Trudeau, Authoritarian Regressions, & Language Games

Photo by Charl Folscher on Unsplash

When Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau announced the imminent sweep of his government’s Emergency Act on February 14, he stood before Parliament — several stone-faced, mask-clad public officials fidgeting behind him and in soft, schoolmarm tones he proceeded to spin webs of language silk to frame a story of unprovoked, groundless attack by a band of mutinous citizens who quick, needed to be…