The laws we protest must still be obeyed

If Ontarians have any reason to thank Adam Skelly, it’s for reminding them where legitimate protest ends and dangerous law-breaking almost certainly begins.

Skelly is the Toronto restaurateur who faced criminal charges last week after repeatedly opening his barbecue joint in defiance of emergency orders issued to stop the spread of COVID-19.

In Skelly’s distorted version of reality, he’s a freedom fighter. He’s the hero pushing back against big governments that are pounding small entrepreneurs like him with a sledgehammer of absurd pandemic regulations while letting big corporations continue as if there was no health emergency at all.

He’s the plucky little David, standing up to the Goliath of Ontario Premier Doug Ford who banned indoor dining in Toronto eateries for 28 days after the pandemic’s second wave was getting out of control in the city. The trouble with Skelly’s fantasy is that in this case, David wasn’t striking a blow for liberty.

This David was ignoring necessary and legitimate emergency orders set down by a democratically elected government. And in the process, he was endangering the public and possibly enabling the spread of a potentially lethal disease.

On one level, it was sad to see this small entrepreneur led away from one of his establishments in police handcuffs. Skelly’s business must have suffered enormously during the provincewide COVID-19 shutdown earlier this year.

Then, being unable to serve dine-in customers for a month must have come as another bitter blow. It hurt even more when Skelly watched nearby big-box stores welcoming scores of patrons through their doors to shop inside.

A lot of Ontarians are confused and frustrated by complicated provincial rules that change from region to region and often day to day. Skelly had every right to speak out publicly against what he deems unfair or unreasonable. He was free to write a petition, wave a protest placard, rally other small business people and lobby politicians.

The value of such legal pressure tactics was driven home when Peel Region last Thursday passed a motion calling on the provincial government to ban the sale of non-essential goods in local big-box stores as a way to “level the playing field” for small retailers. Clearly, governments aren’t getting everything right in this pandemic. Citizens serve the public interest when they effect positive change.

Yet, Skelly quickly crossed the boundary between legitimate and illegitimate protest. On three successive days, he flouted the ban on indoor restaurant dining. Dozens of patrons entered his premises while scores of his supporters rallied and railed outside, some warning about communist threats. Face masks and physical distancing were scorned. Skelly welcomed, even encouraged, the scofflaws.

He wasn’t simply challenging government decrees. He was suddenly an armchair epidemiologist opposing the science-based orders of public health officials as if he knew best. While some Toronto businesses followed his example and opened their doors as if there was no pandemic, other law-abiding entrepreneurs complained they were suffering financially for complying with the rules.

Ontario reported 1,855 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, a record high. No one should be surprised this happened when more and more people feel free to thumb their noses at public policy and the law itself. Such militant disobedience leads to anarchy, not freedom.

Let’s hope Skelly’s example sets things straight. Cherish your rights as an individual. But know they end when they impinge upon the rights of others, including their right to physical security. You are free to oppose a law and work to repeal it. You are not free to ignore it. If you do, expect to be charged.