The Many Meanings of Violence

Bureaucrats who shut down the Freedom Convoy see violence everywhere. But that's a double-edged sword.

Part 1: Objective Ottawa Insiders?
Part 2: Canada's Activist Civil Service
Part 3: Going Nuclear on the Truckers
Part 4: The Many Meanings of Violence
Part 5: Shallow, Self-Serving Sanctimony

Screen capture from hearing video. From left to right, lawyer Christine Johnson, Clerk of the Privy Council Office Janice Charette, Deputy Clerk Nathalie Drouin.

When Janice Charette, Canada’s top civil servant, testified at the Emergencies Act hearing, she was invited to define violence. Here’s what she said, in part:

I think violence has a lot of different meanings and there’s - I think violence that - you know, a punch in the face is violence. And there could also be violence when you feel threatened or intimidated, when your ability to go about your daily life is being thwarted…There’s a number of different manifestations of violence…

[bold added, p. 277 of the official transcript, 8:32:53 on the video]

Christine Johnson, the lawyer questioning her at the time, represents a group of Ottawa citizens suing Freedom Convoy truckers for millions. She observes that, since the Emergencies Act doesn’t define “serious violence,” perhaps it’s “open to interpretation.”

Ms. Charette responds: “I believe that to be the case.” (p. 278)

The lawyer then puts Ms. Charette’s right hand woman, Deputy Clerk Nathalie Drouin, on the spot. Does she think serious violence can include “more than just physical violence but also economic and psychological violence”? Ms. Drouin responds: “I agree.”

Turning her attention back to Ms. Charette, lawyer Johnson suggests racial minorities might view certain kinds of flags as “violence towards them.” Canada’s top civil servant dives right in:

The groups that you’re describing, Ms. Johnson, I think it’s fair to say, are - have some form of vulnerability. And so if - you know, if you’re a 2SLGBTQI+ individual and you are subjected to a threat against your choice of your sexual preference, your sexuality, you may find that quite intimidating. And similarly, misogny, antisemitism, and so on. So some form of identity being threatened, or intimidated, or criticized, I think can be quite jarring.

[bold added; pages 279-280, 8:37:40 on the video]

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Under oath these two senior civil servants told us:

1. the term ‘serious violence’ has no established meaning

2. threats and intimidation can be violence

3. being prevented from going about your daily life can be violence

4. economic disruption can be violence

5. psychological disruption can be violence

6. criticism can be violence

If these statements are true, then every Canadian who was threatened, intimidated, and coerced by employers, educational institutions, and government regulations into taking COVID-19 vaccines is a victim of violence.

If #3 and #4 are true, then everyone who was locked down against their will during the pandemic - prevented from going about their daily business, from working as hair stylists, from traveling abroad for business, from boarding a plane within Canada, from attending funerals and weddings - is a victim of violence.

Every health care worker and every first responder put on unpaid leave over COVID vaccines (and subsequently denied Unemployment Insurance) is a victim of violence.

If economic disruption is violence, then every freedom protester who had their bank accounts frozen via the Emergencies Act is a victim of violence.

If #5 is true, then everyone who experienced pandemic-related psychological distress over these past three years, who ate and drank more than was healthy and then found themselves barred from entering gyms and excluded from sports leagues due to their vaccination status, is a victim of violence.

According to the logic of these women, all levels of government in Canada have perpetrated violence on a grand scale. By their definition, the truckers who drove to Ottawa are victims several times over.

So where was the sympathy for those truckers in January and February? And where are the apologies now?