Protesters have been occupying downtown Ottawa for a few weeks now and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is using the Emergencies Act to help remove stubborn occupiers.
Of course, it began as the “Freedom Convoy” of truckers that started in B.C. and drove to Ontario to protest having to get vaccinated to cross the U.S. border.
The truckers were joined by people who had a beef about virtually anything, not only vaccines at the border. Once they got to Ottawa, they took over the downtown and refused to leave.
Huge semi-trucks and farm tractors lined up over a kilometre to block streets while honking their horns and running their motors continuously. Can you imagine living in that area listening to that and breathing in the diesel fumes all day for over two weeks?
To boot, residents and health workers were harassed and threatened for wearing masks or for simply going to work.
The problem is that most of the original convoy members have left but extremists came to support the convoy, and some of them had signs showing Trudeau with a noose around his neck.
So, it’s not even the people who started the convoy who are occupying Ottawa. It’s mostly people who came later. And some of them declared they won’t leave until the Governor General dissolves the government. LOL.
Can you believe it? The Governor General is largely a ceremonial person who simply calls elections and does other similar things when the Prime Minister asks her to.
And the people breaking the law and making life a living hell for people living in Ottawa wanted her to dissolve the government. For doing its job of protecting our health. Eschia … take it easy, eh!
Other extremists saw how the convoy took over downtown Ottawa and said, “we can do this too.” And they set up blockades at the U.S. border crossings in Windsor, Ont.; Coutts, Alta; and Emerson, Man. Not cool at all.
Half a billion dollars a day at stake
The week-long border blockades stopped trucks from crossing the border, disrupting trade and even forced Canadian car plants to shut down because parts couldn’t be shipped from the United States.
The protesters hailed this as a huge victory. The difference is that economists say the blockades in Windsor disrupted $390 million in trade each day; not to mention the $48 million a day in Coutts, and $74 million daily in Emerson.
That is over half a billion dollars a day! And that’s not even counting the cost to the provinces and cities.
So, people were complaining that Trudeau, provincial governments, and the police were not doing enough to remove the blockades.
Then last Monday morning, the RCMP raided trailers at the Coutts blockade that they said were associated with a criminal organization.
They seized 13 long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armour, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and high-capacity magazines. The pictures show several automatic weapons.
Four of the eleven charged protesters have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The rest face charges of impeding the lawful use of property by others, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and uttering threats.
Emergencies Act
Finding the weapons was probably the last straw as later that day Trudeau announced the federal government was authorizing use of the Emergencies Act to help clear out the blockades.
The same day, police cleared the border blockade in Windsor, and in Coutts the next day. Apparently regular police methods were used to end both blockades, but the threat of the Emergencies Act was probably a huge factor.
Tow truck companies had refused to tow away blockade vehicles because they were afraid of losing the business of the people involved and their supporters. Apparently, police had to get tow trucks from the U.S. to haul away vehicles to open the Windsor border.
Now governments can declare tow-truck operators are an essential service and order them to remove vehicles from protest sites.
People can’t legally travel to the blockade in Ottawa, and you’ve got to leave if you’re already there. You also can’t help the blockaders, so no bringing food or fuel.
It designates international and interprovincial bridges, hospitals, and Covid-19 vaccine locations as “secure” and “protected.” Kids under 18 are not allowed to be “within 500 metres of” any of the convoy demonstrations.
Fundraising organizations like GoFundMe must report suspicious transactions and financial institutions have to report if they have in their control, “property that belongs to a person who participates in the blockade.” Banks can also freeze personal and corporate accounts.
Breaking these rules mean a fine up to $500 or six months in jail if charged with a summary conviction. If charged by indictment, a person could get a fine up to $5,000 or up to five years in prison.
Of course, the situation in downtown Ottawa is much more complicated than the borders, with up to 100 kids living in the idling semis and maybe more automatic weapons.
The police are outnumbered, and it’s so bad that Ottawa’s chief of police resigned. But the Emergencies Act should certainly help with that.
Now some people are saying that Trudeau has over-reacted. That using the Emergencies Act is going too far. Give me a break.
First of all, people complain because he’s not doing enough. Now they complain that he’s going too far. What was the option? Trudeau certainly wasn’t going to use the military to remove the blockades.
I’m shaking my head. What a mess the blockaders have caused.
