Measures taken against Freedom Convoy demonstrators and their supporters are “exactly [like] the Chinese social credit system,” according to Canadian political commentator Ezra Levant, who warned that such a system “could come to America just as easy as the rest of the martial law.”
Appearing on Fox New’s The Ingraham Angle on Tuesday, Canadian reporter Ezra Levant, the founder of Canada’s conservative Rebel News, expressed his concerns over the current treatment of citizens and journalists in Canada.
“The ‘show your papers’ [demand] is outrageous,” he said in reference to the many police checkpoints set up in downtown Ottawa where one is required to show identification or face arrest. “I’m deeply concerned about what they’re doing to journalists that are not with the government agenda.”
Noting a journalist with his outlet who was allegedly shot at close range with a pepper canister which then broke, burning her face and eyes, he warned of the even greater threat of the “social credit” penalization for those with unwelcome beliefs.
“I can’t believe they actually shot our reporter,” he said, “but I think what is a graver and [more] far-reaching threat is that of the social credit style approach to punishing anyone with the wrong opinions.”
He then accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of an entirely unnecessary prolonging of emergency powers in order to stifle dissent.
“Justin Trudeau has cleared the streets — that was not hard to do [because] there weren’t that many trucks,” he said, “but he’s persisting with his emergency powers so he can seize and freeze bank accounts of anyone who’s in his opposition without going to court.”
He went on to elaborate on the dangers of such powers.
“The police literally tell the banks which accounts to freeze and they do it,” he said. “There’s no legal recourse, and you’re in fact banned from suing.”
According to Levant, the policy could be used to cut off entire families from their savings for an individual’s expressions of support for Freedom Convoy demonstrations.
Trudeau on Monday defended his use of emergency powers to end weeks-long trucker-led protests and argued that lingering threats require the measures to remain in force for now. (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
“So what that means is if there’s someone who’s merely accused of supporting the truckers — maybe you chipped in $50 to their crowdfund [or] maybe you walked alongside their trucks one day — your entire family bank account is frozen,” he said.
“So not just you but your wife and your kids can’t get money for groceries or rent or gas, and there is no legal appeal,” he added.
The conservative reporter warned that such a system of disciplinary measures was identical to China’s and that Americans may find themselves facing the same sooner rather than later.
“That is exactly the Chinese social credit system and that could come to America just as easy as the rest of the martial law,” he said.
The remarks come as the Canadian Parliament voted Monday night to approve Trudeau’s motion to invoke the Emergencies Act by a vote of 185 for and 151 against.
In an unprecedented move, Trudeau invoked the Act last week claiming it necessary to dispel peaceful protests linked to the Freedom Convoy movement, which is demanding an end to civil rights violations by the Trudeau government allegedly necessary to fight the COVID pandemic.
The act was largely used to clear protests in Canada’s capital Ottawa over the weekend as well as to freeze the bank accounts of those linked to the movement.
Police stand guard during a protest organized by truck drivers opposing vaccine mandates on February 19, 2022 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)
On Sunday, outspoken psychology professor Dr. Jordan Peterson expressed concern over the country having “degenerated” following Prime Minister Trudeau’s recent moves against Freedom Convoy demonstrators which have “stained the Canadian banking system’s international reputation” while eroding people’s faith in it.
He also claimed a “reliable” military source advised Canadians to withdraw bank funds immediately.
Earlier this month, Levant argued that the Canadian media are not only biased in favor of the left, as the American media are, but are also highly consolidated and controlled and have been essentially bought off by government support, enforcing a liberal point of view.
He also described the ongoing Freedom Convoy in Canada as the most significant political event he had observed in his lifetime across the Great White North.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein