People’s Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier was arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Manitoba on Friday after being accused of violating Wuhan virus guidelines.
Bernier, who served as Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper, was arrested by mounties in St-Pierre-Jolys on the first day of his tour of Manitoba, dubbed the “Mad Max Manitoba Tour”, for refusing to quarantine himself under the province’s Chinese coronavirus guidelines.
Earlier in the day, following an even in Niverville, Bernier had tweeted that he had been warned by a police officer that he would be subject to arrest if he continued to hold rallies in the province in violation of the coronavirus guidelines.
“Just got another ticket for my presence at the Niverville event, and the officer warned me that I could be arrested if I go to other rallies,” Bernier wrote, quoting Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees freedom of peaceful assembly by way of defence.
Earlier in the week, Manitoba’s Premier, Brian Pallister, had commented on Bernier’s proposed tour of his province, saying he was “going to be light in the pocketbook” if he violated public health orders.
“I’d suggest he not violate the public health orders, but of course I’m not going to be involved in the enforcement, nor should I,” the Premier sais. In response, Bernier labelled Pallister the “Manitoba Despot.”
The PPC leader has been a fierce critic of coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns and took part in a rally of thousands of people in Toronto last month, protesting against the lockdowns in Ontario, which have been among the longest in the world.
Bernier has also slammed leftist politicians, such as far-left New Democrat Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh and leftist Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, who linked anti-lockdown sentiment to white nationalism and far-right extremism.
“I’m inviting them right now to come to these rallies and they’re going to see that it’s ordinary Canadians that are fighting to gain back their freedoms,” Bernier told Breitbart News, before giving a speech to the gathered protestors in Toronto’s Queen’s Park.