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The contrast between Canada’s treatment of the Freedom Convoy and a pro-Hamas demonstration in Vancouver raises serious questions about equal enforcement of the law.

Footage from Vancouver shows protesters blocking a fire truck for roughly a minute during an unpermitted demonstration. Police did not appear to clear a path for the emergency vehicle or arrest anyone as the obstruction continued.

Compare that with the treatment of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa in 2022. Truckers worked with Ottawa police and city officials to keep an emergency lane open and move trucks away from residential areas. Despite those efforts, convoy organizers faced criminal prosecution.

Tamara Lich, one of the convoy’s prominent organizers, is still facing the consequences. The Crown has appealed her sentence, seeking a harsher penalty.

The question is straightforward: would authorities have responded differently if Freedom Convoy protesters had blocked a fire truck trying to reach an emergency?

Blocking emergency services can put lives and property at risk. The political message behind a protest should not determine whether that conduct is tolerated or punished.

If the law is to mean anything, it must be enforced consistently, whether the protesters are challenging government COVID-19 policies or demonstrating in support of Hamas.

Canadians should not have to wonder whether the consequences of breaking the law depend on which political cause is being championed.