The shock of the Covid-19 pandemic has not yet finished affecting conspiracy theorists.
The whole question of the $30 tax in the Magdalen Islands reopens fresh wounds among drinkers in the words of anti-government activities gurus.
The paranoia of population control
For many Quebecers, it is entirely understandable that tourists who visit the Magdalen Islands are asked to contribute to municipal services and the preservation of the landscape by paying a visitor tax.
For others, it is a scandal and a serious attack. why Not for their wallets, but for their sacred personal freedom, the city council offered to use a QR code to ensure toll payments.
What? A QR code like a vaccine passport? Corruption!
For them, QR code is a dangerous device used to track people and take away their freedom.
The government wants to control you!
The ideology that we are increasingly losing freedom is fashionable in some quarters.
The rhetoric that mobilizes right-wing voters includes the promise of full individual liberty and claims that current governments are taking away our rights.
QR codes pose no more threat to privacy than geolocation on mobile devices, data collection by apps, or information held by companies offering loyalty programs.
Another argument of critics of the “island tax” is that freedom of movement within the country is a fundamental freedom.
I am, but freedom of movement does not mean freedom to degrade a fragile environment without paying consequences. A free society can only function if everyone respects the rights of others. Otherwise, it is anarchy.
