Carson Jerema: Progressives want to control our lives, and Canadians have had it

Today, the culture wars are between those who want to restrict liberties and those who want to be left alone

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Published Aug 30, 2024  •  4 minute read

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends the plenary session of the Summit on peace in Ukraine, at the luxury Burgenstock resort, near Lucerne, on June 15, 2024. Photo by URS FLUEELER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

After a decade or so, progressives are on the defensive in Canada and elsewhere because regular people, as in those who are not activist weirdos, are tired of the agenda to control every aspect of our lives. Point this out to a progressive, and they will deny that anyone’s life is being interfered with and claim only some far-right monster would think otherwise. They can’t believe there are people out there who share a different view. They don’t understand how this could be.

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But progressive governments are trying to control our lives in ways big and small, and in ways that range from subtle to a punch in the face.

In Canada, the federal government’s environmental policies are the most obvious example of this interference. The Liberals have banned plastic straws and plastic bags; even compostable bags are banned in grocery stores because they resemble plastic. Such bans are pointless irritants that make shopping more expensive, and life slightly less enjoyable as paper straws dissolve in one’s drink. People might dismiss these concerns as simply minor inconveniences, but this is how most people experience government policy, by being forced to replace their bag of plastic bags that they were already reusing, with more expensive, less useful options.

Next up, the Liberals are exploring options to bring in environmental regulations for clothing. The cost of clothes has actually gone down in recent years, so leave it to Ottawa to look for ways to bring the cost back up and to limit options.

There is also the plan to essentially force Canadians to purchase electric vehicles, that nobody would otherwise want, through government mandates to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars and trucks.

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On a larger scale, the government is attempting to restrict the kind of work people do, specifically work in the oil and gas industry, through steep emissions targets, which will close off lucrative job opportunities in western oilfields. It will also limit the kinds of fuels people will be able to use to heat their homes.

There are also policies that the Canadian government hasn’t implemented, but which green activists have endorsed, such as the banning of gas stoves and the ludicrous suggestion from some academics that “climate lockdowns” be implemented to help cut emissions.

It is possible to be supportive of all these policies, despite their paternalistic and job-killing nature, but pretending that no one is trying to, or that no one wants to, interfere with our liberty is not a credible position to take.

Of course, it isn’t just environmental policy where governments are invading private spaces and limiting personal liberties.

The proposed Online Harms Act would allow anyone to make a human rights complaints about “hate speech,” or, practically, any speech they find offensive. Supporters may try to say that only the most egregious forms of expression would be targeted, but the fact is truth is no defence in this legislation and the definition of hate speech is highly subjective. What’s more, human rights law is less rigorous than criminal law for determining “guilt.”

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I guess we should be thankful the government didn’t do what it initially wanted by banning “misinformation,” which has quickly come to mean anything the Liberals disagree with. Even so, the political nature and the speech-chilling potential of the Online Harms Act are clearly evident.

And, there’s more.

The federal government’s national daycare plan is currently making it difficult for private daycare owners to operate, thereby limiting not only business opportunities and jobs, but the options parents have.

The same is true for health care, where even the slightest hint of privatization is met with progressive rebuke, even when it means limiting choices that would save someone’s life.

Finally, at the provincial level, schools have or once had policies in place to withhold health information from parents, specifically when children may be suffering from gender dysphoria. Mandates from the Alberta and New Brunswick governments to require parental notification of, or consent for, changes to a child’s name or pronouns have been met with progressive face melting. Activists think such information should be withheld absent any evidence of abuse.

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Despite what the preening, raging, social media mobs say, parents have the right to raise their children free of state interference. Teachers and administrators do not have the right to withhold health information.

Of course, children are not the property of parents, but we don’t grant autonomy to children, especially younger children. The people best placed to make decisions for minors are their parents, and unless there are signs of abuse, teachers and school administrators should not be assuming that role. It is kind of bewildering that this even needs to be said.

A generation ago, the culture wars centred around a handful of issues that were met with resistance from mostly religious advocates, specifically abortion and gay rights.

Today, the culture wars are pitted between those who want to impose ever more restrictions on individuals and those who are tired of it.

National Post

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