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Joel Kotkin: Carney aligns with the anti-free speech China and EU

Neither are bastions of free speech, especially in comparison with the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s much disliked visage will soon be passing, by biology or the Constitution, from screens. But it will take a bit for Canadians to ally openly with the United States, whatever the compelling geographic and economic reality.

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Yet in their passion to dish on Trump, Canada seems to now align instead with China and the European Union. This shift could hasten Canada’s descent into its own authoritarian future. As a few leftist academics move to Canada to escape Trumpian proto-fascism, let’s look at how Canada’s new friends view free speech.

Joel Kotkin: Carney aligns with the anti-free speech China and EU Back to video

China’s free-speech efforts are an oxymoron; a permanent one-party police state does not exactly encourage debate. The European Union, for its part, thinks of itself as a bulwark of individual liberty, but it behaves in ways that are “post-liberal.” Restrictions on speech deemed to be hateful or, in some cases, simply disrespectful of authorities, has occurred in both Germany and Italy. The EU has ignored popular votes when they favour right-wing populists or seek to limit Brussell’s power.

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Today in Europe, free speech is just a mild irritant.........

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