In the first part of this article, I made the point that in order for us to be able to work WITH the police to end this lockdown, we must first get over our fear of police officers and see ourselves as their equals, with both parties having rights and responsibilities to act lawfully in society. It is incumbent upon all of us as citizens to know and understand our rights, and be willing to stand up for them, even if (especially if) police officers themselves are not fully informed about them.
The circumstances we currently face in Ontario is that the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act is being abused by our government. Here is the official ‘reasoning’ from the Premier’s office for invoking it for a 3rd time:
About the declaration of emergency and provincewide stay-at-home order: In response to rapid increase in COVID-19 transmission, the threat on the province’s hospital system capacity and the increasing risks posed to the public by COVID-19 variants, a declaration of emergency and provincewide stay-at-home order are in effect as of Thursday, April 8, at 12:01 a.m. (source)
The tired and worn-out words used above to justify this latest state of emergency fail to stand up to the weight of evidence. Claiming that there has been a ‘rapid increase in transmissions,’ implies a proper testing mechanism. What we actually have is a PCR test that is admittedly completely faulty, even according to the WHO, and whose results can easily be manipulated based on how many cycles of replication the controllers (the government) arbitrarily deem as appropriate to suit their purposes. The ‘threat’ on hospital capacity and the ‘increased risk’ of so-called variants are mere unsubstantiated projections that are based on little more than the original flawed premise.
Furthermore, as in the past, there is absolutely no consideration of the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of this lockdown. These lockdowns actually cause more harm than good, and there is plenty of evidentiary data to back that up.
Finally, the way these measures are being enforced consistently violates our constitutional rights. This causes additional and unnecessary harm involving the breakdown of trust in society between citizens and the officers who are tasked with enforcing compliance.
Police on Guard for Thee
We are fortunate in Canada that a growing number of retired and even some active-duty law enforcement officers have stepped forward to help citizens and fellow law enforcement officers alike understand the rights of the public and the duty of police officers to abide by their oath to enforce those rights. This group goes under the name Police on Guard for Thee, and here is their mission statement:
That as active and retired Police Officers, our mission is:
To honour our Oath to uphold the Constitution of Canada, and to the best of our abilities, preserve the peace, prevent offences and discharge other duties as a Police Officer faithfully, impartially and according to law.
To continue to serve and protect the public, while remaining independent of political influence.
To repair and regain public trust which is being damaged and lost due to the enforcement of Emergency measures.
To encourage active duty members to join our court action requesting clarification on the validity of emergency measures being passed by our Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments.
We believe that these measures are not only in conflict with our Charter Oath but also place active duty police officers in an untenable position when directed by politicians and senior management to enforce these emergency measures.
Challenging the Emergency Powers
Police on Guard for Thee have rightly recognized that the emergency powers that our governments continue to seize at every opportunity do not seem to have met the burden of requirements, and are not being implemented properly even if they had been ‘demonstrably justified.’ Accordingly, they have retained the services of constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati to bring a court application to the Superior Court of Ontario in order to challenge the constitutionality of the Covid measures, and gain clarity (which has not yet been provided) on the scope of the authority, duty and discretion that their law enforcement brethren actually have.
Police on Guard for Thee are using their knowledge and experience to set the record straight about what the public should be able to expect from elected and appointed officials, by calling out those officials for abuse of power and dereliction of duty. This letter below, written by the group in response to news that misguided police officers in Calgary threatened to taser and arrest kids playing pond hockey, gives a clear indication of where they stand.
They recognize the fact that many police, judges and lawyers are not acting in service of the people but are rather following an agenda being brought down by politicians and bureaucrats. Consequently, they demand that the Ontario Chiefs of Police, Police Associations and Members of the Ministry of the Attorney General convene as the independent bodies they are supposed to be and formulate clear and concise direction for law enforcement that is not tainted by political agenda but rather follows the rule of law.
Letter To Active Stakeholders
Citizens of Ontario, Ontario’s Chiefs of Police,
Police Associations, Premier of Ontario,
Ministry of the Attorney General,
Ministry of the Solicitor General,
Municipal Politicians, Public Health Officials21st December 2020
We are Police Officers and know many other officers that support the following message.
After the unfortunate events in Calgary, the time for action is now. We have serious concerns over Premier Ford’s decision to expand further restrictions that put law enforcement officers in an untenable situation that must be avoided.
For 10 months public officials and bureaucrats have been operating with arbitrary emergency powers that often violate the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Everyday Premier Ford, Mayor Tory, and politically appointed bureaucrats are on television, radio, and in the newspapers, calling on Ontarians to slowly allow all civil liberties to be taken away.
What we have seldom seen is any comment by those in positions of Law Enforcement and the Judicial System addressing the lawfulness of these measures, or on the grave consequences they create.
We are calling on the following stakeholders to immediately meet independently from Politicians and Bureaucrats:
1. The Ontario Chiefs of Police;
2. Police Associations;
3. Members of the Ministry of the Attorney General including Crown Attorneys, Judges, Justices of the Peace, and Constitutional lawyers.
Please collaborate and deliver clear and concise direction to the men and women in Law Enforcement. Until this happens, a moratorium needs to be declared on the enforcement of public health orders by peace officers. 10 months has been far too long for this not to have happened.
Are police officers supposed to uphold the Charter which they have taken an Oath to protect? Or do Municipal By Laws now supersede the Constitution?
At a time when the public trust in police has nearly eroded beyond repair, this is of paramount importance. The citizens of Ontario deserve transparency from the officials they have elected, as well as from the police that are sworn to serve and protect.
This is not an unreasonable request.
What happened in Calgary cannot happen again. Never in our lives did we think we would see police officers threatening to taser and arrest kids playing pond hockey.
Signed,
Police on Guard for Thee
Working With The Police
It has been said by many luminaries throughout history that if citizens of a society are not vigilant and don’t stand up against infringements on their rights and freedoms, they will lose them. History has shown this in many countries all over the world, the citizenry was not aware enough, and not responsible enough, to prevent the erosion of their freedoms.
Now more than ever the citizens need to be informed, responsible, and active. Police on Guard for Thee are not telling the public that they should stand down and let them do it all. They recognize that the public has the power, and they simply want to do their part to galvanize the public. The end goal is an awakened citizenry who will not allow themselves to be intimidated or infringed upon. When this occurs, we will be able to establish a true partnership with law enforcement, and police will be able to return to what they have sworn an oath to do: to serve and protect the rights and freedoms of individual citizens.