It has now been two years since lockdown measures were imposed by governments across Canada in mid-March of 2020. Canadians have typically behaved as though their love of freedom was deeply ingrained. Between our annual tributes to our ancestors who fought fascism and later stood on guard against Communism, it was easy to believe that when people sang about “our land, glorious and free,” they meant it.
As the recent protests across the country against mandatory vaccination show, many certainly still do appreciate freedom. But a seeming majority of our neighbours apparently did not understand freedom or did not value it, as they were easily frightened into surrendering their Charter freedoms to move, travel, assemble, associate, worship, and exercise autonomy over their own bodies.
Many did so, not only without complaint, but accepting without question the governments’ assurance that politicians and public servants were reliable arbiters of the community best interest. Even school closures, a massive disruption for families with children, was met with quiet resignation. Two weeks to flatten the curve didn’t seem too much to ask: There were no riots or demonstrations.
Two years into this “two weeks to flatten the curve,” Canadians cannot fly on an airplane unless they have taken the correct number of Covid vaccine doses as determined by the federal government, which is currently two.
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