Canadian democracy is in ‘grave danger’ of being canceled forever: co-author of rights charter

(LifeSiteNews) — On today’s episode of The John-Henry Westen Show, I speak with Brian Peckford, former premier of Newfoundland and last living co-author of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

We discuss the current erosion of the Charter and of Canadian democracy in general, a process only accelerated by Justin Trudeau’s decision to pick a fight with the Freedom Convoy truckers and their supporters.

“My central message to people right now is that as we speak, our democracy is in decline, is in grave danger of that becoming a permanent condition,” Peckford said. “And that is because all 14 governments of Canada, the 10 provinces, the three territories, and the federal government have all enacted measures which violate the provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, especially provision number two, which is freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association.”

Peckford made the salient point that the United States has an entirely different experience with civil liberties than Canada. The U.S. has had the Bill of Rights enshrined in its Constitution since 1791, while the Charter has only been part of the Constitution of Canada since 1982 — almost a 200-year difference.

He also underscored the importance of correcting the government’s abuses of power now, lest tyrannical action develop legal “precedent.”

“The Charter was broken, and … the biggest job we’ve got after the mandates are over is to see that the Charter is restored,” Peckford said. “And I’m doing that through a lawsuit against the federal government under mobility rights, and other Canadians are doing it as well. So we’ve got to restore the Charter. Otherwise, when these mandates are off, we have lost a big chunk of our democracy.”

Toward the end, we also discuss how pro-abortion legislation denies individual rights in the womb and therefore seems to contradict the spirit of the Charter. Listen to today’s episode below:

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John-Henry is the co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.

He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.

John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.