Cohen: Truck convoy — An American-style protest, a limp Canadian response

The prissy city that issues parking tickets on Christmas Eve and makes kids shut down lemonade stands is afraid to ticket truckers blocking downtown, because, you know, they might get angry.
Andrew Cohen - Feb 02, 2022

It is easy to talk of the Americanization of Canada, particularly in our political institutions. We now set fixed election dates, we ask appointees to the Supreme Court to appear before Parliament, we embrace attack advertising in elections.

More than anything, the tone of our politics has changed. Parliament does not have the congeniality or collegiality of a generation ago. Members clash in raw personal terms. Parliament sounds like Congress.

The Conservative Party is no longer the Progressive Conservative Party. Increasingly, it is what was once the now-defunct liberal wing of the Republican Party. It has acquired a hard-edged social conservatism, which makes winning hard in a moderate, centrist country.

If you are looking for more evidence, consider the trucker protest unfolding in Ottawa. You’d think this show was “imported from Detroit,” as the television commercial brilliantly sold the Chrysler 200.

Looking around, the signs of Americana are there: “Make Canada Great” hats, a Confederate flag, the ubiquitous banners (“F–k Trudeau, Trump 2024).” The crowd may be Canadian but it looks American. The vulgarity, the slogans, the props. Talk of the Tea Party. How original.

As the language and messages are American, so are the goals. Freedom, freedom, freedom, the protesters cry, like Richie Havens wailing at Woodstock. That’s the best you can do, your loudest chant, in a country overwhelmingly vaccinated? Canadians don’t live in a gulag. According to the Human Freedom Index, we are the sixth-freest country in the world.

But freedom to choose, whatever the cost to the majority, is the ark of the covenant of this “freedom convoy.” You have to work hard to make that argument in Canada, where freedom matters less than security.

That is why Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a civil libertarian, could impose the War Measures Act against terrorists in Quebec in 1970. He knew what mattered.

So, surveying the protesters, you might conclude: this picture is American. But look more closely and you may think we are not so American. After all, with downtown shut down, with businesses, clinics and offices closed, all we do is wring hands and wag fingers.

Yes, we ask the protesters to go home. Please leave, implores Mayor Milquetoast, a lame duck who has never been more lame. And if you don’t, he quacks, well, we’ll keep asking. Or, maybe, I’ll use my outside voice, even if it hurts your feelings, and then, well, you’ll be sorry.

We’re good at scolding in Canada. It’s “disrespectful” to dance on the National War Memorial or pee on the lawn or smear feces on someone’s door. It’s “concerning” or “inappropriate” when you honk all night. Now, stop. Please.

The prissy city that issues parking tickets on Christmas Eve and makes kids shut down lemonade stands is afraid to ticket truckers blocking downtown, because, you know, they might get angry. The more we tell the protesters the damage they cause, the more we embolden them to carry on.

Curfew? Permit? Public mischief? Wrongful assembly? Deadline? Limits? Boundaries? Really, there is nothing you can do but shrug, with a cost of increased policing at more than $1 million a day?

Meanwhile, the police chief congratulates his members for their patience and restraint, which seems to include tucking the protesters into bed at night. He talks about “de-escalation” while timid souls fear retaliation if we dare consider the rights of the majority, particularly the sleepless in Centretown — isolated, intimidated and frustrated.

Canadian? Someone inside foolishly tells the CBC the prime minister has left town, as if the mob were at his door. This makes news abroad. Better he channel his defiant father, hook his fingers in his belt and declare, “Just watch me.” At the very least, let him offer the police the “non-lethal weapons” he offered Ukrainians, the better to “de-escalate.”

So here we are. In tone, the truckers are Americans: defiant, noisy, coarse, messianic, insouciant. In response, the police and politicians are Canadian: deferential, polite, prudent, feckless.

Six days on, who has the upper hand?

Andrew Cohen is a journalist, a professor at Carleton University and author of Two Days in June: John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours That Made History.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/c...n-style-protest-a-limp-canadian-response

Steve;
Good evening to you sir, I hope the day's been a good one for you and this finds you all well.

There is so much about that article which shows the author's open left of center bias that I'm not entirely sure where to begin to dissect it.

After watching and/or listening to most of David Frei's live broadcasts over the past couple days, I can only surmise that Mr. Cohen is selectively blind or hasn't been there himself.

The second last line where he uses the term "American" followed by derisive terms truly indicates his motives, his bias and his foregone conclusion.

I read it Steve, twice even and I believe it'd be difficult for him to be more wrong about pretty much everything.

That said I'm not surprised that a professor from a major university accomplished that.

Bravo Mr. Cohen, you've affirmed my bias and furthered the gap between us - well done?

All the best to you all Steve.

Dwayne

Holy Scheet! After strolling thru Andrews twitter feed, all I can say is wow. That man loves him some Biden/Harris more than CNN. These truckers really got you triggered, why dont you like them? Serious question.

It is an opinion piece published in a major Canadian newspaper. I have no doubt that many people here do not agree with Mr. Cohen. That's not the point. Cohen is not the only person who thinks this.

As I reminded 673 in another thread, in order to promote your ideas, you must be aware of what others are saying.



I am not triggered. It seems that many people here are very triggered. Because I post articles from media outlets does not mean I disagree with the truckers. It is what governments, the police, and the media are saying about what we are talking about. That's all.

As I reminded 673 in another thread, in order to promote your ideas, you must be aware of what others are saying.

Well thank you! We have our very own left wing 24 HRCF reporter to keep us up to date on left wing reporting!! Thanks for the chuckle boss, have a nice evening.

I am hardly left wing. I do like to read as much as I can about things. As I said in a couple of other threads, you should be aware of what others are saying.

It is interesting on the left bias in Mr. Cohen's article. Here is a different view with much less bias from an overseas article.

https://spectator.com.au/2022/02/the-road-to-freedom/

The road to freedom 1 February 2022 6:22 PM

Truckies have become a symbol of freedom for Canadians living under Justin Trudeau’s increasingly despotic medical state.

50,000 trucks – the largest convoy in history – assembled under freezing conditions before snaking their way toward Ottawa. They were accompanied by hundreds of vehicles and greeted by cheering local crowds waving flags and banners after standing in the snow for hours. It created an outpouring of hope and signalled a palpable change in the political wind.

The celebration of liberty was enough to make Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flee the capital and go into hiding.

His evacuation was conducted with such drama that anyone would think Canada was under attack from a foreign army rather than frustrated citizens. Perhaps he was worried things were getting a little – uh – French?

There is something uniquely pathetic about Trudeau’s cowardice. After telling truck drivers that they were ‘extremists’ with ‘unacceptable views’, he equated the transport industry with terrorists. It was a low blow from a government running out of power. In Trudeau’s absence, the message of the Freedom Convoy was left to echo around the world – repeated by the independent press.

Ezra Levant of Rebel News addressed the rally with a backdrop of blaring truck horns. ‘I see a lot of cameras – a lot of independent journalists – because when people say, “What do we do about the media?” I say, “You become the media!” You have got to tell the story yourselves. Justin Trudeau says that you’re extreme – but he is the one who has violated your civil rights. He says that you are “fringe”. Well, this is a pretty bloody big “fringe”.’

Mainstream media barely touched the Freedom Convoy, and when they did it was only to hurl slanderous labels in their direction. Nazis. Conspiracy theorists. Anti-vaxxers. Terrorists. Even the word ‘freedom’ has been used interchangeably with ‘selfish’ – as though we should shame anyone that wishes to maintain their civil rights.

The press failed to acknowledge ordinary people had latched onto the truck protest as a sort of ‘freedom by proxy’. Unable to rally against Trudeau on their own, Canadians have used the truckers as protection to begin their own rebellion in defiance of Covid health orders.

Truck drivers hold a unique position of power. They are, in effect, the on/off switch of the nation. Without trucks everything stops, including the ability of the government to govern. Trudeau ran away because his empty threats could not stand toe-to-toe with 50,000 transport workers.


Trudeau’s weakness has alerted other freedom movements around the world to a chink in the armour of illiberal regimes.

Australian truck drivers are among those that have taken to the road in a satellite protest, journeying to Canberra as part of the Millions March Against Mandatory Vaccination group, where they assembled in front of Parliament House chanting, ‘You serve us!’

It is a message that has been lost during the Covid years, with politicians increasingly viewing their role as one of ‘control’.

In Australia, as with Canada, truck protests are not a single-cause issue. Mandatory vaccination is a major concern, but people are also furious about a wide range of Covid health orders which are seen as overreach, unnecessary, unscientific, dangerous, punitive, and increasingly ridiculous.

One of the only journalists on the ground in Canberra was Rebel News reporter Avi Yemini – who news.com.au chose to disingenuously call a ‘far-right YouTuber’. He spoke to the protesters and asked them why they were gathered in front of Parliament.

‘I am not allowed to earn a living. Why? Where is the justice?’ said one driver, clearly furious. ‘This truck costs me $2,200 a month to have parked up.’ He went on to say that he was allowed to work during the pandemic, and then the government cast him aside with mandatory vaccination orders.

‘This is democracy – this is real democracy,’ said another.

‘They are trying to destroy everything that we’ve ever worked for.’

‘We need our freedoms back – we’ve had enough.’

‘This government is killing our future.’

For Scott Morrison, the message was clear. ‘Just grow up. Make hard decisions for the country. Let us go back to work.’

‘We’ve just got to have change in this country, mate. We cannot keep on going. We’re going to send this country broke as a nation. We need a leader. We need someone to stand up for our people – for what’s right.’

Other truck drivers thanked their Canadian counterparts, saying, ‘Thank you for the motivation. Thank you for believing in us and supporting us.’

‘We’re thinking about you in the snow while we’re in our shorts and T-shirts.’

This is not the first time that Australia has looked to truck drivers to help free the country of Covid health orders. The #IStandWithTruckies hashtag did the rounds in August of 2021. It may be that the timing is not yet quite right in Australia for a full scale rebellion, but Canada has taught us that truck drivers hold the key to freedom.

As they say, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you!’ or in this case, ‘Don’t upset the truck drivers that bring food to your local supermarket’.

Interesting. These articles show the biases of two different media outlets. In both cases, they have a large subscription base. A clash of ideologies. Who will win?

It will be won by the working class as it should be. And by working class , I do not mean godless communist.
Like many things, governments frequently out live thier usefulness.

Politicians like nappies should be changed regularly and for the same reasons.
-Mark Twain

Left wing communist children like Steve hate the working man and pray at the alter of facism and dictators.

There is nothing interesting about the disinformation you keep posting . Canadian workers are treated like crap and want their basic human rights back,.
The govt controlled media want to destroy them and employ every lie and fraud that they can and the useful idiots like you lap it up.

I see you're hoping that the military comes and and starts shooting the workers at the freedom rally. Based on your responses to these workers I can tell you have never put an honest day's work in your life. Union member? Govt worker?

I don't believe him to be a communist.

There is a quote by Reagan.

It's not that our friends the democrats are wrong. It's just that they want to believe so much that isn't true.

It is easy to criticize people who live by their wits and work when you have never done so yourself. Take away his monthly payment and he would starve in short order.

He gets a retirement for having lived a life at public expense and his disdain and contempt for those who supported him all these years is very common among his ilk.

I wonder if he feels stupid yet for "following the science" that "evolves".

"Parliament sounds like Congress." What are you watching? Now I've only seen parliaments in Canada and the UK but yelling and making noise by the opposition to disrupt the person speaking has been the norm. I have watched off and on for many years now. So it is not a new thing. They even do it the Prime Ministers. Only recently have I seen someone yell out (extremely rare) in our congress and are usually rebuked. As those in our congress have found out if they disrupt the President (even when true and warranted) they get censured.

He is employed by the paper to help with sales. Andrew Cohen is well known around Ottawa. He sure gets people worked up.

Your left wing compared to the most, and not man enough to admit it. It's called liberal disillusional syndrome.

I approve of, and applaud the stand the freedom seeking patriots in Canada are taking. Nowadays it does the heart and soul good to see such brave men at work. It's also worth noting again what a coward and worm Redgewell and guys like him are, truly a disgrace to what real men stand for.

I don't mean to get all twisted up in you Canadians' business, but I don't really think Steve is taking a side here, to me it seems like he is simply stating that journalists are oftentimes scum feeding off of their subscriber base's confirmation bias.

Thank you. That is precisely what I meant.

Now you're changing your tune. The past two years you have repeatedly praised the CBC and all of their lies and misinformation , lauded the forced government shutdowns, sand colded and demeaned those who questioned the facist shut downs and destruction of Canadian life and culture.

Now all of the sudden when you're called out you changed your life long politics? lol

Win what, some blogging war? The issue is between the group that is shutting down middle class freedom, wealth, travel, employment choice( about 4-5 of the major human rights) over a so called supervirus that to date still barely beats diabetes for global deaths ...and people who would like to handle this non-entity flop of a virus like we handle all things of similar fatality by 'getting on with life'. Any drones who want to line up for the next 15 boosters that still dont work, ban themselves from workplaces or wear masks in their cars, are welcome to. They can sign up to whatever rubbish news rag to boot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOkkWIOkWl8

Steve is a useful idiot for the Trudeau facist govt and proves this with everyone of his posts . Prove me wrong

The problem we, and all who read/watch the news have, is all outlets are biased. All are loathe to let the truth get in the way of their story. Left wing, right wing, or centrist; all of them are quite willing to lie to us. Sometimes, they will go to great lengths to do so. If something happens which would seem to support their biased narrative, they will be all over it. If it then turns out to have been a false flag, it will be ignored or spun.
The mayor of Ottawa has shown himself to be somewhat prescient in declaring a state of emergency. We are in a state of emergency; it started when we decided to allow politicians to rule us rather than serve us. GD

Just how protected are those in the press?

Mike78;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope that wherever this finds you, you're getting to see the sun - it's a rarity in our winters is all - and that you're well.

That's a really good question on a few levels in my opinion.

Unfortunately I can only give you one old BC redneck's opinion on that, which might be way off base from reality but here goes.

Like everywhere it seems anymore the legacy media is crumbling in real time as people go online for their news. They - that is the press/media - aren't protected from that for sure unless they're willing to go on their own the way Rex Murphy has, but admittedly he's doing it in retirement.

The legacy media seems to me to be alarmingly synchronized with left leaning Canadian political parties. By synchronized I mean they'll use the same words, phrases and phrasing in their sentence structures at times. Many times too often in my view. That cannot be coincidental or at least I've not had anyone convince me that's possible. So they're reading from the same page of the same script.

The press then will be protected from political pressure by those who read the same script. One has to imagine that as a logical extension of the arrangement I would think anyways.

The sticky wicket would arise when enough Canadians begin to wonder why their TV station news readers, please note I didn't say journalists - all are saying the same thing and stop listening to them AND start voting for change.

The current Liberals/left leaning parties have supported the legacy media with millions of dollars and admit that.

Some on the right like Pierre Poilievre have openly spoken about stopping that - which may well mean defeat at the polls for him as the press and media campaign against him - or not as they see writing on the wall like we read Belshazzar did, but they see their name upon it?

We'll see I suppose, but in the meantime I'll do my best to point out to anyone who wants to listen what I see as obvious issues with our press and media.

Hopefully that was somewhat of an answer albeit not a definitive one by any stretch.

All the best.

Dwayne

Thank you for your reply and I feel humbled by it, considering my question.

It's good to know that good people exist, but my question was more about how protected, meaning security, do the press have. I think like a hunter, and the press are the lungs of the enemy. Destroying the lungs brings down the prey.

So how protected are the press?

You are describing a massive win for us all.

Mike78;
Good afternoon once more sir, thanks for the reply and clarification.

Well now let's see if I can better answer the question as I understand it.

In my view every time the legacy media/press and politicos get caught reading from the same page, it increases the chances of them taking a bullet - can even be a cup and core - not mono, not bonded - through the lower lungs - right where the heart can be traumatized too, which will lead to an untimely demise.

There's some like Rex Murphy I mentioned that could stand a fair bit of lead or arrows because he's earned enough public trust that there's some built in armor that comes along with that trust.

To folks my age - boomers - who only get their news from legacy media, then it's tougher to make a good lung shot for sure.

That said, this event has now made international news headlines and some like CNN are obviously reading from the same scrips as Canadian legacy media but there's an amazing amount of shots being fired by the likes of Russell Brand, Jordan Peterson, Dave Rubin and WION news to name a few.

Russell has nearly 4 million followers and WION - news out of India - have at least that many as well. That's not everything for sure, but it's not nothing either.

Having the likes of Tucker Carlson, Gov. Ron DeSantis and even Elon Musk give positive coverage or opinions on the convoy protest might not be a lung shot for our press, but it's at very least a swift kick to the testicles and I'll take that as a small win thanks.

Again this is my opinion, but having the participation from so much of Ontario and especially Quebec absolutely blew me away. I did not see that coming and would have bet fair sums of money they'd not show up, but no, I was wrong and they showed up in absolute uncountable throngs.

There has not been - in my lifetime that I can recall - so more than half a century - an event which caused this many Canadians with this diversity of backgrounds show up and join together. Again not to put too fine a point on it, but I would have firmly stated up to last week we were beyond that.

But I was dead wrong.

Maybe it's possible the lungs have been hit, but since it was going at a good trot when we hit it, it didn't break stride so we thought we missed.

We should however, as at all times when we fire at any game, waddle over and check the ground for blood or any sign of a hit, correct?

Here's hoping we find pink frothy lung blood when we get there.

All the best.

Dwayne

I am glad that most of the readers in this thread are finally on track.

As late as the 1970s, graduates of journalism and broadcast schools were taught that reporters and news readers were not to offer opinions. Only the editor was allowed to do that. That’s changed. More opinions are heard from news readers than in the past.

We did not have cellphones or the Internet.That's changed too. Since the 1990s, ordinary citizens, the media and special interest groups have been able to instantly send pictures, videos and their ideas to others around the world.

Instant communications are a double edged sword. They can show us events as they happen, but sometimes what we see or read is not the truth. This has made fake news so easy to distribute.

In order for us to figure things out, we have to read and watch as much as we can to get a feel for the big news stories. You want the truth, but despite having more news feeds, it’s more difficult to find than ever before.

We are bombarded with video, pictures and talk. Sometimes, it’s overwhelming. Nonetheless, you have to sort through it in order to get closer to the facts.

You cannot rely on one or two sources for the truth. You have to pick bits and pieces out of the media basket and form your own opinion of events. It isn’t easy.

From the No Shiet Sherlock files

Why are you so angry?

Why are you so stupid?

I thought so. Carry on.

LOL.. both you guys carry on, please..

I think you learned that bits and pieces of information can come from the strangest of places - like the CBC. GoFundMe didn't do anyone any favours, did they?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...-mandate-protest-fundraiser#Post16915253

Is this supposed to teach me a lesson? Is the lesson the CBC is sometimes got good stuff?

useful marxist Trudeau idiot

No. I don't think you can understand. Others get it however.

You are not wrong, giggle.

Steve, I don't think you're gonna win any arguments or friends here by trying to be objective. I know you're not what some are trying to make you out to be. However, by joining in a mud-slinging contest isn't the way to go, and I think you know that.

To the rest: My wife and I greatly appreciated Pierre Trudeau's "Just watch me" attitude when we lived in Montreal during the FLQ crisis. Nonetheless, I'm a true conservative in a social sense, and believe Stephen Harper to have been our greatest and best PM for a long time. And until the CP can come close to that again in leadership, we'll end up with increased left-leaning PMs because that's the cultural trend in Canada, Europe and the USA - away from God and to have "freedom" to "do your own thing" - meaning increased self-deception and immorality. Since I can't agree with those trends, I'll abstain from voting for anyone who supports them! But, since I can't support the NDP's agenda, nor the current Liberal thinking - and it's proxies in the media, I'll vote for the local Conservative rep, and have done so for the past 35 years.

It's not news, but Justin is not only a poor leader but a dangerous one who seems only concerned about maintaining "power" and "image" for its own sake.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

I know what you mean, Bob. It is unfortunate that no one wants to dispassionately discuss what’s happening.

Proverbs 14:15 says - A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.

Wrong.
The reason we have left leaning Prime ministers and left leaning political views is because of Ontario and Quebec.
The fact that those two Provinces decide for us here in the west is the problem in its entirety, we wouldn't have this problem if there were a border at Manitoba/Ontario, and is likely the only solution.

Acts 3:19 - Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Nothing limp about the Canadians response anyone who title a post this is a left leaning liberal.

it seems to me you have a different opinion to most here on what is going on and are hoping to present your side under varying news reports with a lot of tut tut lets learn to look at the facts, mediation type posting.

I personallly dont need a lesson on interpreting news sources, I dont think many here do either.

Just be frank. What is your own position on the news coverage, covid in general and the response by the canadian government etc.

Steve is an idiot of epic magnitude. He'll side with whatever is the ruling party, right no it's the despots.

Ban that Communist Troll.

Steve: I was planning on asking this myself. What are your personal feelings about the way your government has responded to the Corona virus? Do you think the "science" got some important things wrong? Do you think the mandates and border closures were justified now that you have the benefit of hindsight?

What would you personally do if you were PM about the disruption that truckers and farmers are causing?

Do you personally feel any regret about the financial hardships, the family breakups, the suicides and despair the government restrictions have caused?

Has this "pandemic" cost you one cent?

Love this nurse confronting Trudeau's Gestapo news. Steve's favorite news source

Read Steve's posts the past 2 years for your answer. He's repeatedly supported the lockdowns, firings, arrests forced vaxxine , the CBC NAZIs etc

Despicable to say the least

Great questions.

When the virus first showed up, I think science did what they thought was best. They knew nothing about COVID-19. The government followed their advice. As the virus went through the population and began to mutate, the doctors changed or modified their recommendations. It's important to remember that two years ago, there was no treatment or vaccine. They were still trying to figure out where it came from. Knowing that would have helped determine exactly what it was that they were dealing with.

About a year ago, I subscribed to Dr. John Campbell on youtube. He's a Brit, and a retired nursing teacher. https://www.youtube.com/c/Campbellteaching

It is difficult to compact a years worth of his daily chats into a short piece, but the Europeans seemed to be a few weeks ahead of us when the different variants hit. Campbell tracked the spread and all the normal stuff that medical people want a record of.

A few things he said struck me over the months. First was that people with compromised immune systems, transplant recipients and those with medical conditions should get the shot. Their bodies were weak to begin with. That made sense.

Second, for the rest, he reminded his subscribers that vaccines don't guarantee that we would not get COVID. He used examples of those who get shots for chicken pox or the flu. Some still end up with it. The vaccine would reduce the severity however. That said, people would still die. In that respect, it was no different than flu epidemics of the past.

Over the past year, he's talked about the various strains. Doctors consider the Omicron variant to be a blessing in some respects. It is a mild variant, and provides the immunity needed for the future.

What I took away from his talks was this. With the aforementioned exceptions, people don't need to worry as much about COVID now as they did from January 2020 until the fall of 2021. Between the vaccinations and the natural immunity, European doctors are confident that the worst is over. I believe what they say.

My personal belief is you should decide if you want the shot or not. There would be exceptions to this like healthcare/old age home workers or those dealing with persons whose immune systems are poor.

I believe that Trudeau has grossly mishandled the trucker's situation. As the disturbances grew, and before they decided to go to Ottawa, he should have listened to those who wanted to express their points of view. But he didn't. He ignored them, and this is what fanned the flames. He's not helping by sticking his head in the ground.

I feel no regret for any financial hardships. I did not cause them.

I have been helping my daughter. She is married with two kids. She and her husband have had periods of no work over the past two years. I have helped with their groceries and mortgage payments.

Great vid and so true and sad!

Thanks

Steve. The problem here is people believing that big government knows it all and is good for people.

I have a bit of medical background. Plus haz mat and fire. Not a great deal. But a fair bit.

We that have that knowledge screamed from the git go that this was all wrong. Smelled wrong. Simply did not add up.

The most deaths that happened from this thing was from non treatment. Thats the LAST thing you do as medical and especially as emergency medical.

Guess what. In emergency medical we rarely know what the name of a disease is that we are dealing with. But we treat symptoms and turn it over to supposedly higher educated folks.

Couple simple things here. If you are sick and getting sicker you don't send those folks home.

Micron size. Mask seal. Right off the bat most people knew that masks, even N95 could not stop transmission.

We knew that for anything you should stay away from others a bit. Didn't' mean at home. DOn't sneeze on others etc... Wash your hands a bit there. Especially after dealign with public.

Yet government that you voted for and elected and believed in said no, do it another way.

Yes you are partly responsible for this. For believing in your government.

Shutting down as long as they did simply drug this whole thing out to the extent is is now. Most anyone can survive a couple weeks. And that all they wanted. But nope. Drag it on, kill the economy. Pay folks to stay home. Pay em even more on welfare so they vote for me again and they don't have the urge to be productive.

This whole thing stinks except you evidently had the covid because you can't smell it. Simple as that.

Never mind the fact that iodine kills covid, 1% iodine. And we've known that for quite some time. Along with other drugs. But those are not the high dollar drugs.

I'm totally fed up with all the lies that came along with this. And the fact folks bought into them, and still do in large part.

And another excellent post^^^^

IT NEVER ADDED UP!

I understand, Ontario is being a stick in the mud on covid issues?

Let's be clear about one thing: I have never voted Liberal - ever. It is my government because they were legally elected.

I worked for the military for 22 years in uniform and 11 years as a civilian. I have seen regimes who put their citizens into lockdown and treated them like dirt. I was surprised when I felt some of that same anger and resentment at home. I hope that what we have experienced will not happen again.

I agree with you Steve, I hope to never experience this again. It has brought out the best and worst in people. Fear and anxiety can do that. You are a good man to have helped out your family. I have been lucky, both my wife and I are retired and our kids ended up working from their homes. We have not been impacted as hard as many others.

I pray that we are nearing the end of this mess. I am surprised that Trudeau hasn’t stepped down as leader of the Liberals. He has painted himself into a corner and his tone has made meeting the convoy organizers near impossible, therefore a peaceful resolution is made more difficult..

Nick

Thanks, Nick.

I cannot see Trudeau keeping the confidence of his party. Regardless of the leader, the power lies in the back rooms. The Liberals realize that he is a pariah. No more sunny ways. I think they are looking for a replacement.

A small thing, but a positive note for the Canuckian protestors from the damn Yankees. Attended the 73rd annual Sierra Cascade logging conference today in Redding CA. Used to hear a little grousing and grumbling and sour grapes from the guys over NAFTA and USCMA softwood imports from Canada (they understand it's not the workers fault, it's the politicians trade deals).
Well let me tell you, it was rah, rah Canuck protesters today. A couple of mentions from keynote speakers too. Everything I heard was 100% supportive and admiration for you folks and how well you conducted yourselves to achieve your goals. Be proud my friends.

And yet the past two years you were openly supporting all of the shutdowns and vaccine mandates and did nt care if millions of lives were destroyed. You're back peddling now because you've been called out my other members.

I'll never forget. You have no shame

one of your your gems

Re: Canada to keep border with U.S. closed until at least Oct. 21 [Re: Steve Redgwell] #15233581 09/18/20
OPOffline
Steve Redgwell
Campfire Outfitter

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 8,139
Ontario, Canada



Ok, but I am going to side with Dr. Fauci. I believe the figure was removed because it was misleading.

I like to think we do things a bit differently here. The protestors are well behaved for the most part, and their message seems to have been delivered.

We might do things differently but I think we need to take some lessons.

Despite the requests from Candice Bergen and the Conservatives, they must hold the line. DO NOT LEAVE.

You have the gov’t and the police flummoxed, because you’ve got control of the objective. If you leave, they will ensure that you can never come back.

So...you assume that others, your peers and counterparts across the continent and world, would do things differently. Violently. Are you familiar with the term "projection"?

I don't think it's quite over yet. If the protesters stay the course, everything will work out. I don't know how long that will be, but I hope that things will get back to normal soon. IMO, the big thing is not to give the police a reason to react violently.

It will be interesting to read the after action report on this. One thing's for sure, Trudeau has been a big help to the protesters.

Wannabebwana;
Good evening to you sir, I hope the day was decent to you and you're all well.

With the understanding that at this juncture I'm not in a hurry to defend any politician anywhere in Canada...

The clip where I found that she asked the truckers to take the blockade down was on CTV and it sounded like they started it mid sentence, no?

Try as I might I was unable to find any preamble or conditions to her request which might be good for context.

If there's anyone or any group I trust as little as the politicians here at present, it's the legacy media.

They went from saying it didn't exist to now it's a problem overnight?

Anyways I'll cautiously reserve judgement at present until I can get some context for that statement as I don't trust CTV any further than I could throw them in a 65" flat screen.

We'll keep an eye on it for sure though.

All the best and have a good evening.

Dwayne

100% correct. Redgwell has been supportive of everything the Canadian government has done up to now. He trusted their "experts".

Commie to the bone

Dwayne, all the best of the morning to you. Below is the statement from Candice Bergen --- pulled from Post Millennial.

I would note that the context of the full quote was missing from CTV and I could not find it on Global news --- I have my own conclusions on their coverage.

Whether a person agrees with her or not to me it is important to have the full context of her presentation.

Especially after yesterday's rant by Trudeau blaming inflation (food, fuel, utilities, car parts) on the protest and the conservatives for backing the protest.

https://thepostmillennial.com/


"She then addressed the protest directly, where she applauded their spirit, but called for an end to protests."I want to speak directly to Canadians who are demonstrating here in Ottawa and across the country. Your protest began with truckers, and you've grown into an international phenomenon," she said, referring to protests that have spawned in Europe and elsewhere."To all of you that are taking place in the protest, I believe the time has come for you to take down the barricades, stop the disruptive action, and come together. The economy you want to see reopen is hurting. Farmers manufacturers, small businesses, and families are suffering. I believe this is not what you want to do," she said, likely referring not just to the main Ottawa protest, but the much more economically impactful Ambassador Bridge protest in Windsor, Ontario, where hundreds of millions of dollars of trade between the US and Canada pass each day."You're protesting because you love your country, and you want your freedom back. To the protestors here in Ottawa, you came bringing a message. That message has been heard. Conservatives have heard you, and we will stand up for you and all Canadians who want to get back to normal life. We will not stop until the mandates have ended."Today though, I'm asking you to take down the blockades. Protest peacefully and legally. But it's time to remove the barricades and the trucks for the sake of the economy, and because it's the right thing to do," she concluded."

So you agree with the aims of the protesters? You think the Canadian government acted wrongly this last year with their mandates and border closures?

I will admit that I am quite outdone that my wife and had planned a vacation in Canada this year and we were shut out and instead spent several $1000 dollars in Alaska instead. It was a trip we had been looking forward to and like most U.S. Americans and Canadians we looked at the Canada/U.S. border as only slightly more inconvenient than one of our state borders.

This bullsheit has cost Canada a huge amount of money and goodwill for what we now know was no good reason.

Hugh;
Good morning and thanks so much for that sir!

I looked and looked for that and was unable to find it.

While I'm not quite sure I agree with her position or believe it's going to damage the Conservative politically, I believe I get the point she's making.

The pickle is that the Conservative alone quite conceivably can't get the NDP/Lib/BQ coalition to make effective change you know?

She's walking a tight rope here, I hope it turns out well for her and them because at present they're the only right of center party who has any hope of forming a government.

My gut feel this morning is that the situation on the borders might have the US government do something - hopefully remove their sanctions - because science reasons and then that'd allow Prince Hide 'n Ski to do the same?

Or Hide 'n Ski will continue to dig in and double down.

If the the BQ and NDP would be so inclined, they could for a nonconfidence motion too I suppose?

I shall continue to pray that God's will gets done here Hugh, and that we have the strength to deal with whatever that looks like.

We'll see for sure, but thanks so much again sir.

Dwayne

I agree that it is time to end the government’s policy now.

Uhhh, errr , well, ummm

Dwayne, I'd suggest that the protests need to continue until the NDP and BQ come onside, because then JustRun will have no support.

The only way to deal with a tyrant is to take away his enablers.

Wannabebwana;
Morning sir, thanks for the reply.

Your assessment seems logical to me for sure.

I was just watching Doug Ford live and you all now have a provincial State of Emergency declared.

Again I have no concept of all the ramifications of that, but here in BC it meant there were funds available outside the regular budget - this was fires and floods here last year.

I'll continue to pray for everyone involved and all of us for that matter.

All the best.

Dwayne

There was a fella on the AR political forum (back before I got banned) named CrazyHorseConsulting. He came to an untimely end when he got out of his truck to open a gate and the truck ran over him. Facts vs beliefs. He believed he had put the truck in park when, in fact, he hadn't.

CHC was much like our Stevie. He was a world-class fence-sitter who pulled splinters out of his ass every night. He'd never take a position on anything until it was absolutely safe to do so ie. always ensuring he was on the winning side. Instead, he'd preach "objectivity" and his favourite question was "but how do you KNOW?" for things that were plain on their face.

Objectivity is great. Analysis paralysis is not.

Dwayne, from the looks of it, Doug Ford is doubling down, making it illegal to protest for more than say, 5 minutes. "Make your point and go home".

This will not end well for him.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8612348/ontario-doug-ford-border-protests-announcement/

Ford just insured Trudeau retains his job, right there in front of the entire Country.

Not one word about mandates, they never even entertained the thought.
I haven't changed my thoughts from the moment this thing began, we are being delivered up to globalists for a one world government.

Yep and anyone who can't see what's happening is willfully blind. A one world government where there is no voting and no alternative.

The government knew everything they needed to about covid about 2 months in. It was into the 3rd world, the least immune, most vulnerable 4.5 billion humans on the planet and it did little damage. Ranks still about the same level as diabetes or slightly worse than TB. At that point we should have toned the response accordingly.

A lot of these peoples barely locked down or had any ability to socially distance either. 1/3 of the worlds population has no plumbing or elec meaning they commune in high density areas 2-3x per day just to draw water or buy live food or they die in 72 hours. Thats a full transmission environment, and when covid hit the projections were losses of tens of millions a month.

What did we find according to all the thousand of western managed disaster relief centres, UN projects, independant clinics across the world? How many instances of anyone getting 1-3% death counts anywhere ? 50%, 20%, 1%? Nope not one. We have a super virus that after three variants still only disrupts the world about as much as TB, apart from the damage our governments have done themselves... three times.

Not to mention the money burnt from all these lockdowns could have built an entire new medical system in most 1st world countries

If you think that level of bad math, blundered response, repeated illogical decisions and social destruction is worth considering, I suggest you go back to the 5th grade and brush up on math, geography , social studies, actually everything.




The financial hardship hasnt even started yet. Im in international shipping where freight costs have jumped 1000-1500%. Most things in your life arrive from a 40ft sea container and these costs will soon be passed on. There is a price to be paid for these lockdowns and it wont be sorted out by some govt stimulus pack. We are in for about a generations hardship here.

Rex Murphy on the convoy with a nice zinger at Trudeau - Jagmeet and Carney

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/re...e-political-elite-would-have-you-believe

It takes a great deal to piss off the Hufflepuffs but the Slyterin in Ottawa did it and now they should be scared.

People who live in harsh climates tend to have great hospitality and social cohesion. The scum-bags on Ottawa traded on that. Now it is all used up and many regular folks in Canada are rethinking things.

It is also a wake-up call for some of us in the US. Socialized medicine is not free medicine. Socialized medicine is handing potential life-and-death decisions to the bean-counters and those who will do anything to keep power.

Hugh;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the fire's lit and the coffee's hot on your side of the big hills.

I keep on saying it, but really Rex has become a full blown National Treasure since departing from the hallowed halls of his former employer.

My goodness that was a fine read sir! Every Canadian capable of thought should read it - truly.

Thanks kindly for the morning read from Rex, it was his Newfoundland wit at it's finest.

All the best.

Dwayne

Good stuff!

HOLD THE LINE ! I wish American truckers would head to the border on our side and hold that line in protest too ! the only thing out of control is Governments and Unions HOLD THE LINE !

Steve has come on here repeatedly to support the dangerous facist anti freedom vaccine passports and mandates and supports Trudeau's facist plan to isolate those who choose not the get the experimental vaccine even those with natural strong natural immunity.