RANT: IF I'VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I'VE TOLD YOU ONCE.

 

 

I’VE MENTIONED EARLIER how we are witnessing a ratcheting up of censorship laws and attacks on the freedom of expression we'd always thought of as part-and-parcel of our societies, especially in America with its robust Constitution and its First Amendment protections of “free speech”. Covid Times have taught us that being able to speak one’s mind or publicly criticize, or even question, things like SARS-CoV-2's origins, or vaccine efficacy, or quarantines and social distancing is no longer a given. For example, making commentary or publishing social media posts arguing in favour of using ivermectin to treat the disease or discussing the potential harms mRNA-derived vaccines might cause was to reap the whirlwind of angry rebuttals from fellow posters. Governments and social media organizations would label posts or videos arguing for such treatments as “mis-information” that came with threats of “shadow-banning” or de-platforming anyone who had the temerity to express opinions contrary to the official line. Along with instances of enforced quarantines* and a throttling of speech across swaths of society, public protests also became more onerous. Recall what was done to the “Freedom Convoy" trucker protests of January 2022 in Ottawa when charges were laid against the group's organizers. This month, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were found guilty of “mischief”, an offense that can come with a sentence of up to ten years. The pair had to abide the burden of three years of "lawfare", lawyers' bills and time away from work and family for their part in a legal, if noisy, demonstration against a government-mandated quarantine regime they considered excessive. The protestors assumed they had the Charter right of "freedom of expression". Until they didn't. Lich and Barber will be sentenced later this year. 

RECALL, also, how the protest was disrupted by then-Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who froze protestors' bank accounts, a handy tactic that is now part of the toolkit for every government dealing with dissenters, going forward. And our then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau performed the coup de grâsse by invoking the “Emergencies Act” (previously the “War Measures Act”) to clear the protestors' encampment outside Parliament, which was the equivalent of using a sledge-hammer to bang home a tack. 

Fines, jail time, frozen bank accounts, de-platforming. Is this the future we’re in for? We will be dealing with the aftermath of Covid-19, physically and as a society, for some time to come.¹

 

TODAY, we are seeing another assault on freedom of expression with charges of “antisemitism” being labelled against individuals and groups who are critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza. It should be noted that the definition of “antisemitism” itself had been extended in 2015 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an NGO that provides backgrounder information to governments, institutions and businesses about antisemitism, how it should be defined, and what can be done to combat it. The “core” definition of antisemitism in the IHRA guidelines does not specifically mention “Israel”, but examples of antisemitism it uses include: “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as Jewish collectivity” or claiming the state of Israel is a “racist endeavor”. These examples have the knock-on effect of broadening the definition of the offense considerably. Governments around the world use the IRHA’s definitions in crafting their own antisemitism speech and protest laws, Canada included, resulting in criticisms of the Israeli state now becoming actionable offenses (in Canada) under our current "Hate Speech" laws. We’ve seen the introduction of antisemitism 'guidelines' at U.S. college campuses, and their effect muzzling pro-Palestinian protesters. There is a similar muting of protests on Canadian campuses. While these new laws and by-laws are said to protect Jewish Canadians from harm or hindrance, their real efficacy is in muting political speech.

 

TAKE THE EXAMPLE OF Montreal-based activist and author, Yves Engler, who was charged with harassment of a social media “influencer”, Dalhia Kurtz, who posts anti-Palestinian, Zionist diatribes on X, along with outright falsehoods about Gaza and its people. Yves took her to task by rebutting her claims, calling her a “genocide supporter” and a "fascist". An apparent snowflake who can dish it out but can't take it, Dahlia appealed to the Montreal Police, claiming Yves’ responses to her X-postings made her feel “unsafe”. Bollocks! Yves called out her racism and xenophobia and she can’t stand the truth. Long story longer, Yves went to the police station for questioning and was kept in custody for five days. At his subsequent bail hearing he was released pending his trial date. Couple more things: the arresting officer wanted Yves to agree he would have no further contact with Kurtz. He accepted this condition to avoid further jail time. BUT the officer also wanted Yves to not write about or publicize his case. Yves did not agree to this condition, calling it out for what it is: a blatant attack on his freedom of expression.

 

    Dahlia Kurtz: Fascist or flake? Or both?

THE JUDGE presiding over the activist’s bail hearing promptly waived the later condition. Yves’ still must face upcoming court dates, as I understand it, but at least he is free to talk and write about his experiences. A final note: In an odd twist, Yves’ received an additional charge from the Montreal Police claiming the activist was harassing them²  by writing about them! WTF?! Are they just a  bunch of snowflakes? With all the institutional support a police force has, including the force of arms, and it's they who are feeling harassed?! GMAB! It's no small matter to silence a journalist using "lawfare" and the power of the state. It's a threat that should be taken very seriously. 

IMHO, both cases should be tossed and it will be fun to watch them fold like a cheap suit.

 

“Now that I’ve had some time to reflect on my arrest, incarceration, experience with the legal system, and outpouring of support, another lesson has been learned. Every time Zionists employ police-state methods to shut down criticism of Israel more people understand what Palestinians face daily.” (Yves Engler)

 

Cheers, Jake.____________________________________

 

* Remember those returning disease cruise ships docking at Vancouver with people stuck on them for weeks before they could finally disembark? Or the “Covid camps” set up by the Australian government to quarantine returning air travelers suspected of having Covid-19 ("Coronavirus Disease) or who weren’t vaxxed-to-the-max? Fun times!

1. The two organizers, will be sentenced later this year. in February, another organizer, Pat King has been sentenced to three months of house arrest. The Crown is appealing his sentence, and he could face the maximum 10-year jail sentence (as could fellow organizers Lich and Barber) if his court ruling is overturned. And Ottawa community members who were impacted by the protests have “cleared another hurdle” in the legal process to file a $250M class action lawsuit against the “Freedom Convoy”! Dragging protestors through the courts and applying heavy fines (i.e., “lawfare”) is another way of tamping down on citizens’ rights to peacefully protest and to freely speak their minds.   

2. The police may have had a bit of egg on their face because Yves’ arrest did cause a bit of a media stir, among journalists especially, who blogged and posted and highlighted Yves’ case as a blatant attack on freedom of expression and governmental overreach. Or, they may have been surprised at the dozens of Yves’s supporters showing up at the precinct where he was being held. Perhaps the police wanted to convey to the public that they were people too, and were scared and intimidated by the big, bad journalist! [Yves looks like he weighs 130 pounds dripping wet. Ed]