‘Our Free Society Is at Risk’: Over 80 Lawyers Call for an End to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: Canada
(The Epoch Times, Nov 16, 2021)
A group of lawyers has issued a declaration calling for an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and passports, measures they say have “strategically” infringed on Canadians’ Charter-protected rights and freedoms.
“In our country, civil liberties are under unprecedented attack,” reads a statement on the “Free North Declaration” website.
“Governments, public health authorities, universities, public and private employers, municipalities, and businesses are trampling Canadians’ rights and freedoms. Our free society is at risk.”
As of Nov. 15, the declaration had been signed by at least 80 law practitioners, including 13 who selected the option of signing anonymously to avoid “negative repercussions” from disclosing their name publicly. Concerned Canadians can also sign the declaration to support the cause.
The declaration says that while COVID-19 rules have restricted Canadians’ ability to work, travel, and gather, they have carefully avoided crossing the line where legal or charter protection challenges could be triggered.
“They erode civil liberties strategically, attempting to not run afoul of the law or to trigger protections in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms such as liberty and security of the person, the freedoms of association, assembly, expression, conscience, religion, and mobility rights,” the declaration reads.