No one has the freedom to break laws

Dear editor,

Canada is a country that believes in the rule of law. This means all citizens, in principle, must obey the laws or face censure. If there are laws that are outdated or are demonstrably unfair or unjust, then there are legal and peaceful ways to adjust these laws.

But under no circumstance does the individual citizen have the right to choose whether or not to obey this law or that law. Many people resisted when seat belts were mandated by law, even though statistics showed an obvious need for them. Within a short while there was close to full compliance, lives were saved and hospital costs reduced. Wearing your seatbelt became reflexive. The same story held for motorcycle helmets, bicycle helmets and cigarette smoking. In all of these examples some people’s apparent rights were shaved just a little for the demonstrable benefits to society.

The law is often a tightrope walk attempting a fragile balance of individual and societal rights. In Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadians are guaranteed all the rights listed.

“... subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

In this time where hospitals are facing unprecedented hardships, where the solutions to the ravages of COVID-19 are clear and available, “... limits to individual rights are demonstrably justified...” Vaccinations, limiting numbers of people in public places, and mask wearing are “demonstrably justified” in the interests of all of society.

In 2021, in Alberta, mask wearing was prescribed by law. This law places a “reasonable limit, demonstrably justified,”on your freedom to not wear a mask in public.

You do not have the freedom to break the law. You do not have the freedom to infect others.

You do have the freedom to create chaos on Facebook (freedom of expression), but others then have the freedom to think of you as unbalanced, most likely nasty and unpleasant, and possessed of a tenuous grasp on reality.

If you’re one of those “Freedom Fighters” who think that by refusing to wear a mask in public you are fighting the forces of evil — big government, big pharma, or Bill Gates — and saving all of us, the ‘sheeple,’ from our own ignorance, you are rightfully pitied. In pitying you we do not wish you harm. We just hope that one day you’ll come to your senses and experience regret, maybe even shame.

Peter Mueller Medicine Hat