RIP Charter Rights and Freedoms

[sabotabby]

Today is a dark day for human rights. There is no longer any provincial government that is bound to respect civil liberties in so-called Canada. The Ford Regime has used the notwithstanding clause—the loophole in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms—to avoid playing fair at labour negotiations this time, but there is literally no reason for them, or any other government, to use it to quash any rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter. Quebec wants to put Muslims in camps? No problem. The unhinged banshee in Alberta wants to force trans people to detransition? No problem. Any majority provincial government has unlimited power for five years to oppress anyone they feel like oppressing.

If you don't believe me, here is the text of the bill. Note the following.

The Act limits the jurisdiction of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, arbitrators and other tribunals to make certain inquiries or decisions. It also provides for there to be no causes of action or proceedings against the Crown for certain acts. Certain proceedings are deemed to have been dismissed.

If you think this is in any way comparable to Trudeau's use of the Emergencies Act to quell a coup*, note that there is currently an inquiry happening right now about whether the use of the Emergencies Act was justified. Note that Ford is using his lawyers to avoid testifying despite saying that he agrees with Trudeau using it. 

Such an inquiry is not possible under the text of Bill 28. It. Bans. Inquiries. Other than the very superficial, toothless inquiry with no ability to enforce the findings.

This is the end of labour rights in Canada, but it is also the end of human rights.

If you are able to get to a protest or picket, please do so. Democracy doesn't end at the ballot box, and as we've seen, people are quite happy to vote their own human rights away. The only way this will be won is in the streets.

Solidarity to CUPE. An injury to one is an injury to all. FIGHT THIS.


*Which, note. I disagree with the use of the Emergencies Act—it's another loophole in democracy that shouldn't exist. I even wrote a book about why it's bad. Notwithstanding my own personal desire to see racists get arrested for trying to do a coup.

Comments

[dewline]

Time to fight, then...

[sabotabby]

The best time to fight would have been 2018.

The second best time to fight is now.

[frandroid]

> It. Bans. Inquiries.

Oh that's a nice touch.

[sabotabby]

It's a coup de grace for democracy.

[lynnenne]

Amen.

[sabotabby]

\m/

[symbioid]

I saw your post about purple and wondered what that was then looked, and then saw a metafilter post about the abuse of this clause.

Fucking awful :( Sending solidarity vibes or whatever ;) But ugh.

[sabotabby]

Thanks.

[ioplokon]

Yeah I think we can admit the Emergencies Act is not good while also acknowledging that the most recent invocation was extremely funny & not the worst possible implementation.

Hard times :(

[dewline]

And the follow-up hearings we're seeing now being built into the act as required follow-up to its invocation? This is a good thing. Would've preferred a different outcome, but this time...?

[sabotabby]

Which is good. There shouldn't be means for governments to suspend civil liberties. (I'll make exceptions for things like state of emergencies in disasters and pandemics, but that is less about specific groups of people and more about "everyone lock the fuck down/evacuate/etc. now or we all die.") But if such measures do exist, 1) the time to use them is when someone is trying to do a coup and terrorizing citizens, and 2) there needs to be an immediate review, which they're doing.

[sabotabby]

Yeah I think we can admit the Emergencies Act is not good while also acknowledging that the most recent invocation was extremely funny & not the worst possible implementation.

Hahah yes exactly.

[smhwpf]

Fucking hell. This is... making your book more prophetic. This sort of shit needs to be beaten.

Like the Public Order Bill over here which allows anyone who has been in a protest on the past 5 years, and who the cops say, and a magistrate agrees, is likely to take part in "disruptive" protest(e.g. making too much noise), to be banned from protesting and electronically tagged.

There are groups opposing it, but no mass resistance or anything.

[sabotabby]

Mass resistance has really been hammered out of people. As someone who's been pretty hammered, I get it. It's exhausting. I ducked out on my lunch break and distributed snacks at Queen's Park and that was the most activism I've done in over a year.

But we have to get our shit together. The window on non-violent, political, legal action is closing.