History - Past and Perspective
Do Rights Come From God or Government?
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Do Rights Come From God or Government?

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is based on the premise that rights come from government, while the U.S. Bill of Rights views rights as God-given. ...
C. Mitchell Shaw

As Canadian truckers continue the Freedom Convoy in protest of a COVID vaccine mandate for cross-border trucking between the United States and Canada, one major argument is that those mandates and other heavy-handed COVID regulations by government violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In fact, the last living drafter and signatory of the Charter is suing the Canadian government over its ban on cross-border travel for those who remain unvaccinated.

The most recent development as of this writing is that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act. In a statement, Trudeau said that he has “authorized and directed” financial institutions to begin “regulating and prohibiting the use of property to fund or support illegal blockades.” And Canada’s finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, explained that financial institutions will “temporarily cease providing financial services where the institution suspects that an account is being used to further the illegal blockades and occupations” and that “this order covers both personal and corporate accounts.” In essence, the government is now treating truckers and their supporters as non-persons, no longer possessing basic rights.

But wait: With Canadians’ rights guaranteed by the Charter, how can the government do that?

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