Windsor criminal lawyer Patrick Ducharme has issued an “urgent call to arms” against vaccine mandates in the preface of his latest criminal law book, arguing “the right to life and liberty is under attack.”

“I’m writing a book about how people protect their civil liberties and how the best use of charter arguments and fairness arguments work, and it’s essentially aimed at lawyers,” Ducharme said Friday. “So the preface is really a call to arms that we ought to be ready. Because I think this whole idea of forcing vaccinations on people and people losing their job if they refuse to put some substance, the contents of which they don’t know and no one will tell them exactly what it is, is an infringement against personal options and personal rights.”

Ducharme, a high-profile criminal lawyer for four decades, has written several legal advocacy books. His newest is 2022 Criminal Trial Strategies: Counsel’s Handbook on Criminal Law – Using the Laws of Evidence and Procedure Effectively.

The book’s preface is titled An Urgent Call to Arms Against Tyranny, in which Ducharme writes corporations and lobby groups have “corrupted” scientists and convinced governments to “pass new laws that benefit only the oligarchs.”

“It is a mass psychosis, the likes of which has not been seen since Hitler and Stalin,” he writes. “But this time it’s worse. This time the villains are many, and they hide behind a thick veil of corporate secrecy.”Governments and public health agencies have repeatedly stated that approved COVID-19 vaccines are generally safe, though there can be side effects.

The Canadian government, which implemented a vaccine mandate for its public service and federally regulated transportation sectors, has also stated that it monitors the safety and effectiveness of vaccines approved for use in Canada.

“Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect our families, communities and ourselves against COVID-19,” according to Health Canada. “Evidence indicates that vaccines are very effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.”

Ducharme is aware it’s a “touchy subject.” He said he has already received dozens of calls from colleagues and others questioning him.
“The book is over than 500 pages so it’s devoted to a lot of stuff,” said Ducharme. “But I did say in there on multiple occasions it’s really left to the lawyers and the courts to decide rights, anybody’s rights. That’s what it comes down to. I don’t think it should be decided in the medical profession. It should be decided on evidence.”