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In Canada at the moment, the banks are definitely not "allowed to do what they decide". They are forced by the government to freeze accounts of anyone who they

In Canada at the moment, the banks are definitely not "allowed to do what they decide". They are forced by the government to freeze accounts of anyone who they think might be associated with the Convoy protests. It is a frightening degree of authoritarianism that has a substantial chance of leading to disastrous results, either in the direction of totalitarian government, or in the direction of civil war, or both. (Perhaps not immediately, and perhaps not even in Canada - but if the edict is not immediately squashed by saner heads, the precedent set will be very damaging.) One can only hope that saner heads do prevail, on all sides, and that like many frightening crises in the past, we muddle through. Unfortunately, that is not at all guaranteed.

TameAntelope 5y ago
Banks blocking access to funds of the truckers in the blockade is not frightening at all, what's frightening is that people can't understand you don't have the right to protest if that protest infringes on the rights of other people. Saner heads are prevailing, by removing this blockade. People are being arrested, the trucks are being towed away, and the ability for the truckers to maintain this blockade is being dismantled every way possible. This is how any government should operate, albeit slower than I personally would have preferred, were I living in Ottawa.
- radford-neal 5y ago
  "you don't have the right to protest if that protest infringes on the rights of other people". Yes. That has to be the rule. As for instance, it being not allowed to block rail lines - how upset were you when that happened a while ago? Did you think the government should have invoked the Emergency Act and frozen the funds of anyone who has donated to an environmental group? Protesters regularly violate various laws to various degrees, and the government should indeed shut things down when this gets too egregious. But there has to be some proportionality. The Ottawa protest has been non-violent. Reacting by freezing the bank accounts of anyone who donated to the protesters is an insane level of overreach.

TameAntelope 5y ago

Banks blocking access to funds of the truckers in the blockade is not frightening at all, what's frightening is that people can't understand you don't have the right to protest if that protest infringes on the rights of other people. Saner heads are prevailing, by removing this blockade. People are being arrested, the trucks are being towed away, and the ability for the truckers to maintain this blockade is being dismantled every way possible. This is how any government should operate, albeit slower than I personally would have preferred, were I living in Ottawa.

radford-neal 5y ago
"you don't have the right to protest if that protest infringes on the rights of other people". Yes. That has to be the rule. As for instance, it being not allowed to block rail lines - how upset were you when that happened a while ago? Did you think the government should have invoked the Emergency Act and frozen the funds of anyone who has donated to an environmental group? Protesters regularly violate various laws to various degrees, and the government should indeed shut things down when this gets too egregious. But there has to be some proportionality. The Ottawa protest has been non-violent. Reacting by freezing the bank accounts of anyone who donated to the protesters is an insane level of overreach.