The legal ground is shifting.
In the 21st century, citizens of Western countries have more freedom than most of the rest of the world at most other times in history. But the legal ground is shifting. Individual autonomy – the crowning achievement of Western legal systems – is now at risk. The law is moving from individualist to collectivist; from blind justice to social justice; from equality of treatment to equality of outcome; from capitalist to statist; from economic competition to political conformity; and from neutral adjudication to judicial activism. The managerial state has become ubiquitous.
Progressive illiberal impulses fuel the regulation of individual behavior and speech. In Canada, courts and academics are transforming the Charter of Rights and Freedoms from a roster of individual rights into a social justice charter that legitimizes curbing civil liberties in the name of common good. Public institutions exercise discretionary authority to pursue social ends they deem desirable. These trends have accelerated in the Covid period of the past 18 months. In this new era, Canadians have become acutely less free, and the law has not protected them.
—
Bruce Pardy
Executive Director