W5 visited Richmound, Sask., to learn more about the self-described 'Queen of Canada,' who controversially moved to the rural village with her followers last year.
Well in Canada we don't have unlimited free speech. We used to arrest people for hate speech and terroristic threats, now we let them get away with it as they grow bolder
Even if you don't charge her with anything ... just tie her and her people up in court endlessly and let them drain their money in the legal system forever or until they just run out of money.
It's a fine line. My mother believes Q-adjacent anti-vax bullshit that her manic bipolar boyfriend spoonfeeds her. She's otherwise a competent, independent adult. She knows who the Prime Minister is (and that he's satan incarnate) and pays her bills on time. She believes insane bullshit, but she's not dangerous to herself or others.
She's not forcing anyone to send her money, she's saying crazy things that somehow resonate with people who are to some degree mentally ill but not dangerous, like my mother. People do stupid shit all the time, and if we criminalized that, we'd have to turn all of Alberta into a prison.
As for the threats, she's not a genuine threat, and arresting / locking her up would turn her into a martyr to her followers, which could cause bigger issues. The people who tried to arrest police in Peterborough got what was coming to them, and they were made an example of. Cult leaders don't want their followers getting locked up where they can snap out of it.
People are dumb. I'm dumb, you're dumb, everyone is dumb. Some people are dumb in ways that make them awkward in the office, other people are dumb in ways that makes them drive a truck from Alberta to Ottawa.
The QAnon Anonymous podcast, which critically explores conspiracy movements in general, is worth checking out if you want a deeper dive into Didulo and the broader conspiracy movements she's connected with. They have a couple of episodes dedicated to her particularly, but also cover things like the sovereign citizen conspiracy theory that she trafficks in.