SLOBODIAN: Defending democracy is good, Trudeau should try it here

Canada “will always stand up for democracy and against hate.” So reads a statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Black Ribbon Day, August 23, the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union. Observance of the day acknowledges the more than 100 million people who died in Europe because of war, genocide, starvation and other crimes against humanity under both Communism and Nazism.“On Black Ribbon Day, our thoughts are with those who suffered under the Nazi and Soviet regimes, and those who are fighting for freedom today. For them, and for all of us, we will always stand up for democracy and against hate,” reads the prime ministerial statement.“Black Ribbon Day serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to uphold human rights, freedom, and democracy around the world. Canada will always stand up for these values and all those fighting for them.”Then it swerves over to Canada’s “commitment” to Ukraine’s fight for freedom in the war with Russia. Is it a mere oversight that there is no mention of Canada’s ally Israel that suffered a brutal massacre at the hands of Hamas on Oct. 7, and is now battling enemies on several fronts? Or of the rise of antisemitism rippling across Canada and the globe that the Nazis would have celebrated?It is also ironic. Around the world, Canada is seen to be a nation whose citizens are ‘fighting for freedom today,’ but losing the battle hill by hill under the oppressive policies of the Trudeau government.Hollow words then, written by some communications flak, that this Liberal government’s actions prove don’t apply to Canada.For Trudeau’s idea of democracy in Canada is destructive and dangerous.On one hand, Trudeau is to be pitied for being a fool who systematically fumbled a golden opportunity handed to him since 2015 to build on a prosperous, safe, unified nation. But then, a fool never recognizes a fool when staring in the mirror.On the other hand, preaching about ‘standing up for democracy and against hate’ in the world is contemptible considering what has unfolded in his own backyard — a fierce assault on democracy that has Canada teetering on the precipice of Chinese-style authoritarianism, aided and abetted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that has apparently wormed its way into our affairs, quite unchecked by this government."Hate," says Mr. Trudeau. Yet, on his watch the attack on white Canadians, Jews, Asians, and Christians builds. He doesn’t stand up against this hatred — his government's actions fuel it with his divisive accusations and gestures.As if the great traumas of the first half of the twentieth century that we recall on Black Ribbon Day were not enough, the dangers of political division designed to pit one people against another were manifested in the second half of the last century in the former Yugoslavia. And, in a truly horrific way: Anyone who has ever watched as mass graves were exhumed (as I did) is haunted by the fact that the victims and those who put them there, were once neighbours. People who knew each other... people perhaps, who visited over coffee.There are no mass graves in Canada, true. But what is our direction?Under Trudeau, bank accounts were frozen, pastors and people like Tamara Lich were fined and jailed, lives and careers were destroyed, and the Emergencies [War Measures] Act was enacted in a vindictive reaction to Canadians who peacefully protested against his government's draconian COVID-19 mandates.Under Trudeau, pro-Palestinians mobs are allowed to terrorize Jews. They are seldom punished for breaking laws. Many are not even citizens of this country; should they be allowed to even stay here?As for Trudeau's ‘noble’ statement about being behind those who “fight for freedom today...” Really? Look at how he has gutted the soul of the Canadian Armed Forces. And at how he wants to disarm legal, law-abiding firearms owners.Can he really be so naïve? One must believe so. The alternative is worse.Democracy dies a slow death that starts with social conditioning, the elimination of free speech (the Online Harms Act) and control of the press.The brute force follows.Stalin, one of the bloodiest tyrants in history, was a near political genius. Hitler, a diabolical genocidal maniac was a great orator who seemed to put the masses in a trance.Other leaders are just ideologically stupid.I take some comfort that as the federal election draw closer — just 14 months — Trudeau’s days may be numbered.That leaves us with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. It remains to be seen if as prime minister he has the will and ability to unite Canada and restore freedoms.But, he said the right things about Black Ribbon Day.“85 years ago, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union carved up Europe, beginning decades of repression, terror and death,” he said in a statement. “Upon signing the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the two evil empires launched a joint invasion, subjugating Poland between themselves. Their reigns of terror continued as the Soviets illegally occupied Eastern Europe, and Hitler’s war machine marched into the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. “Before and during the Second World War, the racist cult of National Socialism unleashed violence against Jewish people, along with other minority groups and political dissidents culminating in the Holocaust.”He noted that the “campaign of murder” led to the deaths of 1.8 million Poles, six million Jews, and the mass murder of people with disabilities. “Behind the iron curtain of the Soviet Union, under the tyrannical grip of Stalin, citizens faced forced labour, deportation, famine, torture, or mass executions. Seeking to crush any aspirations for liberty and independence, millions of Ukrainians were murdered in the Holodomor, a brutal Soviet genocide from Stalin’s man-made famine. 22,000 defenceless military and police officers, border guards, and prisoners of war were killed in the Katyn massacre. In total, over 20 million people tragically died as result of Stalin’s evil policies.” “Today, we remember the lives lost from these monstrous twin ideologies and honour those who fought to restore freedom across Europe. Let their memory serve to remind us that we must always be on guard against fascism, communism, and all other forms of socialism.” There is much to applaud here.However, former prime minister Stephen Harper once expressed a fear that unfortunately, worsens as time passes.He spoke on May 16, 2014, about the planned Ottawa monument — Tribute to Liberty — to “honour for all time the tens of millions of men, women and children who struggled against the tyranny of communism … those who lived and those who tragically did not.”“My fear is this: As we move further into the 21st century Canadians, especially young Canadians, will forget the lessons hard learned and the victories hard earned over the last one hundred years.”“That they will never understand what it means to live and die for what is good and right. That they will not know the way forward. That is why Canada needs Tribute to Liberty’s monument.”His premonitions were frighteningly perceptive. For, now we have university students brainwashed by radical, well-paid professors joining protests, covering their faces with tablecloths, and calling people who disagree with their hateful, historically ignorant idiocy, 'fascists.'Some are treasonous home-grown. Others spit on the Canada that took them in. But dear heavens, they don't even know the meaning of the word. Sure, Prime Minister Trudeau will “always stand up for democracy and against hate.” Somewhere perhaps. But not here.

SLOBODIAN: Defending democracy is good, Trudeau should try it here

Related Stories