Human Rights — Then and now

I am a Canadian, a free Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship God in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and for all mankind. (PM John G. Diefenbaker, 1960)

It's been 47 years since then. Is Canada still as free as it used to be? Hardly. Are Canadians still free to speak without fear? Only if what they say complies with the official ideology. Others may end up being fined into bankruptcy by the so called "human rights tribunal".

Free to worship God in your own way? Forget it! Churches that dare to speak out on abortion and marriage may lose their charitable status. Religious organizations that refuse to host events which go against the worshipers' beliefs are forced to compensate the perverts for "hurting their feelings". The Defense of Religions Act, which the government promised in late October, has not been introduced.

Free to stand for what one thinks is right? Free to oppose what one believes is wrong? Not anymore. Just look at this long list of people who lost their jobs, were forced to shut down their businesses or got fined by the truth bashing judges for doing just that. They stood up for family values. They opposed perversive behavior which is now promoted by the media and the political elite as "norm". They found out they no longer have the rights to do that.

Suzie Ryan, a mother of seven was arrested for showing an image of an aborted child outside of an abortion clinic in Fredericton, NB. The image was found "obscene" by the city police, so over half a dozen dauntless police officers approached Mrs. Ryan and, without warning, forcibly put her in a paddy wagon. No it wasn't a blitz operation to protect public morals since all the trash magazines like the "cosmopolitan" are still widely available and clearly visible not just to the adults but also to the children. This was yet another reminder to the pro-life and pro-family Canadians that they are less equal than others and that the right to oppose what's wrong does not apply to them.

But what about the freedom to choose who shall govern your country? Isn't that something Canadians still have? Yes, technically we can still come to the polls and cast our ballots. But what if you want to persuade others to vote for a particular candidate? You must register as a "third party" and make sure you don't spend too much money on the flyers you distribute in your community. If your flyers look offensive to some - well, you already know what happens.

The Charter of Rights is widely promoted as a cornerstone of Canadian freedom and democracy. There's a website dedicated to the charter. The statement made by Diefenbaker is quoted there. But how could the former PM John Diefenbaker who died in 1979, praise the charter which was adopted in 1982? He didn't. The statement which is quoted on a website was made in 1960, referring to the Canadian Bill of Rights. The original Bill of Rights, adopted that year, which included property rights rather than affirmative action. The Bill that had put an end to the separate minimum wages for men and women yet didn't give the judges the legal base to unilaterally deny the right to life and dismantle the institution of family and marriage.

Back in 1960, John Diefenbaker was proud of Canada's heritage of Freedom. Apparently this wasn't something Pierre Trudeau was proud of back in 1982, when the Charter was adopted. (Otherwise we would've seen Trudeau's statement quoted, not Diefenbaker's.) As decades went by, we've seen the heritage of freedom gravely eroded. It's time therefore to rebuild it. It's time for us once again to become Free Canadians. It's time to bring back the rights that used to be available back in 1960.