COVID-19
Canadian citizens’ inquiry commissioner says COVID response revealed ‘holes’ in Charter
From LifeSiteNews
‘ a failure as a document. The first time Canadians needed it and needed to lean upon it, it completely collapsed.’
The commissioner of Canada’s National Citizens Inquiry (NCI) revealed that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allowed the Trudeau government to “override all of our rights at a whim.”
In an interview posted December 26, NCI Commissioner Ken Drysdale told the Post Millennial that the COVID ‘pandemic’ revealed that Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms fails to protect Canadians’ rights, allowing all levels of government to override basic rights under the pretense of an ’emergency’.
“You talk about Canadians’ naïveté. You know, we as Canadians, for the last 41 or 42 years, walked around with an umbrella closed waiting for a rainy day,” Drysdale said.
In this episode of Stand on Guard, host David Krayden interviews Ken Drysdale, the commissioner of the National Citizens Inquiry that examined the reaction of government to the COVID-19.
FULL interview link in comments.👇The inquiry interviewed thousands of people, amassed… pic.twitter.com/uTX4Cq5U3Z
— David Krayden (@DavidKrayden) December 26, 2023
“And what I’m talking about is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The trouble was that after 40 some years we went to use that umbrella. We opened it up, and it was full of holes,” he revealed.
“Because essentially what we did was we put a lock on the door,” he continued. “But then we put the key under the mat and told the thief that the key was under the mat and thought the lock was going to protect us … We wrote a Constitution which gave an out to the government: they could essentially declare an emergency and override all of our rights at a whim – and that’s what they did.”
The citizen-led and funded NCI was created in 2022 to investigate the “unprecedented” COVID mandates imposed on Canadians by all levels of government.
According to Drysdale, the Charter failed Canadians when they most needed it, allowing the government to force people to take the experimental COVID vaccine and wear masks, and to close businesses and churches.
He argued that the Charter “was a failure as a document. The first time Canadians needed it and needed to lean upon it, it completely collapsed.”
“You have these absolute governments who are shutting down our industry, who are taking away Canadians’ rights and freedoms,” he continued.
Drysdale suggested that Canadians have become accustomed to a government which infringes on their rights and freedoms.
“It wasn’t that much of a leap for Canadians to start wearing these masks,” he added. “… You can be driving down the road minding your own business and police have the right to pull you over for a check-stop and examine you with no probable cause.”
RELATED: Canadian citizen-led inquiry’s final report calls for all COVID court cases to be reviewed at once
Drysdale’s comments echo the NCI’s final report which was released in November 2023. The report called for a full review of all COVID-related court cases to restore the public’s faith in Canada’s judiciary system.
The final report is 5,324 pages long and includes dozens of recommendations for lawmakers, public institutions, and the general public to implement.
It was compiled by four independent commissioners. The NCI was tasked with looking into the negative side effects many Canadians experienced after getting the experimental COVID shots. They listened to testimony from doctors affected by the jabs.
LifeSiteNews covered previous testimony from the NCI. In Ottawa on May 18, former CBC Manitoba reporter Marianne Klowak revealed that reporters were prevented from covering stories critical of COVID vaccines and lockdowns and were instead encouraged to push government “propaganda.”
Earlier this year, retired Canadian Lt. Col. David Redman testified before the NCI that legacy media outlets such as the CBC are “ministries of propaganda.”
The four commissioners on the NCI included Drysdale, Janice Kaikkonen, elected school board trustee Heather DiGregorio, a senior partner in a law firm, and Bernard Massie, an independent consultant in biotechnology.
Throughout most of the COVID crisis, Canadians from coast to coast were faced with COVID mandates, including jab diktats, put in place by both the provincial and federal governments. After much pushback, particularly from the Canadian truckers’ Freedom Convoy, most provincial mandates were eliminated by the summer of 2022. In late 2022, the Canadian federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally “suspended” a COVID jab travel mandate for flying.
From LifeSiteNews
The Crown’s appeal claims the judge made a mistake in her verdict on the intimidation charges, and also in how she treated aggravating and mitigating factors regarding sentencing.
Government lawyers for the Crown have filed an appeal the acquittals of Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber on intimidation charges.
The Crown also wants their recent 18-month conditional sentence on mischief charges replaced with harsher penalties, which could include possible jail time.
According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), it is “asking the Ontario Court of Appeal to enter a conviction on the intimidation charge or order a new trial on that count,” for Barber’s charges.
Specifically, the Crown’s appeal claims that the judge made a mistake in her verdict on the intimidation charges, and also in how she treated aggravating and mitigating factors regarding sentencing.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, both Lich and Barber have filed appeals of their own against their house arrest sentences, arguing that the trial judge did not correctly apply the law on their mischief charges.
Barber’s lawyer, Diane Magas, said that her client “relied in good faith on police and court direction during the protest. The principles of fairness and justice require that citizens not be punished for following the advice of authorities. We look forward to presenting our arguments before the Court.”
On October 7, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey sentenced Lich and Chris Barber to 18 months’ house arrest after being convicted earlier in the year of “mischief.”
Lich was given 18 months less time already spent in custody, amounting to 15 1/2 months.
Lich and Barber were declared guilty of mischief for their roles as leaders of the protest against COVID mandates in April 2022, and as social media influencers. The conviction came after a nearly two-year trial despite the non-violent nature of the popular movement.
The Lich and Barber trial concluded in September 2024, more than a year after it began. It was originally scheduled to last 16 days.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government was hoping to put Lich in jail for no less than seven years and Barber for eight years.
LifeSiteNews recently reported that Lich detailed her restrictive house arrest conditions, revealing she is “not” able to leave her house or even pick up her grandchildren from school without permission from the state.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich, reflecting on her recent house arrest verdict, said she has no “remorse” and will not “apologize” for leading a movement that demanded an end to all COVID mandates.
From LifeSiteNews
Lawyers will argue that there is no evidence linking Tamara Lich ‘to the misdeeds of others.’
Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich said she will appeal her recent mischief conviction in an Ontario court, with her lawyers saying “there was no evidence linking her to the misdeeds of others.”
In a press release late yesterday, Lich’s legal team, headed by Lawrence Greenspon, Eric Granger, and Hannah Drennan, made the announcement.
“Lawyers for Tamara Lich filed Notice of Appeal in the Ontario Court of Appeal of the conviction for mischief arising out of the Freedom Convoy,” the release stated.
Lich’s legal team noted that there are two reasons for the principal grounds of appeal.
“While there was substantial evidence that Tamara encouraged the protesters to be peaceful, lawful and safe, there was no evidence linking her to the misdeeds of others,” they said.
The second reason for the appeal, according to Lich’s lawyers, is that the “trial judge failed to give effect to the principle that communication that would otherwise be mischief is protected by section 2(b) of the Charter, freedom of expression.”
On October 7, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey sentenced Lich and Chris Barber to 18 months’ house arrest after being convicted earlier in the year of “mischief.”
Lich was given 18 months less time already spent in custody, amounting to 15 1/2 months.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government was hoping to put Lich in jail for no less than seven years and Barber for eight years for their roles in the 2022 protests against COVID mandates.
Interestingly, Perkins-McVey said about Lich and Barber during the sentencing, “They came with the noblest of intent and did not advocate for violence.”
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich, reflecting on her recent sentencing of over a year’s house arrest for her role in the 2022 Freedom Convoy, laid bare the fact that when all is said in done, seven years of her life will have been spent in a government-imposed “lockdown” in one form or another.
LifeSiteNews recently reported that Lich detailed her restrictive house arrest conditions, revealing she is “not” able to leave her house or even pick up her grandkids from school without permission from the state.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich, reflecting on her recent house arrest verdict, said she has no “remorse” and will not “apologize” for leading a movement that demanded an end to all COVID mandates.
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