Kerby Anderson

As I have been out speaking, one question surfaces with some regularity. People wonder if what happened to the truckers in Canada could happen to citizens in the US. I always acknowledge that anything can happen in this country if we aren’t working to defend our liberties, but there is an important difference between these two countries.

We share a great number of similarities in our language and even in our legal and political structure. Although there is a border between Canada and the US, it is relatively easy to move across the border. One country feels much like the other country.

The difference can be seen in how the two countries treat political rights and liberties. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms grants their citizens various rights. The US Declaration and Constitution acknowledge the existence of these rights. It may seem like a small difference, but it makes all the difference in the world.

To put it simply, if government gives you rights, then the government can take them away. All it takes is an emergency for the government to suspend them, temporarily or even permanently.

Our Constitution doesn’t grant you rights. It acknowledges that those rights exist, and government cannot infringe upon them. The Declaration makes it clear that these rights come from God because they are endowed by that Creator. They can’t be set aside as easily as they were in Canada.

But perhaps you are thinking that we did see many of our rights set aside during the pandemic. That is true. We let it happen. But we still do have a constitutional government with several judges in our federal court system willing to protect those rights.

Unfortunately, there are many liberals in government today that are willing to turn our country’s governmental system into one that looks more like Canada’s system. That is why we need to evaluate the candidates running for office this year.