Over the weekend, the Canadian government said it is dropping all COVID-19 measures at borders from next month.
This means, as of October 1st, travelers will no longer need to
provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination when entering Canada or wear masks
on planes and trains. They will also not have to undergo any testing before and
after arrival. There will also be no mandatory isolation and quarantine.
The ArriveCan app - used to upload health documents when entering
Canada - will now become optional.
In Canada, 82% of the population has taken both doses of
the vaccine. Despite that, the BBC reports that around 32 Canadians are
currently dying each day from the virus.
Canada isn’t the only country to lift the vaccine mandates, other
countries, such as the United Kingdom, have also dropped COVID-19 entry requirements
earlier this year.
The COVID-19 Vaccine mandates in Canada caused headlines back in February
when a group of truckers conducted a mass protest opposing the mandates.
The group that called themselves the Freedom Convoy, staged
blockades at key border crossings between the US and Canada, disrupting the
flow of goods between the two countries.
This caused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to flee from
his home and relay a message from an undisclosed location like a deposed
dictator, calling the protest an attack on democracy.
The self-righteous often don’t comprehend irony.
Next Trudeau invoked the never before used Emergencies Act, which gave
his government additional powers in times of national crisis.
Trudeau’s government prohibited public assembly, restricted travel, and the use of specific properties. Trudeau compelled private towing
-truck services to aid the government in forcibly removing the trucks. There
were restrictions on the media. Trudeau’s police seized fuel from the trucks
and even impounded some vehicles.
The protestors have raised more than $9.6 million on their
GoFundMe. However, GoFundMe withheld the money citing
police reports of violence.
When his political opponents (including a Jewish woman) questioned
him about his draconian methods, Trudeau dismissed her as a Nazi sympathizer.
In the end, Trudeau was able to force the truckers by force and
clear the streets.
So what do we make of the lifting of the vaccine mandates?
In a Democracy, freedom is an inherent right of every citizen. It
is essential to reiterate the word ‘inherent’ because it means the right is not
granted to a citizen by governments, it belongs to a citizen from birth.
If the right wasn’t given by the government, the right cannot be trespassed
upon in any manner rights irrespective of the circumstance. The right can most
certainly not be revoked away no matter what the situation is.
Among freedoms is the right of choice.
The choice to consume according to personal preferences.
Deep-fried chicken and sugary pastries may be detrimental to
health but a government cannot mandate to interfering in people's personal eating
habits.
There can never ever be food mandates in any form. A government
cannot mandates salads. A government cannot incentivize health food businesses,
as well, because that would be discriminatory towards foods that are considered
unhealthy.
Adults must be allowed to decide for themselves – if they want to
eat themselves to eventual death, that is a right that must be allowed.
But mandates will save his life?
That is the price of freedom, we cannot tamper with freedom and liberty
because the worst among us will misuse it.
This applies to vaccines as well.
The vaccine isn’t a disposable product that can be thrown away if it
fails; it is material being injected into your body; the changes are likely to
be permanent.
An individual must always be allowed to decide what they allow in
their body.
What added to the skepticism about the vaccine is the fanatical
proponents of the vaccine kept shifting the goalpost as the vaccines behaved unpredictably.
First, they claimed that the fully vaccinated were completely
protected from COVID-19 infections. When the vaccinated were infected, they
claimed that vaccinated individuals won’t suffer during their infection. When the
vaccinated individuals began to suffer during their infection, they claimed the
vaccinated will certainly survive their infection. When some vaccinated
individuals died, they claim that deaths were rare or due to pre-existing
conditions.
They also keep redefining the term 'fully vaccinated' by adding
boosters.
Some who have taken the vaccine have suffered serious side
effects.
The fanatical proponents of the COVID-19 vaccine never engaged with
skeptics to convince them about the merits of the vaccine. Like most leftists,
they prefer mandates instead of debates.
But it wasn’t just the right of choice that was trampled upon by the government, it was also the right of free expression.
Any reasonable skepticism about the vaccine that was developed and
tested for a relatively short period of time, was ridiculed. Big tech censored opinions and de-platformed individuals that questioned the effectiveness of the
vaccine on social media.
The lifting of vaccine mandates leaves some open questions.
What about those who lost valuable jobs because they refused to
take the vaccine? Who will compensate for their losses?
What about those who reluctantly took the vaccine merely to
continue their employment? Their freedom of choice was irrevocably trampled
upon
What about those whose health suffered due to the vaccine?
The lifting of mandates comes in the wake of Trudeau facing challenges to his leadership and public disproval of his performance.
A group of Members of Parliament and U.S.-Canada border city
mayors last week sent a letter addressed to Trudeau and President Biden asking
them to remove "unnecessary" border restrictions that are hampering
post-pandemic economic recovery.
Trudeau lifted the vaccine mandates not because he is concerned for the well-being of his citizens. It is because he is concerned about his re-election prospects.
Some may choose to regard this as a victory of the people i.e. resistance
to mandates.
But that would be wrong.
We cannot celebrate the government allowing citizens to exercise a
right that was inherently theirs.
Also appears on American Thinker
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