, most Canadians. Since not all Canadians have the resources or the expertise to avail themselves of this right of appeal to the courts, inequality of access becomes a further limitation on the ability of Canadians to exercise this right.
Furthermore, if all the Canadians whose rights have been infringed over the last year were to apply to the courts for redress, it would overwhelm the court system. Even in the event of such a flood of applications, the courts are likely to view the health protection issue, particularly in an emergency, to be a policy matter to be dealt with by Parliament, not the judiciary.
As a lifelong democrat and a former parliamentarian, I completely agree that the balancing of conflicting rights is first and foremost the responsibility of the duly elected Parliament, with appeals to the courts being a measure of last resort. After all, Canada’s current Constitution was drafted and made law by elected representatives of the people, not appointed judges, so it is elected officials and those reporting to them (civil servants) who have the primary responsibility for protecting the rights and freedoms it guarantees and balancing that protection with other demands.
This leads me to a third request, namely that you and your parliamentary colleagues implement other measures that could be undertaken by Parliament, cabinet and the civil service to correct the current imbalance between the necessary protection of the health of Canadians and the equally necessary protection of their constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms.
These additional measures are required because what might have been confined to a health crisis has unfortunately been turned into a social crisis, an economic crisis, a pending financial crisis and a crisis for children, university and college students, and high-performance athletes — three cohorts of Canadians who are least vulnerable to the coronavirus and who ought to have been the least affected by efforts to limit its spread.
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Allow me to suggest five such measures:
Public recognition by the prime minister and the government that the COVID-19 crisis has become a multi-dimensional public emergency that requires the government to broaden its management beyond the health department and the advice of the medical community to include a broader range of scientific expertise and the meaningful involvement of other federal agencies with experience and expertise in managing public emergencies.
The convening of special sessions of Parliament, until the COVID crisis has passed, in which each member will be given an opportunity to give a short report on the health situation in his or her constituency, the positive and negative impacts of the health-protection measures adopted and suggestions for securing a more balanced and effective response.
Ordering the Department of Justice to conduct comprehensive assessments of the impacts of health-protection measures on the rights and freedoms of Canadians; to openly and transparently present the results of such assessments to Parliament; to put forward proposals for balancing health protections with the protection of rights and freedoms; and to adopt and implement those balancing measures that receive majority support in Parliament.
Action by the ministers of finance, economic development and natural resources to introduce legislation requiring economic impact assessments to be performed on every major health and environmental protection measure proposed or adopted by the federal government.
The employment of due diligence in the development and implementation of these and whatever further measures are required to effectively balance the protection of the health of Canadians with the protection of their rights and freedoms.
Let me make crystal clear that I fully recognize that the coronavirus is a serious threat to the health and well-being of Canadians that requires substantive governmental action. I myself, due to age and a family predisposition to lung-related illnesses, am personally in a very vulnerable group.
But in the interests of all Canadians, I respectfully ask for your active support in achieving an equitable balance between the protection of the health of Canadians and the protection of their fundamental rights and freedoms under the Constitution, and an equitable balance between the physical well-being of Canadians and their social, economic and financial well-being.
A Toronto restaurant is reopening for indoor dining to defy lockdown orders
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The owner of Toronto’s popular Adamson Barbecue restaurant is kicking up COVID-related controversy once again
this week in what might be his boldest (and riskiest) move to date:
Opening up for indoor dining while the region is under lockdown.
“Hello Adamson Barbecue fans!” said outspoken restaurateur Adam Skelly in a video posted to his brand’s Instagram account Monday evening.
“I’m coming on here today to let you guys know that our Etobicoke
location, tomorrow — that’s Tuesday — will be opening for in-restaurant
dining against provincial orders at eleven o’clock.”
Adamson Barbecue Etobicoke, which opened as the brand’s third location
earlier this fall, is expected to resume full operations today at 11:00
a.m. at 7 Queen Elizabeth Blvd., just off Royal York Road near the
Gardiner Expressway.
Any restaurant found to be in contravention of public health orders currently faces fines of up to $25,000 per day
from the municipal government alone. Individuals, such as Skelly, would
be personally liable for another $5,000 per day on top of that under
City rules.
Bolstered by the support of his fans, Skelly doesn’t seem to care.
“For those of you who have eyes to see why I’m doing this, thank you
guys so much. Thank you for the messages of support, thank you for
filling out my little polls, thank you for letting me know that we have
people in our corner,” he said in his Instagram dispatch Monday night.
“This is a risky move and you guys gave me the gas to do this, so I just want to thank you guys so much.”
Judging by the number of views on his video — more than 100,000 in
less than 24 hours — and the hundreds of comments, Skelly does indeed
have many supporters — as well as detractors.
The controversial businessman, who opened the first of his wildly-popular Texas-style BBQ joints in Leaside four years ago, explained in his video why he was taking such a bold stance.
“Top to bottom, this thing stinks — it reeks of corruption,” said
Skelly of the lockdown, noting that he didn’t have enough time to lay
out everything in detail.
“I’m going to start with just one point: We’re using PCR tests with a
cycle threshold of over 40 to drive hysteria around case counts,” he
continued.
“If you guys understand what’s going on with these PCR tests and
their cycle thresholds, you know that they’re picking up all sorts of
other stuff that’s not COVID — bacterial infections, other coronaviruses
including the common cold, fragments from the flu shot… If you know
that, then you know we’re going to be about 2.5 per cent positivity rate
until the end of spring.”
“How many businesses — how many people — are going to lose everything?” said Skelly. “Enough is enough.”
Canada: Doug Ford Locks Down Ontario “For 28 Days”
Andrew Anglin November 22, 2020
Doug Ford must be smoking crack like his brother.
Or, all of these politiicans are taking cues from a central, global authority that the public isn’t aware exists.
Maybe both things are happening?
Fox News:
The Ontario province will initiate partial coronavirus lockdown measures in two regions starting Monday, officials announced.
Ontario is home to Toronto, the largest city in Canada with almost 3 million residents. Ontario has seen over 1,400 cases in the past 24 hours, forcing Ontario Premier Doug Ford to initiate a “lockdown.”
The lockdown will cover Toronto and the Peel Region, Ford announced on Friday.
The measures include the full closure of gyms, recreation facilities, and personal care services while also limiting non-essential retail stores to curbside pickup, CP24 reported.
Supermarkets, hardware stores, department stores, convenience stores, pharmacies and liquor stores are exempt from the order, but they will face restrictions of 50% capacity.
Perhaps most importantly, public schools will remain open under the lockdown, but “post-secondary” institutions will be open for virtual instruction only.
Even Canadian lunatics are leaving the schools open.
But Bill de Blasio closes them.
There is not even a single study showing that schools are a problem, by their own admission.
“The situation is extremely serious and further action is required to avoid the worst-case scenario,” Ford said in making the announcement. “We cannot put in-class learning at risk, we can’t risk widespread outbreaks in our long-term care homes, we cannot risk overwhelming our hospitals.”
“To protect our most vulnerable and protect what matters most we have to get the community spread under control,” he added.
The current region designations will remain in place for a minimum of 28 days, which means that the lockdowns will last until at least Dec. 21, CTV News reported.
Yeah, they’re not saying they’re canceling Christmas yet.
But obviously, the flu season doesn’t end on December 21. Society has now decided that we can’t ever let anyone get the flu, so we’re definitely going to be in a full lockdown across virtually all of the Western world until spring. Then they’ll do another partial lift.
Then we’ll go back into lockdown next fall.
There’s never going to be any end to it. The point of the lockdowns now is to remind you how bad they are, so that when they give you just a little bit of freedom back, the goyim will feel really great.
It’s like when you’re a kid and you spray cold hose water on yourself so when you jump in the pool, it feels really warm.
This is all slavery training for the new glorious era of post-capitalist humanism, where you will live in a tiny room in a high rise building, with a computer chip in your hand that your weekly allowance of credits is transferred to.
They are now just openly telling you all of this. The main right-wing controlled opposition shills are talking about it openly now, just to familiarize you with it.
Melbourne, that glorious city in the state of Victoria in Australia, granted me some of the best travel days of my life during two separate trips each lasting a full week.
A happy, civilized, highly educated people are here living amidst modern architecture, inspiring bridges, and natural beauty, a place where even the police are kind, and when you ask them for directions they reply with a smile, and when you say thank you, they say “No worries.” Now there are big worries in Melbourne.
The Premier has imposed a vicious police state without precedent in this country’s history. His name is Dan Andrews (a sweet-sounding name that masks the tyrant he has become), and he tweets out pictures of empty streets to brag about what he has achieved in the name of suppressing a virus.
Tacitus’s line about the Roman empire comes to mind: “Where they make a desert, they call it peace.”
Australia is the only country in the world that has a law that people can’t be mean to each other. Now it is host to one of the world’s meanest governments.
The catastrophe began with a spring lockdown before there were any cases of C-19 and much fewer deaths. The ethos in Australia was one of extreme exclusion and suppression of the virus, not as bad as New Zealand but pretty bad. The rest of the world can catch this disease, but Australia would use its geographical isolation and political intelligence to ban the virus. The virus will be in awe and know to stay away forever.
It’s not a good theory because that’s not how viruses work. Still, it seemed to work, at first. That’s because the virus had yet to arrive. When the virus did arrive, the futility of the suppression strategy was revealed.
Melbourne had set up quarantine hotels for people arriving from abroad or returning from cruises. They would spend 14 days in isolation to purge themselves of possible infection. Then all would be okay. There was a problem: the wily virus escaped.
As a result, a nation’s pride in having suppressed the virus turned to panic and full lockdown. Internal borders are sealed. And Melbourne has become a living hell, not because of the virus (which is still mild) but because of the unleashing of a hellish police state.
(left, a billboard in Melbourne) A friend summarized the situation for me: +Police may now enter anyone’s home without a warrant. +Curfew 8:00pm. + $1,652 fine if outside without “a valid reason” – an amount being raised by the day + Can’t visit any family or friends. $200 fine for no mask (mandatory masks at all times). +Can only exercise once per day, for up to 1 hour. +Only one person per household, per day, can leave the house (including for groceries). +Can’t go more than 3 miles from your home. +Weddings are illegal. No gatherings of any size. +Army is on the streets fining/arresting people. +”Since March 21, a total of 193,740 spot checks have been conducted by police across Victoria.” + Protests/activism is illegal; people have already been arrested for peaceful gatherings. +Media
is EXTREMELY biased, calls protesters “right-wing conspiracy nutjobs”
and won’t allow discussion of whether these lockdowns are right or not. +Several
thousand people were placed under house arrest and unable to leave for
ANY reason, with food rations delivered by the army, leading to
appalling levels of personal trauma. +Australia won’t release how many fines they’ve given out, but an ABC news report says it’s over $5.2 million so far. +Streets
of Melbourne are empty, even in a city of 5 million+ people. People are
HATEFUL to each other, everyone is cannibalizing their neighbours
(calling police to report any little infraction of the rules and turning
on each other like some socialist hellhole). +Billboards
outside on the street that say in capital letters: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
STAY HOME.” They feel extremely oppressive like we’re being yelled at
by a very oppressive government. +The
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews shows complete and utter disdain for
us, constantly blaming us. He’s blamed children (yes, really) for not
taking this seriously enough. Every chance he gets, he tells us it’s OUR
fault the virus is spreading (even though that’s what viruses do – they
spread).
+It’s not just the Victorian Premier – the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, left, is just as terrible. He’s encouraged all of this, and he was responsible for the first lockdown. +1984 dystopian language: billboards everywhere saying “Staying apart keeps us together.” +Have they gone mad? There’s probably more but at this point, I honestly lost track of all the insanity that’s happened. All because 147 people died in the state of Victoria (total population is 6.359 million), almost all of the deaths are over 70 with comorbidities, same as everywhere else in the world. +This is lockdown ideology at work. It is a tyranny without limit, at the expense of all human dignity, decency, and rights. The politicians make a desert and call it health.
Like everywhere else on the planet, Melbourne will have to reach herd immunity from C-19 at some point. Those who deny that are risking not only liberty and health but civilization itself.
Perhaps the other states in Australia will observe the destruction in Victoria and learn to take another path when the virus first arrives in their territory, as it surely will. Lockdowns are not science; they are brutality. I cry for the once-great city of Melbourne this day. May there be justice. And may its future political leadership be granted some modicum of decency and wisdom.
By Pete Baklinski
