Tyranny as a result of COVID-19 guidelines in Canada have left citizens with no other option but to take to the streets of Vancouver and protest. These, at least, are the beliefs of Dan Dicks and other protestors who, on April 12, made it clear that they believe their human rights were being infringed upon in what they believe are unlawful lockdowns.
Dicks uploaded a video while protesting that was met with both online concern and a surprising amount of support, particularly from the right. With more re-open protests showing up across Canada—including a sparsely attended one in Victoria recently—it begs the question of what Canada will do about these protests, which could actually be spreading COVID-19. The answer to this question is crucial, due to the growing number of protests in the USA.
On April 30, protesters armed with assault rifles stormed Michigan’s state capitol building. The Michigan police were not pushing back against the protest and, in actual fact, allowed the armed protesters to enter the building as they chanted “let us in.”
This aggressive action led to politicians having to wear bullet vests as a precaution. Others in the building were fearful they would have to run for the exit at a moment’s notice, stating that the protest was in no way a peaceful one; it was more like angry mob inciting fear and hatred.
The United States government is showing a political and racial bias with low amounts of police representation at these protests; at the Standing Rock protest, by way of comparison, Native American protestors were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Canada is also in no way ill experienced with protests: during the Wet’suwet’en protests, the Canadian government got involved by using military force on unceded Wet’suwet’en land.
So, what will the Canadian government do to stop these protests that violate physical-distancing guidelines and, therefore, are potentially harmful, even life-threatening? As Canadians, we should hope that Canada will not show racial bias to its citizens and will stop a harmful protest the same way they stop peaceful ones. We can hope we learn from history. We can hope we learn from others.
In these dire times, all we can do is hope.