Canada

The liberties guaranteed by the Canadian Constitution are now subject to his veto.

King Charles ignored constitutional limits on his power and thereby ignited a civil war that cost him his life and put England under a military dictatorship for more than a decade. The profound constitutionalist John Selden reflected on this shortly after the king’s execution and before the eventual restoration of the constitution after Oliver Cromwell’s death:

There is no stretching of power; it is a good rule — eat within your stomach, act within your commission.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau certainly is acting like someone who has eaten more than his stomach can hold, as well as far exceeding his commission.

Civil liberties have been sacrificed to the culture war.

Last month I gave a speech at the ‘Kill the Bill’ rally in Westminster, with a bunch of fellow lefties who were rightly angry at Priti Patel’s proposed Policing Bill, which would have essentially outlawed protests. Jeremy Corbyn was there (obviously), as were other well-known names from the left, many of whom I am friendly with and respect a lot. There was much impassioned rhetoric about the worrying resurgence of authoritarianism around the world.

In justifying his invocation of the Emergencies Act and turning Canada into a police state, Justin Trudeau falsely claimed that the Freedom Convoy was “not a peaceful protest” and asserted that “the blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety.” Unsurprisingly, however, Trudeau’s outrage was selective: on Thursday, Canada suffered a genuine terror attack that was not a peaceful protest and that undeniably hurt the Canadian economy and endangered public safety, yet Trudeau didn’t say a word. The terrorists in question were Leftists, so they got a pass.