Things are getting interesting as regards our neighbor to the north. They suffer the same creeping tyranny that America does, but handle it a bit differently.

We all remember -- or should remember -- the preacher Artur Pawlowski, of Calgary’s street church. He fearlessly called out the police who invaded his church over ridiculous COVID regulations, calling them Nazis.

Police were kicked out of a church in Calgary over Easter weekend, with a pastor calling them “Nazis,” after responding to a call related to COVID-19 concerns.

Pastor Artur Pawlowski of The Fortress (Cave) of Adullam congregation in Canada recorded a video Saturday in which he called the local authorities “Nazis,” “gestapo” and “communists” while demanding they leave the church and not return unless they had a warrant. -- The Hill

Like an Old Testament prophet, Pastor Pawlowski has thundered wrath and fulmination down upon a corrupt state -- which in this case was not a wayward Israelite monarchy, but the Canadian establishment. And Canadian government agents regularly harass him.

But like Jeremiah of old, he does not back down. In 2022, he supported the trucker’s freedom convoy,

And the state reacted again. He was jailed, and even thrown in solitary confinement.

Pawlowski, who leads Street Church and the Cave of Adallum in Calgary, Alberta, was released Wednesday after spending 51 days in custody. The preacher’s release comes about six weeks after he was arrested for allegedly inciting “mischief” while addressing a crowd of Freedom Convoy participants at the U.S.-Canada border in Alberta, according to CBC News. -- CBN

And what was his crime, according to the Canadians?

A Calgary pastor has been granted bail after his arrest more than six weeks ago for his involvement with protesters at a border blockade in southern Alberta.

Calgary Street Church minister Artur Pawlowski is charged with breaching an order to keep the peace and with committing mischief by inciting others to block use of public property.

The charges relate to his joining a rally at a roadblock on Highway 4 outside Milk River, Alta., and later giving a speech heard on video telling protesters to continue their fight against government mandates.  (Emphasis mine)

He was giving video encouragement to the truckers. Egad!

Pawlowski of the Cave of Adallum Church and Street Church in Calgary, Alberta, was arrested at his home Tuesday as he was about to depart for a church service at a border blockade… -- Christian Post

Well, the modern state cannot allow that. However, in court, he has won another battle. In the meantime, last year, Pastor Pawlowski did a speaking tour here in America where he was cheered as a hero.

We should not think that in America we are any better. In California, there were some positively confounding rulings regarding COVID restrictions:

While California’s new stay-at-home order has shut down restaurant dining, shuttered salons and kept church services outside, two strip clubs in San Diego are still welcoming patrons nightly, protected by a court order. -- AP News (2020)

Strip clubs were allowed to remain open, but church gatherings were not?! Even if California is not Canada, one can see the same mindset at work. Though a California court did offer some relief, by overturning fines against a Pentecostal Church for defying the restrictions.

A California church that defied safety regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic by holding large religious services won't have to pay about $200,000 in fines, a state appeals court ruled. -- ABC News

Nor is the harassment confined to Christians. In both Montreal and New York, Hasidim had been harassed regarding COVID regulations.

But it seems that the Canadians do have options that are somewhat foreclosed here in the United States, namely secession. With no historical equivalent of the bloody American Civil War to deter them, Canadian provinces are not so jittery about entertaining separation.

Here in the USA, the American Civil War ended the recurring threat of secession as a political option. No state has seriously entertained it since then, though some are starting to reconsider it.

Texas Republicans are pushing for a referendum to decide whether the state should secede from the U.S. -- Newsweek

However, Canada’s constitution does entertain the possibility of secession. In 1995, a referendum concerning secession was allowed in Quebec. It almost passed. But in 1998, the Canadian Supreme Court tightened the rules to declare that such a secession cannot be unilateral.

The Supreme Court of Canada says the French-speaking province of Quebec does not have the right to separate unilaterally under either Canadian or international law. -- Radio Free Europe

What is clear is that Canadian provinces have a more “autonomous” relationship with their federal government that American states do. That includes Alberta, where Pastor Artur Pawlowski resides.

And so, Artur Pawlowski has just been elected as leader of the Independence Party of Alberta.

The Independence Party wants to congratulate and welcome Artur Pawlowski to his new role as Leader of The Independence Party. Today we move forward stronger; this grassroots movement united to bring back accountability, prosperity and freedom to the people of Alberta. -- The Independence Party website

The Albertans have been furious with the controlling regime in Ottawa for some time. The party has an on/off history going back to 2001.

Now, should Alberta become independent, it would have serious problems. It would be a landlocked, with no ports. However, the Independence Party has an answer to that.

We already have access to tidewater through the US and through the Trans Mountain pipeline. We will negotiate a fair deal, nation to nation, with Canada that is mutually beneficial to both nations. If by chance Canada wants to play hard ball, we will excerpt our rights to our railways, highways and airways. Landlocked Canada from the province of British Columbia will be much more detrimental to Canada than Alberta.

As time goes on we expect other prairie provinces to secede which will provide access to Churchill and Alaska or northern British Columbia. -- IP FAQ page

If Alberta goes, the Canadian West might follow suit.

Happily, the Albertans do not seem to be as violently boastful as the fire-eaters of the American South in 1860. They seem to be willing to work slowly. There is none of the “One Southerner can lick twenty Yankees” attitude that was prevalent in 1861. Rather the Albertans seem willing to wean themselves off of Canada in steps.

The objective of The Independence Party is to provide effective government that reduces Alberta’s dependence upon Canada’s federal government as it works towards establishing an independent Alberta nation. Upon forming government, The Independence Party will name a date for a referendum on independence within the first year.  -- The Independence Party website

But Albertan politeness should not be confused with weakness. They are prepared to be defiant.

If the Federal Government engages in hostile behaviors (acts in “bad faith”) or attempts to interfere in or obstruct the separation process, we will achieve de facto unilateral secession through a declaration of independence signed by the Premier. -- IP About Page

What is important is not so much that Alberta becomes independent -- it probably won’t -- but rather that the option is now out there on the playing field. And with Pastor Pawlowski in a leadership role, it will get a hearing.

Image: Artur Pawlowski