By Isaac Teo January 5, 2022 Updated: January 5, 2022 biggersmaller<\/a>Print<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For Bruce Pardy, law professor and executive director of Rights Probe, it\u2019s important to ensure that people who are suffering the effects of \u201cCOVID overreach\u201d from pandemic policies know that they are not alone and that there are still lawyers out there who don\u2019t accept the erosion of fundamental freedoms in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you have been suspended or dismissed from your job, when the government has closed your business, when your kids have been prevented from going to school, or your family has experienced deterioration of physical and mental health, it is natural to believe that your own society has turned against you,\u201d Pardy told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citing how COVID rules \u201cerode civil liberties<\/a> strategically\u201d by restricting people\u2019s ability to work, shop, travel, and socialize and are mandated by unelected health officials \u201cwithout public scrutiny or open debate,\u201d Pardy and a team of fellow Canadian lawyers launched the \u201cFree North Declaration<\/a>\u201d campaign in November, calling for the immediate end of vaccine passports and mandates enforced across Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawyers are also calling for a public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic and for Canadians to be given back \u201ccontrol of their own lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe wanted Canadians to know that there are still some lawyers who believe in civil liberties, and do not accept what is happening in this country,\u201d Pardy said. \u201cSo far, legal challenges to COVID restrictions<\/a> have been largely unsuccessful, but it is not for lack of trying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As of Jan. 5, almost 500 lawyers and over 60,000 concerned citizens have endorsed the declaration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On New Year\u2019s Day, Pardy and his team released a video<\/a>, outlining the current threat and potential solutions, saying that the declaration is an important first step to claim back civil liberties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just posted: the Free North Declaration video.https:\/\/t.co\/Ic52qfoIa2<\/a><\/p> \u2014 Bruce Pardy (@PardyBruce) January 1, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In the video, Pardy tells the story of \u201cThe Emperor\u2019s New Clothes,\u201d in which nobody dares to say they can\u2019t see the king\u2019s outfit except for the child who fearlessly blurts out \u201cthe king is naked!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re hoping to be the child in the parade, saying there are no clothes here and we\u2019ve all been subjected to these extreme measures that are really unjustified. And the result of those measures has been to infringe our civil liberties,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pardy added that COVID rules have been carefully implemented not to run afoul of the law or trigger protections in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms<\/a> such as liberty and security of the person, the freedoms of association, assembly, expression, conscience, religion, and mobility rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere COVID rules appear to have violated the Charter, courts have deferred to the state to take whatever measures it deems necessary, whether demonstrably justifiable or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christopher Nunn, a lawyer in Simcoe, Ont., who also signed the declaration, said although COVID rules don\u2019t appear to violate civil liberties when viewed individually, they become \u201cvery dangerous\u201d when put together collectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey don\u2019t on their own, each one of them, don\u2019t infringe on our liberties, but collectively when you have so many things, and it\u2019s such a gradual, for lack of better terminology, a slippery slope, where we slowly [become] like a frog in water, in the hot water,\u201d Nunn said in the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople are becoming desensitized to all these overreaching measures by the government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Signatory Lisa Bildy, a private litigation lawyer in London, Ont, said she noticed how some lawyers have changed their attitude towards the unvaccinated<\/a> over the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA year ago, in the legal publications for other lawyers, the discussion was \u2018Can employers mandate the vaccines?\u2019 and the consensus seemed to be \u2018No, they can\u2019t,\u2019\u201d she said in the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen suddenly, a year later, the consensus is \u2018Yes, they can and they must. And by the way, they should be terminating you for cause.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bildy said those lawyers have done a disservice to people, making their lives \u201cas miserable as humanly possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Signatory Stephen Penney, a corporate lawyer in Cambridge, Ont., said he is frustrated to see people having no one to turn to for legal advice when it comes to COVID restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve had many people approach me who are desperate,\u201d Penney said in the video. \u201cThey need advice, they need information, they need representation and advocacy, and there seems to be a real lack of that being offered by the legal community generally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawyers also pointed out in the declaration that the ways COVID rules are applied are \u201cinconsistent and irrational.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAuthorities enforce them selectively and preferentially, coming down hard on common people while turning a blind eye to the privileged,\u201d the declaration reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCovid vaccines do not prevent people from becoming infected or from transmitting the virus to others, but only unvaccinated persons are banned or required to undergo testing. People who have recovered from Covid and therefore have natural immunity are still subject to vaccination mandates even though the purpose of vaccination is to mimic natural immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pardy told the Epoch Times that the public\u2019s response to the campaign so far has been \u201cfantastic and gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany have said that it has given them hope that we can get our country back. But the message needs to continue to spread, one person at a time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law professor added that citizens must take the task into their own hands to reverse course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe hope that people will take inspiration from the declaration, and bravely share their convictions with others. This crisis may not end until a critical mass of people comes together to reject the prevailing narrative and demands a return to individual autonomy and government restraint,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPublic health authorities have broken our trust, and it is time for them to leave us alone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Video: Lawyers Launch Campaign to Protect Civil Liberties in Canada By Isaac Teo January 5, 2022 Updated: January 5, 2022 biggersmallerPrint For Bruce Pardy, law professor and executive director of Rights Probe, it\u2019s important to ensure that people who are … Continue reading Legal Community Failing Canadians: Signatories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n