John Carpay: Having governments spy on citizens is a great way to reduce crime! Consider how many more criminals would have been caught over the past century if only police had been able to listen in on citizens’ telephone conversations. Why do Canadians – and citizens of other democracies around the world – cherish privacy in the first place? If a man [...]
John Carpay: Until 1969, it was a crime in Canada for two men to have consensual sex in private. Then prime minister Pierre Trudeau famously said that “There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” Parliament went on to remove consensual sodomy from Canada’s Criminal Code. If the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation, [...]
John Carpay: Is racism always wrong? In Canada in 2026, asking this question is not only fair, but necessary. A Rights Recognition Agreement signed in secret between the Musqueam Indian Band and Canada’s federal government recognizes Musqueam Aboriginal title over Vancouver and nearby municipalities and much of the Lower Mainland. Much of this same area is also claimed by the Tsawwassen, Squamish, [...]
John Carpay: Benjami Franklin wrote 250 years ago that “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” For decades, the trend in Canada has been towards an ever-increasing body of laws and regulations, so many that even the most diligent and conscientious businessman, school principal, manufacturer and manager of a [...]
John Carpay: Darkness has descended upon Canada as Parliament contemplates extending government control over the internet. The Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11) became law in 2023, and put all streaming platforms and user-generated content under the authority of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The CRTC now has control over the content produced by Canadian individuals, businesses, charities, and citizens’ groups [...]
John Carpay: Canada was one of the leaders of the international opposition to the Apartheid laws in South Africa, in force from 1948 to 1991. All South Africans were legally classified by race as White, Black, Coloured, or Indian, with laws defining the rights and obligations of each group. Apartheid laws enforced segregation in most spheres of life, including housing, marriage, and [...]
John Carpay: Interim writer, John Carpay, Law Matters If passed into law, the Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9) will make Canada more like the increasingly authoritarian United Kingdom. U.K. police now arrest more than 30 people every day for offensive tweets, question citizens for political commentary, and have even arrested parents in front of their children, over private WhatsApp messages. [...]
John Carpay: For power-hungry tyrants, government control over the internet is non-negotiable. The internet facilitates the exercise of our Charter freedoms, including freedom of expression, association, and even conscience and religion. Tyranny does not thrive and flourish when free people can communicate with each other freely. First, the federal Online News Act required social media companies to compensate news outlets for any [...]
John Carpay: Spain’s democracy collapsed into a civil war in 1936, after which no further elections were held until 1977. Germany had a functioning democracy in the 1920s, but by 1932 most Germans voted for the two parties which enthusiastically promised to abolish democracy: the Communists and the National Socialists. In February 2022, the Canadian federal government illegally abused the Emergencies Act, [...]
John Carpay: If ethnic guilt can be transmitted from generation to generation, Canada would face never-ending conflict and strife, to the exclusion of unity and friendship. While the application of the principle “Equal rights for all, special privileges for none” will not by itself create a perfect society, following this principle will create more trust, more justice and more social cohesion than [...]
Paul Tuns, Review: Corrupted by Fear: How the Charter was Betrayed, and What Canadians Can Do about It by John Carpay (Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms, $24.95, 303 pages) John Carpay will be familiar to our readers as author of the popular Law Matters column in this paper. Many will know him as the founder and president of the Justice Center for Constitutional [...]
John Carpay: In Latin, the word secular simply means “of this world,” and neither affirms nor denies any “religious” doctrine as such. Over time, the word secular has come to mean “non-religious.” After more than four centuries of loyal devotion to Catholicism, Quebecers in the 1960s began the process of ejecting the Church from schools, universities, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, unions, orphanages, [...]
John Carpay: The Bank of Canada has made no secret of its efforts to explore a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which could lead to the abolition of cash. Cash remains essential to protect the rights and freedoms of Canadians, including their privacy, security, and autonomy. In a cashless economy, all transactions are digital, and therefore subject to surveillance and government interference. [...]
John Carpay: In reporting on Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) Justices touring the country, the Canadian Press described it as a “roadshow,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “a theatrical performance given by a troupe on tour.” Having met with select groups in Winnipeg in 2019 and Quebec City in 2022, the judges will press the flesh of Canadians in 2025 when visiting Moncton, [...]
John Carpay: On Dec. 30, the City of Pickering, Ont., released a 13-minute political attack ad against Councilor Lisa Robinson, paid for by Pickering taxpayers. The ad concludes with Mayor Kevin Ashe declaring that council meetings would henceforth be held virtually due to “increasing threats to our safety” and a need to avoid “further harassment” by “external actors.” The video decries the [...]