Washington Post: 'Canada turns authoritarian to shut down the ‘Freedom Convoy’'

Washington Post: 'What Trudeau is doing is far worse than a photo op with a Bible. He has not only threatened to arrest the truckers, he has also declared he will take away their licenses — and thus their livelihoods — if they don’t stop protesting. The prime minister is also threatening, without a court order, to suppress the free speech of Canadians by seizing the bank accounts of anyone who donates to the protesters — actions that would be blatantly unconstitutional here in the United States. And he is doing all this using an emergency law that is only supposed to be invoked to deal with threats to “sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” of Canada. I’m sorry, but the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada are not under threat.

'What is under threat are the basic freedoms of the Canadian people. It was one thing for the government to end the unlawful blockade of the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario — something Trudeau was able to do without invoking an emergency law. But it is quite another for the prime minister to use those emergency powers to stifle the free-speech rights of peaceful protesters gathered in front of their country’s elected Parliament.

'And Trudeau’s words are as worrisome as his actions. Not only has Trudeau threatened a crackdown, he has also claimed the demonstrators hold “unacceptable views.” He accused a Jewish member of parliament — the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors — who questioned his invocation of emergency powers of “standing with people who wave swastikas.” He called Canadians who oppose vaccine mandates a “sect” who “do not believe in science,” are “often misogynists, often racists” and “are taking up space.” And, he said that, as Canada’s leader, he has to decide “do we tolerate these people?”'