Canada Unity withdrew Memo of Understanding

by George J. Dance

On February 8 Canada Unity (CU), a group headed by James and Sandra Bauder, formally withdrew their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), a document posted in support of Freedom Convoy 2022. The withdrawal notice (at right, full text below) notes that over 300,000 Canadians had signed the MOU online by that date. 

Who is James Bauder? The New Statesman (NS) calls him "a QAnon and Covid-19 conspiracy theorist" – but then, the NS is a notorious legacy leftist rag, so their bio should not be simply accepted at face value. It also calls Bauder the "leader" of the Freedom Convoy, which is simply wrong; while he may have come up with the idea originally (the NS says that he had "previously organised a similar convoy to protest against measures to reduce carbon emissions") he was never its leader; the main organizers of the Convoy, and the recognized spokesmen for it, have been Tamara Lich and Benjamin Dietrich.     

The Convoy has one goal, as outlined by Lich at a February 3 Ottawa news conference: a commitment, by every level of government, to a "clear plan" for ending all Covid19 mandates and restrictions. (Since the Convoy began, three provincial governments have announced such plans.) Not only do lockdowns and other mandates violate fundamental rights guaranteed under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but they were also imposed unconstitutionally: the Charter provides a process for a government to violate a right when absolutely necessary (Section 33, the notwithstanding clause), but no government bothered to follow the due process; the Charter was simply ignored by all. Presumably, the MOU (which is no longer online) supported that goal.  

However, as has been reported, the MOU also called for the replacement of the Justin Trudeau administration with a new government, by the Governor-General (a power the GG has formally, though not in fact) and the Senate (a power the Senate does not have). As previously noted on this blog, that is not how Canada's political system works. A federal government can be removed at any time, under the Canadian system, but only by the House of Commons: if a government loses a confidence vote in the House, it must resign and a new government be formed. Without a loss of confidence in the House, the GG and Senate have no constitutional power to remove a government. 

Sadly, the pro-mandate part (by far the largest part) of Canada's legacy media seized on those lines in the MOU to promote its own narrative (the "unintended interpretations" mentioned in the withdrawal notice) that the convoy was an attempted 'insurrection' or coup, its real goal being to overthrow the Trudeau regime by force. The same message has been picked up and amplified by the world media. Here, for instance, is how the already-cited NS article describes the convoy's goals:

The protesters drew up a memorandum of understanding, calling on the senate and the governor general to overthrow Canada’s elected Liberal government. Pat King, the Alberta organiser, told followers of his livestream that 'the only way this is going to be solved is with bullets'. Throughout the protests, though they have shrunk from joining in, numerous conservative politicians have either posed for photographs with the truckers, or issued overt statements of support. There is no mystery as to what kind of movement this is: it is 21st-century fascism. 

The NS goes on to equate the protest to both the  2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, also framed that way  – a favorite comparison of Canadian media as well  – and even to the 1922 March on Rome that brought Mussolini's fascist government to power. 

Meanwhile, the Convoy's stated goal – of ending Covid mandates and restrictions that violate Canadians' Charter rights – was ignored by the same media. The result, if not the purpose, was to sow confusion and spread misinformation about the Convoy's goals and its supporters.

So it was good to see Lich call for only the removal of mandates (ignoring if not tacitly repudiating the MOU) on February 3, followed by the document's formal withdrawal by CU a few days later. No doubt much of the media will simply ignore those two facts, and continue misrepresenting the Convoy's goals. (The quoted NS article, for instance, came out February 16.) But now, at least, they have no excuse for doing so. 

Notice of Formal Withdrawal of MOU by Canada Unity | Canada Unity (news release):
February 8 2022 - "It has come to the attention of Canada Unity that the Memorandum Of Understanding (herein referred to as MOU) does not reflect the spirit and intent of the Freedom Convoy Movement 2022
"We represent the voice of many Canadians who desire to have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms upheld. We are everyday Canadians, not lawyers or politicians.
"We are immediately withdrawing the MOU as we do not want any unintended interpretations to continue. Our sole desire with the MOU was to have a document where Canadians could peacefully express their displeasure with current C19 mandates, and express their desire to be free. Canada Unity does not support or encourage any acts which tarnish democratic values held by Canadians.
"To the over 320,000 original signatories of the MOU; we appreciate your support and will continue to peacefully demonstrate until the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is upheld.
"This document was created with the sole purpose of bringing the government of Canada and all Canadian citizens into agreement; that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms should be upheld for all
"Canada Unity firmly supports the constitution and democratic process. We remain committed to following lawful process and upholding freedom of choice."

Canada Unity
James Bauder
Sandra Bauder
https://canada-unity.com/mou/