My family immigrated to Canada over 40 years ago to escape the Lebanese civil war. This vast and cold country turned out to be a wonderful place of welcome and opportunity which allowed everyone to flourish and prosper. I was born and raised in Canada and I’ve always been proud and appreciative of this fact. In fact, every time I hear the national anthem, I get slight chills when I hear this one specific line:

God keep our land glorious and free!

But then COVID hit. And it did not take long before Canada lost some of its glory. And most of its freedom. This is especially true in one specific province: Quebec.

While most of the world had to deal with harsh COVID restrictions, Quebec consistently lead the world in the extreme severity of its measures. Despite an abundantly funded universal healthcare system that is “the envy of the world”, Quebec spent 13 out of the last 22 months in a strict lockdown where most businesses were closed and most social interactions banned.

In 2022, although 90% of the population is vaccinated, things are only getting worse and dangerous precedents are being set. Here’s a look at life in Quebec right now.

COVID Hell

When COVID hit Quebec in 2020, it responded (like most of the world) with a massive and total lockdown. Schools and businesses were closed for two weeks to “flatten the curve”. These weeks turned into months. During that time, a slew of measures was imposed on the public by a government that suspended democracy and began ruling by decree. This is still true today.

Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged promulgation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators, absolute monarchs and military leaders.

In January 2021, the entire population of Quebec was subjected to a curfew that lasted FIVE months. During that time, people who were caught outside of their homes after 8 PM were stopped by police and given fines. As days got longer, people had to live with the absurdity of hiding inside their homes while the sun was still up.

Meanwhile, vaccines were made available. People were told that these shots would lead to freedom and normality. People were also told that a 70% vaccination rate would be enough to build solid herd immunity in the province. Quebecers, who were sick and tired of these insane measures, rolled up their sleeves. The province quickly neared a 90% vaccination rate – one of the highest in the world.

So did Quebec reap the rewards of its compliance? No. Delta arrived. And, despite the fact that 9 out of 10 people were vaccinated, the government imposed a vaccine passport in most non-essential public places such as bars, restaurants, gyms, and much more. The introduction of the passport was preceded by a massive media campaign where nearly all “news” outlets and journalists backed the measure. Those who were opposed to it were silenced and censored.

“The vaccine passport is freedom”. One of the many Orwellian news headlines that preceded the imposition of the passport.

So did the passport finally lead Quebec to freedom? No. Only a few months after this controversial measure was forced on society, Quebec was subjected to another harsh lockdown. Everything closed again. Why? Omicron.

On December 31th 2021, Quebec became the only place in the world to impose another curfew on the entire population. When asked for science proving that curfews have an actual impact on the pandemic, the government simply replied that it had no proof. A dangerous precedent.

On New Year’s Eve, at 6:45 PM, while people were attempting to forget the fact that they lived in an Orwellian nightmare, every single phone in the province emitted a loud terrifying noise. It was an “emergency alert” sent out by the government stating that “it is forbidden to be outside your home”.

The “emergency alert” sent out by the government of Quebec on New Year’s Eve.

As if that wasn’t enough, that message also popped up on TV screens with the same horrific noise. It was the most dystopian moment in Quebec’s history. To make things worse, the alert actually caused TV service to be interrupted for a few hours due to a “bug”. I’m not making this up.

2022

Needless to say, 2022 started poorly in Quebec. Despite the fact that studies showed that Omicron was much weaker than previous variants, Quebec doubled down on the restrictions. Here are some of the measures that are currently in effect in Quebec.

• All private gatherings are banned
• All public events are canceled, including sporting events
• All restaurants, bars, and casinos are closed
• All places of worship are closed (funerals are limited to 25 people)
• All gyms are closed, extracurricular activities are canceled, most sporting activities are banned
• All schools were closed until January 17th. Youth sports are banned.
• All spas and saunas are closed
• Mask mandate in all public places. Schoolchildren as young as 6 years old must wear masks in school at all times, including during phys ed.
• Vaccine passports are required for most outdoor activities such as ski resorts

After being told that vaccines would lead to freedom and, later, that vaccine passports would lead to freedom – vaccinated people are still not free. And unvaccinated people have been living as second-class citizens for months.

Faced with growing criticism, the government engaged in the most cynical strategy possible: Scapegoating. And thus, all of the blame was placed on the unvaccinated for taking up too many hospital beds. And, as usual, that campaign of hate and division was backed by some of the worst attempts of propaganda I’ve ever witnessed. In the following example, a Quebec TV show uses children to push full-on vaccine mandates.

In the video, one girl says that the government should punish the unvaccinated by gradually ruining their lives. And that is exactly what is happening now. Indeed, the Quebec government is currently going down a highly dangerous road: Punitive measures.

From Sanitary Measures to Punitive Measures

Up until 2022, most sanitary measures were about “reducing the spread of the virus”. However, in 2022, the government introduced additional measures that have absolutely no impact on the spread of the virus. These measures solely exist to punish the unvaccinated for not complying.

First, the government imposed the vaccine passport in all liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries in the province. In Quebec, these businesses are government-owned monopolies. Therefore, if you are unvaccinated, you cannot buy a bottle of liquor anywhere. Furthermore, critics quickly pointed out that this measure actually helped drug dealers. That includes Pfizer.

Some days later, the government imposed the vaccine passport in all big-box stores (16,000 square feet and more), except grocery stores and pharmacies. Despite the fact that they sell groceries and contain a pharmacy, the unvaccinated are nevertheless banned from Walmart and Costco. They are also banned from all large hardware stores, car dealerships, furniture stores such as Ikea, and much more.

While this measure is meant to “punish” the unvaccinated, it is the fully-compliant vaccinated people who must line up in front of stores and present their QR codes every time they enter. Furthermore, the double-vaccinated were recently told that a third dose will soon be required for their passport to remain valid.

But that’s not all. The government also announced that the unvaccinated would be subjected to a “health tax” of a “substantial amount”. Despite the fact that Quebec is already one of the most taxed places on earth, it intends to punish the unvaccinated by literally taking more money out of their pockets … which will be used to oppress them further.

But that’s not all. The government also intends to contact every single unvaccinated person in order to convince them to get the injection. This might be done by mail, phone, and even in person.

The two measures mentioned above require one important yet disturbing element: The creation of a database of the unvaccinated containing all of their information and attempts at communication.

Quebec is also leading the way in setting judicial precedents based on vaccination status. Please read the following headline and tell me this is not madness – especially when one considers the well-known fact that current vaccines do not prevent the spread of Omicron.

In Conclusion

This article zoomed in on Quebec, a Canadian province where democracy has been on hold since 2020 and basic freedoms are being chipped away with no public debates and full media cooperation. Despite the fact that professionals are warning of the disastrous effects of these measures on the mental and physical health of the population, the measures keep piling on for … health purposes. Even worse, the latest measures have no impact on the pandemic. They exist only to punish the unvaccinated.

Some places around the world manage to be worse. For instance, in Austria, mandatory vaccination is underway. It will be enforced using “routine paper checkups” by police. This is what police states do.

As the pandemic subsides, people are hoping for the complete disappearance of these measures. However, some governments are looking to make these betrayals of freedom and democracy permanent.

If you live in a place that actually values freedom and democracy, please make sure that things remain that way. If you live in a Covidian nightmare similar to Quebec, it is time to wake the hell up.

God keep our land glorious and free!

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