Bruce Pardy: Legal Manipulation and the Need for Discernment

Canada’s institutions do not uphold truth. Rebuilding freedom requires critical thought and grassroots resolve.

Jun 02, 2025

This is part two of three of my interview with law professor Bruce Pardy. We discuss how Canada does not serve the people: propaganda is state-funded, truth is irrelevant to speech rights, and the legal system serves as a language to justify political outcomes. Prof. Pardy implores us to practice personal discernment and reject of illusions about government benevolence and judicial impartiality.

Bruce Pardy is a professor of law at Queen’s University and Executive Director of Rights Probe, a legal advocacy organization focused on individual liberty and the rule of law. His writing explores foundational legal and philosophical questions surrounding classical liberalism, individual autonomy, the growth of the managerial state, and the clash between individualism and collectivism.

To explore Bruce Pardy’s insightful legal and philosophical commentary, you can follow his work at:

Substack: brucepardy
X: @pardybruce
Website: rightsprobe

Political Decision-Making Driven by Self-Interest

Pardy describes how many people accept that business operates on self-interest, yet suspend this logic when it comes to politics. Politicians are assumed to serve the public good—but this assumption is unfounded. Political actors respond to incentives, not ideals. Expecting moral leadership from those navigating a domain of self-preservation is a recipe for disillusionment.

This is especially relevant in Alberta, where momentum is building for greater autonomy or separation. If such movements merely shift power from Ottawa to Edmonton without fundamentally redefining governance, the outcome will be more of the same. Only a movement born from the ground up, anchored in principle and clarity, has the potential to build something meaningfully new.

Public Susceptibility Enables Propaganda

Billions in public funds now go towards supporting media institutions that function less like journalists and more like spokespeople for the state. But the core issue isn’t the existence of propaganda—it’s the failure of the public to be discerning. Legacy media and pharmaceutical advertisers flood the screens, shaping perception and narrowing debate, yet citizens enable this through uncritical consumption.

The antidote isn’t new regulation or a different party in power, it’s personal discernment. People need to treat information like food—checking the source, reading the label, and comparing alternatives. Passive media consumption has become a form of mental malnourishment.

Legal Language Masks Political Power

Many view the legal system as a neutral process for delivering justice. However, Pardy decribes how it is more often a political ritual for reaching desired outcomes through legal language; evidence and logic are no guarantee of a fair ruling. Skilled judges and lawyers can twist precedent and language to justify nearly any conclusion—particularly when the case threatens the system’s authority.

This became brutally clear during legal challenges to COVID-19 “vaccine” mandates. Despite strong scientific evidence of injection harms, the courts largely ignored or dismissed them. Those seeking justice weren’t just denied—they were ridiculed and punished. The law, once seen as a shield, inherently functions as a mask for political will.

Individual Discernment Is the Foundation of Freedom

The path to a better society doesn’t begin with politicians or courts—it begins with people who think for themselves. Free speech is not something granted by the state; it is exercised by individuals with the courage to speak, whether they are right or wrong. Truth emerges not from control, but from conflicting ideas and contrast.

Rebuilding legitimacy requires rejecting institutional illusions, questioning every narrative, and resisting the mental comfort of consensus. A society worth living in will only emerge when enough people choose the harder path of independent judgment. That work begins with each of us.