Justin Trudeau’s Canada is ground zero for the worst of woke

 

Any time you care to glimpse our dystopian future, simply look across the pond to Canada, which, under the guidance of woke Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has become the test zone for some of the world’s most perversely “progressive” social policies. Latest in this series is the effective decriminalisation of hard drug possession: perhaps coming soon to a theatre near you.

In the province of British Columbia, people carrying small quantities of heroin, fentanyl, meth or other hard drugs no longer need to worry about running into the police. As of last week, illegal drugs in amounts of 2.5 grams or less will not be confiscated, and people found in possession will not face criminal charges. Instead, officers will hand out cards with information on health services and send the drug-users – and their illicit substances – on their way, with the blessing of the government.

It’s a social and moral disaster for a province that is already struggling with an enormous drug problem. Ever at the forefront of liberalisation, British Columbia opened Canada’s first supervised injection site in 2003, a year in which the province recorded the deaths of fewer than 200 people from illegal drugs. Critics then warned that liberalisation policies might foster a culture of drug use rather than contain its harms. Today’s fatality rate seems to bear out their concerns: last year, illicit drugs claimed 2,272 lives in the province.

This doesn’t seem to concern Justin Trudeau, who campaigned for years to legalise cannabis across the country and succeeded in 2018. Dispensaries now flourish on every city corner, complete with catchy names and colourful signage, while nary a word is breathed from official sources about the very real dangers of marijuana consumption. Liberals wave away researched arguments that it could increase drug-related psychological issues.

The preservation of the citizenry’s health and life is clearly not a priority for the Canadian government. But at least shop drugs won’t immediately kill you – not in most cases anyway. That scenario is the reserve of our disgraceful euthanasia policy, whereby those from whom even a begrudging consent can be wrung could be eligible for assisted suicide.

Since Trudeau legalised “medical assistance” in dying in 2016, the programme has become a national horror story. Military veterans calling the government for ordinary support for PTSD have allegedly been offered euthanasia instead. Disabled people struggling to find suitable care say they feel pressure to take up such offers. The fear is that all vulnerable people – the mentally ill, the lonely, the hopeless and the homeless – risk being encouraged into one quick and inexpensive solution to their troubles. Surely there’s no more serious failure of government.

And then we have the more trivial, but no less ridiculous woke schemes, such as gender-neutral uniforms for our depleted armed forces, or the sinister campaign to force everyone into electric car ownership.

Where other statesmen might have quailed on contemplating the challenge posed by switching a large country with limited public transportation options over to unreliable vehicles, Trudeau did not hesitate. In three years, he decreed, 20 per cent of vehicles sold in Canada will be electric. In seven years, 60 per cent. And by 2035, all vehicles. Anyone who doesn’t comply will be penalised.

If Canada is indeed the test case for ultimate wokery, there’s no need for the other nations to keep waiting around. The results are in; it’s an utter disaster.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/03/trudeaus-canada-ground-zero-worst-woke/