If federal and provincial governments don’t step up their commitments to teaching citizens how our governments work, social media will continue to fill in the void with misinformation.
Patrick Leblond, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Costanza Musu, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The backbone of the so-called freedom convoy’s activities was its access to a steady flow of financing from donors both domestic and foreign. The Emergencies Act put a stop to that.
There have been bigger protests in other Canadian cities, but the so-called freedom convoy against vaccine mandates could be a sign of a rise in right-wing and libertarian sentiments.
Linda Mussell, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Suggesting jail or prison is appealing because it is tangible and the process is familiar, but we must ask what is a better, effective and safe way to de-escalate potentially violent situations.
The Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19, meaning that individual freedom is not absolute.
Participants in the “freedom convoy” have been allowed to carry on with minimal police and state interference in contrast to how Black and Indigenous protesters have been treated in the past.
Canada’s international reputation as a relatively peaceful country is at odds with the noisy protests by people opposed to measures aimed at preventing COVID-19.
A perception that the benefits and status people believe themselves entitled to have been wrongfully taken away by unforeseen forces motivates ‘freedom convoy’ protesters.
When an attention-based media system always allows the noise-makers to dominate the conversation, it becomes impossible to hear the full range of voices and views.
Racialized and marginalized populations whose protest movements are already subject to ongoing forms of monitoring, infiltration and pre-emptive police action are at risk from the convoy crisis.
When the “freedom convoy” used the Terry Fox statue as part of their demonstration, people were outraged. It showed the public still finds value in protecting a memorial that represents their values.
To turn back the tides of radicalization and hate, Canada needs investments in our democratic culture, improvements in policing and support for grassroots efforts.
Democracy benefits from the electoral viability of an alternative party on the centre-right. An unelectable, far-right Conservative Party will solidify the Liberal Party’s dominance.
A study of global far-right movements and their hashtags on Twitter have revealed similarities that display a reliance on long-held myths, including the idea of a “golden age of freedom.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history. His father had invoked its predecessor, the War Measures Act, more than half a century earlier.
Both faith and civil society groups have a role to play in speaking against polarization and the risk of violence, since these organizations enjoy bipartisan support.