(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared martial law and outlawed political protests, but he exempted refugees, asylum applicants, immigrants, and ethnic minorities—everyone except native-born Canadian citizens.
Trudeau on Feb. 14 invoked the 1988 Emergencies Act to shut down the Freedom Convoy, a group of truckers who want an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions on civil liberties, Summit News reported.
The executive order outlaws a native-born Canadian’s participation “in a public assembly that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace.”
But protected classes can participate in protests that may cause “a breach of the peace.”
The order exempted “any person in a class of persons whose presence in Canada, as determined by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, is in the national interest.”
This includes Indians, “protected temporary residents,” and the other groups outlined above.
The exemptions have an obvious racial element: almost all white Canadians cannot protest against their government, while non-white Canadians still have their fundamental rights.
The Canadian Parliament is debating Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, and Trudeau’s government must submit an explanation for the rules contained therein.
Trudeau has not yet explained why Canadian citizens cannot protest but other minority groups can.
The Parliament will vote to authorize or cancel the Emergencies Act on Feb. 21.
Maxime Bernier, who ran for Prime Minister as leader of the People’s Party, questioned the exemptions and tweeted an image of the order.
Why are members of First Nations, refugees and temporary residents exempted from the prohibition to “participate in a public assembly that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace” as part of the Emergencies Act regulations? https://t.co/pP2iDKz9wE pic.twitter.com/LPr8aWhVyh
— Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier) February 17, 2022
While Canada stifles free speech and free assembly, its foreign policy establishment demands that other nations preserve those rights.
— Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier) February 18, 2022
