Bill C-9 - The Quiet Coup Against Every Canadian’s Right to Speak, Believe and Disagree

Let’s be clear. Bill C-9 is a censorship bill. Its purpose is to restrict open and honest debate in this country. It is a political weapon to silence dissent, disagreement, or facts the government finds inconvenient or at odds with their agenda. This bill attacks the very foundation of a free and democratic society. It declares that the state is ‘the authority’ to decide what is acceptable speech and what is not.

This bill isn’t drafted at the request of Canadians. Canadians love free speech. Canadians love to express their opinions, likes, and dislikes. Canadians like to share their perspectives, their ideas, and their concerns. The ability to speak freely is what people appreciate about living in a free country.

The Federal government is at war with us. This government is at war with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is declaring that it will decide what speech is acceptable and what is not. It wants to become the moral authority in this country. This government is intent on replacing God. It is destroying what makes a western nation great and the envy of people around the world.

This isn’t the beginning of censorship. This bill is the final takedown of free speech.

We experienced egregious government censorship over the last five years. Those who disagreed with the government’s response to COVID were attacked, jailed, deprived of their livelihoods, vilified in the press, and had their bank accounts frozen.

A few examples of those who experienced the boot of tyranny include – Dr. Charles Hoffe, Dr. Byram Bridle, Dr. Mark Trozzi, Dr. Patrick Phillips, Dr. Mary O’Connor, Dr. Stephen Malthouse, Dr. Roger Hodkinson, Dr. Francis Christian, Pastor Artur Pawlowski, Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, Randy Hillier, and many more. The censorship imposed by governments and the courts during COVID failed us miserably. Unscientific and unsubstantiated measures were imposed because debate, discussion and evidence was denied.

But it is not just those who disagreed with the government’s response to COVID who are censured and silenced.

Those who disagree with the sexualization of our children in our schools and public spaces and who want to preserve the innocence of our children have also been silenced and censured. People like school trustee Barry Neufeld, Pastor Derek Reimer, Billboard Chris, parents, teachers, and others.

Then there are those who insist on solid evidence before accepting the unsubstantiated declaration that the bodies of 215 children have been found in Kamloops. Any discussion or debate, or declaration of the facts is met with cries of “hate” and “racism”. Just ask Dr. Francis Widdowson, Tara Armstrong, or Dallas Brodie.

The censorship doesn’t stop there. Ottawa Detective Helen Grus was censored and found guilty of “discreditable conduct” for simply asking questions about the vaccine status of mothers whose infants died suddenly and unexpectedly. Police officers in Ontario must now ask permission to investigate a potential crime if the matter is “politically sensitive”.

Our universities are no longer institutions of higher learning or critical thinking. Witness the recent assault of Dr Francis Widdowson at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, or the many assaults on Rebel News reporters. One has to ask, what are our children learning at these institutions?

The list of topics Canadians can no longer talk about is growing. And those who support this censorship don’t respond with facts, logical arguments, or open discussion. They respond with verbal and physical attacks, name calling, violence, and censorship. Again, just ask Dr. Francis Widdowson or Billboard Chris, both who have been viciously attacked with no response from law enforcement or Crown attorneys in this country.

Bill C-9 is vague. Terms like “intimidation” and “obstruction” are broad enough to criminalize peaceful protest or expression. Many provisions duplicate existing Criminal Code offences. Vague, overlapping, or broadly worded laws risk arbitrary enforcement and suppression of dissent. For those who doubt whether such is possible, one only need look to Germany, the UK, and other European countries where a simple X post, or a Facebook ‘like’ can have you arrested and charged. Don’t think this can’t or won’t happen here. The invoking of the Emergency Act in response to peaceful protest showed us what this government is capable of.

This bill sends a chilling message – comply, conform, be silent, and stop asking questions or you will be criminally charged. It has already had this effect. I’ve been in numerous meetings in the last six months where someone has stated – “You know, if the Liberal government has its way, this conversation will be a crime.” I suggest that the purpose of Bill CC-9 is “intimidation” and “threats”, both of which are criminal offences.

The National Citizens Inquiry was established in 2022 in response to the censorship and lack of accountability we experienced in Canada in the government’s response to COVID. A group of citizens envisioned a citizen-led, citizen-funded, citizen organized initiative to hear information that was being silenced and denied by our governments, courts, and politically controlled media.

Since 2023, the NCI has conducted 39 days of hearings in 13 cities across Canada, and heard the testimony of more than 400 witnesses, both expert and lay, given under oath before independent Commissioners. The NCI has collected the largest body of evidence on the consequences of the government’s response to COVID given under oath in the world.

The Commissioners have analyzed the testimony and written comprehensive reports including over 400 recommendations. Yet, no government in Canada, Federal or Provincial, has acknowledged this body of evidence or this citizen led effort because it doesn’t conform to the dictates and agenda of the government and those dictating to our governments.

More recently the NCI conducted 12 days of hearings on the question – Are Children Safe in Canada? The resounding answer was no, our children are not safe. Even more disturbing is the realization that no one is safe in Canada. Bill C-9 doesn’t make us safer, it makes us more vulnerable to the tyranny of government overreach. We only need to look at what is happening in the UK, Germany and other European nations to see the chilling and destructive effects of censorship.

Bill C-9 undermines freedom of religion, expression, conscience and protection from ideological coercion . By any measure, these efforts are a takedown of our society. Bill C-9 will increase division and discord and further undermine trust in our governments, institutions, courts and media.

I suggest the situation in Canada is dire:

• Schools and government agencies increasingly bypass parents, asserting authority over moral, social, and even medical decisions belonging to families.

• Critical decisions affecting children are made behind closed doors, without transparency or public scrutiny.

• Media outlets suppress or distort evidence, leaving Canadians without trustworthy sources of truth.

• Professionals who try to speak honestly risk censorship, discipline, or removal.

• Courts and law enforcement agencies have become politicized. Public trust is broken, the rule of law has been abandoned, and the protection Canadians once had from tyranny and government overreach has been eroded.

The NCI is the one platform where:

• Canadians can speak freely

• Evidence can be examined without institutional interference

• Truth can be documented for all Canadians to see

• Recommendations can be made without political or corporate influence

One Canadian described the NCI this way: The NCI is “a place where Canadians can speak openly about what is really happening—without spin, politics, or censorship.”

We need to have the courage to confront the truth. We need to hear the voices of all Canadian, not just those aligned with a political or corporate agenda. We need the media to reclaim their rightful place as a voice of the people if we are to survive as a free and democratic nation.

I end with the words of Robert Kennedy in 1966 –

“Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.”

Ted