Rex Murphy: Tamara Lich isn’t any hazard. Unequal software of the legislation is

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We should all be grateful that one other Canada Day has handed, and Ottawa remains to be standing.

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I feel it’s vital, no matter one’s political style, to present the Trudeau authorities due reward and thanks for this.

How lucky, with a rustic so notoriously unstable, so perennially getting ready to revolt, overthrow and cancellation as poor Canada is, to have a frontrunner who, if nothing else (and there may be some argument for that qualification) has saved the bits and items of our all the time near-ruin Confederation from flying off into the historic void.

“Yeah, Justin Trudeau,” I cry, and listen to 1,000,000 joyous echoes.

How did we, and our grand capital, Ottawa, “get by” one other Canada Day? How is it then, that Ottawa remains to be standing?

The reply is on each patriotic Canadian’s lips.

And right here it’s. The fomenter of rebel, the coup queen, dastardly insurrectionist and convoy convener Tamara Lich was rearrested within the infamous terrorist hideout of Medication Hat, previous to the nationwide vacation. And positioned, as soon as once more, sealed off from working her harms, in jail.

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I feel it’s solely proper to present the Trudeau authorities thanks for its pre-emptive genius.

It’s an excessive amount of to ask the patriotic thoughts what Canada Day would have been like, what poor Ottawa would have been like, if this latter-day Castro of our northern dominion had been on the free, free as a fowl, in Medication Hat (maybe going off to a mall or dropping right into a Consumers to choose up an Advil) throughout our nation’s birthday competition? Would Canada have survived?

I doubt it.

What would Canada Day have been like if Tamara Lich had been free as a fowl?

The police forces of our nation noticed an alleged breach of her bail circumstances and instantly issued a “Canada-wide warrant” for her arrest. It’s unclear if the warrant provided the standard cautions — “Don’t strategy — Suspect is harmful — Might vote for Pierre Poilievre!” — however I’m positive they have been very cautious.

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A bit of cease right here.

I attended a current dinner placed on by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms and (shudder and chills) sat subsequent to the formidable insurrectionist— who was there to obtain an award — for the higher a part of the night. My impressions? A most nice conversationalist, humble, very courteous to individuals coming as much as chat or take a photograph. She appeared kind of like every other peculiar Canadian, with a wonderful combination of self-deprecation and shyness at public discover that’s virtually an indicator of our type.

I left the dinner extraordinarily puzzled. Was this the girl seen as a menace by the Canadian authorities to our nation’s integrity? 2022 Canada’s Robespierre? Did the federal government truly carry down the Emergencies Act due to this girl?

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One other little cease. These identical police forces, so fast to behave in recognizing the “Lich menace” — are they all the time this prepared, this powerfully environment friendly?

On the torrent of vandalism and arson to over 50 church buildings final 12 months — the place are they and the place have they been? On the infinite environmental protests of the previous decade — did they leap to “arrest and no bail” when courtroom injunctions have been laughed at? When rail strains have been blockaded, threatening the commerce and safety of the nation, did they leap to clear them? Cost the radicals? Transfer in, all SWAT, to “unglue” empty-headed radicals from roads and entrance websites, and ship them, pronto, to jail cells?

On the breaching of bail circumstances, have the police or the courts, particularly the courts, been fairly as rigorous with these concerned in gun-and-gang offences? Particularly these whom having been launched from jail, commit additional offences whereas on bail?

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It’s a good thing to say the rule of legislation should all the time be revered and upheld. I agree vigorously.

However it’s neither revered nor upheld, and is in truth mocked, when the courts and police provide, or on the very least appear to supply, a fairly choose and uneven software of the legislation. When the police can catch a violation of bail circumstances for Tamara Lich in Medication Hat and transfer with excellent swiftness, and are nonetheless nowhere, months later, on an “organized violent assault” on an oil and gasoline web site in British Columbia — does one thing appear out of proportion or uneven inside our justice system?

So, I’m again to the unique query. No matter your political style, do you genuinely consider that this huge consideration to 1 citizen, who by her personal lights thought it correct to mount a protest on a side of presidency coverage, can in any method be justified?

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How nice a menace to Canada’s stability and continued existence is Tamara Lich? How harmful is she? Is the federal government — and the judiciary — proper in placing her within the brightest spot on their radar-scopes? In jailing her? Providing within the first occasion no bail? And now grabbing her once more and flying her again to Ottawa for extra jail time? Is she being handled otherwise due to the character of her trigger?

Does the legislation function in line with the kind of protest? Do what you want so long as you say you’re saving a tree. Protest a COVID regulation that injures your livelihood — nicely that’s completely different.

Of all of the environmental protests this nation has seen, what number of who participated in them or have been their leaders, noticed speedy arrest and jail? Have been they denied bail? Or did they’ve the Emergencies Act hauled out of its dusty closet to land with its full powers and suspension of civil liberties on each leaders and individuals?

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Or, and that is the king outrage, have their financial institution accounts frozen, and those that donated to Sierra or Greenpeace labelled “international” influences?

Does the legislation function in line with the kind of protest?

It will likely be a chilly world warming day when an environmental protest will get the sort of police and courtroom consideration that an meeting of truckers has obtained.

It’s attainable that I could have been flawed (so uncommon I do know) on the high of this column in praising the Trudeau authorities for saving Canada from Tamara Lich.

My private opinion is that she shouldn’t be radical, not a fantastic social menace, however an individual who wandered into the imply and cowardly politics of the present second, harmless of its many and confused dynamics, and ended up in a storm she neither introduced on, welcomed or absolutely understood.

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Additional, that our so delicate and equity-preaching authorities referred to as on all its may and energy to villainize a lady, who with a citizen’s conscience, thought to mount an affordable protest.

It might have been a greater Canada Day for all of us if the tendentious and low cost harassment of Tamara Lich had by no means occurred. Please don’t assume it has elevated respect for the rule of legislation. It has, worrisomely, triggered a diminishment of that respect.

I suppose as a final notice I ought to say I spoke on the dinner the place Tamara Lich obtained her George Jonas Freedom Award.

Was blissful to be requested. Pleased that I went.

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