I note that Elon Musk appeared with Donald Trump this weekend and said that if the Democrats get elected in the upcoming US federal election there will be no democracy and no free speech.

In an interview with the New York Times earlier this year, Musk, who is undoubtedly gifted with genius and vision, said that in Canada we do not have free speech and you do not get your rights read to you when arrested here.

While Musk has Canadian citizenship and attended Queen's University, he obviously did not study law. In fact an arrested person is read rights similar to the Miranda rights in the US and there are strong duties on the police to implement the right to counsel (Musk would find that out if he got arrested in Canada).

As for free speech, even US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has questioned the wisdom of the US Supreme Court Sullivan decision which essentially legalized libel and permits hate speech in the US. I

In Canada and other common law jurisdictions, an action for defamation is alive and well and allows a better determination of the truth of political and other statements. It is true in Canada that speech is not unlimited. Hate speech is not permitted here although these charges are rarely laid. Free speech is guaranteed in our Charter of Rights in similar terms to the US Bill of Rights.