As if the incidents of law-abiding Canadian citizens being swooped away in unmarked vans from airports to be imprisoned incommunicado from concerned family members wasn’t enough, we are now learning of serious reports of extortion and sexual assaults on people forced into quarantine..The time is long since past to shut down Trudeau’s prison-hotels..In an all too familiar story; a woman had arrived from the United States only to be told that she had taken the “wrong” COVID-19 test and was forced to quarantine in a government-run hotel in Montreal. She was told that she was not allowed to disclose her location, even to close family. A neighboring “guest” in the hotel allegedly forced his way into her room and sexually assaulted her. Robert Shakory faces one count of sexual assault, one count of breaking and entering, and one count of criminal harassment in the incident..In Oakville Ontario, a quarantine screening officer allegedly demanded cash from a woman before sexually assaulting her at her private home. Privately contracted government screening officers essentially are enforcing house arrest upon people under quarantine. Police have arrested a man they identified only as Hemant, 27, of Hamilton. He has been charged with sexual assault and extortion. Apparently, he only goes by a single name..Canada should not be imprisoning law-abiding citizens in the first place. The least we could hope for and expect though is that the citizens being imprisoned for mandatory COVID-19 quarantines would be kept safe. It is horrifying to imagine a vulnerable loved one being assaulted while under quarantine, yet it appears that these cases are becoming increasingly common..Whether in homes or in hotels, when a person is locked there by law and force, it is imprisonment. The prison power dynamics quickly take over. Prisoners are dejected and vulnerable while other prisoners and authority figures take advantage of them. It’s unthinkable that Canadian citizens are enduring this sort of experience for the crime of having traveled, as the constitution is supposed to guarantee is their right..In Toronto at Pearson International airport, there are reports that returning travelers are refusing quarantine orders and walking out of the airport. Peel region police are now refusing to enforce the quarantine orders. As Martha Stuart says, “and that’s a good thing.” People refusing to comply with government-ordered quarantine orders whether at home or in a prison-hotel have a very real defence in saying that they fear for their safety..We never should have begun locking up innocent citizens in quarantine facilities in the first place. In light of these alleged assaults, all forced-quarantine facilities should be closed immediately and people allowed to go home. If the state can’t keep citizens safe, it must release them. This is only going to get worse. Innocent people are being stripped of their liberties, harm is being down, and expensive lawsuits are pending..When we look back on our pandemic responses, we are going to see a great many errors that were made. Locking up our citizens is by far our most egregious one. History will not look kindly at the leaders that forced it to happen..Cory Morgan is the Podcast Editor and a column for the Western Standard.,
As if the incidents of law-abiding Canadian citizens being swooped away in unmarked vans from airports to be imprisoned incommunicado from concerned family members wasn’t enough, we are now learning of serious reports of extortion and sexual assaults on people forced into quarantine..The time is long since past to shut down Trudeau’s prison-hotels..In an all too familiar story; a woman had arrived from the United States only to be told that she had taken the “wrong” COVID-19 test and was forced to quarantine in a government-run hotel in Montreal. She was told that she was not allowed to disclose her location, even to close family. A neighboring “guest” in the hotel allegedly forced his way into her room and sexually assaulted her. Robert Shakory faces one count of sexual assault, one count of breaking and entering, and one count of criminal harassment in the incident..In Oakville Ontario, a quarantine screening officer allegedly demanded cash from a woman before sexually assaulting her at her private home. Privately contracted government screening officers essentially are enforcing house arrest upon people under quarantine. Police have arrested a man they identified only as Hemant, 27, of Hamilton. He has been charged with sexual assault and extortion. Apparently, he only goes by a single name..Canada should not be imprisoning law-abiding citizens in the first place. The least we could hope for and expect though is that the citizens being imprisoned for mandatory COVID-19 quarantines would be kept safe. It is horrifying to imagine a vulnerable loved one being assaulted while under quarantine, yet it appears that these cases are becoming increasingly common..Whether in homes or in hotels, when a person is locked there by law and force, it is imprisonment. The prison power dynamics quickly take over. Prisoners are dejected and vulnerable while other prisoners and authority figures take advantage of them. It’s unthinkable that Canadian citizens are enduring this sort of experience for the crime of having traveled, as the constitution is supposed to guarantee is their right..In Toronto at Pearson International airport, there are reports that returning travelers are refusing quarantine orders and walking out of the airport. Peel region police are now refusing to enforce the quarantine orders. As Martha Stuart says, “and that’s a good thing.” People refusing to comply with government-ordered quarantine orders whether at home or in a prison-hotel have a very real defence in saying that they fear for their safety..We never should have begun locking up innocent citizens in quarantine facilities in the first place. In light of these alleged assaults, all forced-quarantine facilities should be closed immediately and people allowed to go home. If the state can’t keep citizens safe, it must release them. This is only going to get worse. Innocent people are being stripped of their liberties, harm is being down, and expensive lawsuits are pending..When we look back on our pandemic responses, we are going to see a great many errors that were made. Locking up our citizens is by far our most egregious one. History will not look kindly at the leaders that forced it to happen..Cory Morgan is the Podcast Editor and a column for the Western Standard.,
