How much of our freedom will the coronavirus cost us？
Episode Stats
Words per minute
128.53972
Summary
Life in Canada is getting more bizarre by the day, and the more bizarre the police are becoming, the more we find ourselves in the hands of politicians, bureaucrats and the police, the crazier things seem to be going on.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Toronto Mayor John Tory is apparently calling on police and bylaw officers to issue more tickets
00:00:11.360
as part of the stricter enforcement of current physical distancing orders.
00:00:17.760
The RCMP have apparently been asked to do more enforcement of the Quarantine Act.
00:00:24.720
The Mounties say they can visit homes to ensure anyone entering Canada is self-isolating for a minimum of 14 days.
00:00:34.400
According to their statement, violations under the Act could result in fines of up to $750,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.
00:00:46.960
They also said that would be a last resort, of course.
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If George Orwell were not already dead, he could use all of this as a foundation for an updated version of 1984.
00:01:00.420
This week in Ottawa, a bylaw officer tried to ticket a father walking with his daughter in a park.
00:01:07.500
They were ordered out of the park, and they were complying when some sort of confrontation occurred.
00:01:13.800
What that jumped-up little toad thought he was accomplishing, we'll never actually know.
00:01:21.500
Meanwhile, the Public Safety Minister is asking Corrections Canada to release as many prisoners as can be arranged.
00:01:32.100
Judges in Ontario have already taken it upon themselves to release people who would normally be sent to jail to await trial,
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even though they stand accused of committing violent offenses.
00:01:48.480
Evidently, you can go to jail and be fined a lot of money if you fail to quarantine yourself after traveling,
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but if you've already committed an actual crime, the system will try and release you.
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And perish the thought, you don't observe the appropriate social distancing rules in John Tory's Toronto,
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lest the wrath of the Toronto Police Service descend upon you.
00:02:17.120
Life in Canada is getting more bizarre, to say the least, by the day.
00:02:24.560
What about that video that went viral of the police in Philadelphia dragging a man off the subway for not wearing a mask?
00:02:35.980
But, and perhaps more bizarre, is the difference between our Prime Minister and the President of the United States.
00:02:43.320
Donald Trump wants desperately to get his country back to work, and to unleash the American economy.
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He said this week that he expects the U.S. economy will be back up and running by May.
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Justin Trudeau, on the other hand, said this week that he hopes some Canadians will be able to go back to work sometime this summer,
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and Canada won't be back to normal until there is a vaccine against the coronavirus,
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It's difficult to imagine how many small businesses will still be around after all that time.
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Yes, we should all do what we can to mitigate the risks of the contagion.
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Where is the point of diminishing returns in all of this?
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How much of our freedom should we be forced to relinquish to the power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats
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who are convinced they know what's good for us?
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Every year, thousands of people die from seasonal flu.
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Usually, it is because they have underlying health conditions that allow the flu to attack their diminished immune systems.
00:04:08.120
That would appear to be the same with the coronavirus.
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Thus far, we haven't seen as many deaths from the coronavirus as we normally see during the average flu season.
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Yet, we don't normally suspend our freedoms, empower police to do outrageous enforcement,
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release convicted criminals from jail sentences,
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and force many small businesses and individuals into economic hardship and maybe even bankruptcy.
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Life is tough enough, and not without risk at the best of times.
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But, is there any logic to making the cure worse than the disease?