Canadian authorities have begun imprisoning citizens who refuse to comply with state-mandated medication, in an alarming escalation of the Trudeau government’s authoritarian control.
Geraldine Mason, a 36-year-old resident of God’s Lake First Nation in northern Manitoba, was sent to prison for three months under the Public Health Act for not consistently taking her tuberculosis medication.
Despite having no criminal record or being infectious at the time, Mason was arrested, strip-searched, and jailed for nearly a month alongside individuals in the general prison population.
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Mason’s detention began on October 27 after health officials secured a court order citing fears that missed tuberculosis medication doses could lead to the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the disease.
While tuberculosis is a serious public health concern, Mason’s situation underscores the authoritarian measures Canadian authorities are increasingly willing to employ under the Trudeau government.
Mason spent her first week at the Winnipeg Remand Centre before being transferred to the Women’s Correctional Centre, missing her son’s 13th birthday and her grandson’s first Halloween.
She described her experience as traumatizing: “I was scared…I didn’t know who to call. I didn’t know what to do.”
Despite reassurances from a nurse that she wouldn’t be treated as a criminal, Mason was subjected to harsh conditions, including limited phone access, confinement to her cell for 20 hours a day, and being shackled for hospital visits.
Under Manitoba’s Public Health Act, medical officers can request court orders to detain individuals deemed a threat to public health.
In this instance, the rationale provided was Mason’s inconsistent treatment adherence, which could exacerbate the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
However, critics argue that Mason’s detention raises ethical questions about the criminalization of health noncompliance, particularly when less punitive alternatives, such as community-based health interventions, might have been available.
This case is drawing significant attention to the tension between collective health measures and individual rights in Canada. Civil liberties advocates question whether such severe actions are justified, especially when they disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
For Mason, the personal cost was immense: the loss of her freedom, dignity, and time with her family.
Meanwhile, the Trudeau government has begun euthanizing Canadian citizens suffering from severe injuries linked to the COVID vaccines – the same vaccines that his administration mandated and coerced the majority of the population to take.