The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says Ottawa has quietly handed over control of Canada’s health policy to the World Health Organization (WHO), warning the move poses a grave threat to national sovereignty and Charter rights.In a new report titled Canada’s Surrender of Sovereignty: New WHO health regulations undermine Canadian democracy and Charter freedoms, former Western Standard Opinion Editor Nigel Hannaford argues that Canada’s acceptance of the WHO’s revised International Health Regulations (IHR) represents a serious erosion of democratic accountability.The amendments, which took effect September 19, allow the WHO Director-General to declare global “health emergencies” and issue binding directives to member states — including Canada — without parliamentary approval or public debate. The Justice Centre says this means unelected officials in Geneva could dictate lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and travel restrictions, all while bypassing the House of Commons..Although the WHO has no legal authority to impose its regulations, the Trudeau government has agreed to treat them as binding. Once a “pandemic emergency” is declared, the rules require member states to implement WHO-ordered measures “without delay” for at least three months.“By treating WHO edicts as binding, the federal government has effectively placed Canadian sovereignty on loan to an unelected international body,” said constitutional lawyer Allison Pejovic. She added that such measures “would likely violate Canadians’ Charter rights and freedoms.”.Hannaford said the arrangement undermines self-government, noting that “Canada’s health policies must be made in Canada. No free and democratic nation should outsource its emergency powers to unelected bureaucrats in Geneva.”The report urges Canada to follow countries such as Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, and the United States in rejecting the revised IHR. It calls on Canadians to pressure their MPs to withdraw from the agreement and restore full control over national health decisions.
