"What is driving this movement is a very small, organized group that is driven by an ideology to overthrow the government through whatever means they may wish to use,” - Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on Monday finally grew a semi-set of balls, becoming the first Canadian leader to invoke the country’s Emergencies Act. Trouble is, the Rightist pestilence occupying Ottawa and raising Cain in other border cities, isn't buying he will do anything but posture. But when faced with fascist rabble trying to tear democracy down, this never works.
Ottawans, let's be clear- as well as millions of sane, sensible Canucks - are becoming more distressed by the hour as they behold the impotence of the country's so-called leaders in the face of this Right wing attack on the nation. My own niece, Inge, living in Toronto, cannot believe how the level of trust in gov't is falling almost by the day - as thousands in Ottawa remain holed up in homes trying to find some sense of security - even to go to a pharmacy to get meds.
Thus, Trudeau has been under pressure to quell the chaos that has spiraled from the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations against vaccine mandates and coronavirus restrictions - but is really a brazen, criminal effort to take down his government by any means necessary. Indeed, a report yesterday in the WaPo noted the poseur "truckers" laughing and declaring "no fear" and that they plan to "hold the line". Of course they will, so long as no military rifles are pointed at their bloody heads forcing them to disband and leave.
Author Stephen Marche on ALL In last Thursday night, aptly pointed out that these asinine Canadian "truckers" (actually mostly far Right former cops, army vets) - contrary to the distortions of U.S. media- are opposed by the majority of Canadians (60 percent). It's costing jobs, it's triggering more inflation by adding supply problems and it's having major ill effects on the mental states of Ottawa citizens.
Also, as Marche explained to Chris Hayes, it isn't really about vaccine mandates but exerting pressure to oust Justin Trudeau and demanding the "dissolution of parliament". (A la the 'Enabling Act' of Hitler and the Nazis.) A right wing coup in another guise, hatched in the US of A, by the Rightist vermin here. When asked by Hayes if he was surprised by the American far Right taking up the Canadian "Freedom convoy" cause Marche replied:
"Not really because I think what's clear to us over here is this is spillover from American political toxicity and what we're seeing is a sizable element of U.S. involvement in the Ottawa blockade. So it's not surprising to me at all that American Right wing people are the biggest supporters of this. ...
This isn't related to any policy, even on health care. For example, they're demanding the resignation of Justin Trudeau which is not realistic."
See e.g.
Understandably, Trudeau doesn't wish to go the route of actually deploying the military, as he's terrified of the optics, especially in a liberal democracy. But alas, that is exactly what these fake trucker terrorists are counting on: that all he will do is bloviate, bark, posture and threaten but not actually send in forces to disperse and arrest them. The Ottawa authorities have already said they lack the resources, manpower to act on their own, particularly as many of the rabble are armed.
According to Trudeau yesterday: "The Act will give police more tools to bring order to areas where public assemblies constitute illegal and dangerous activities."
Fine and dandy, but the terrorists are still laughing at you and your 'day late and dollar short' efforts to displace them and give real freedom where it's needed, to Ottawa's citizens under siege for the 3rd week now.
We also learned financial institutions will get sweeping powers to halt the flow of funding to the Freedom Convoy protests. Again, a day late and dollar short. The Right terrorists occupying Ottawa already have gained millions from the American Right's 'Go Fund Me' campaigns, enough to last them weeks more - honking horns endlessly at night, belching carbon monoxide from their rigs, and accosting any masked citizens on the streets, including nurses. Meanwhile, in Coutts, Alberta and Surrey more illegal blockades and uprisings have erupted.
Trudeau needs to realize he too is on the verge of being deemed a poseur by his own nation's decent citizenry. If he refuses to deploy the military to rout the vermin infesting Ottawa, he will be judged as wanting - in courage, as well as vision. In this sense, he also needs to tune out the 'nervous Nellies' who claim a vested interest in civil liberties, but don't mind a fascist takeover of the capital. I refer to the nonprofit Canadian Civil Liberties Association which - incredibly - said using the law was unjustified. These fools declared: “Emergency legislation should not be normalized. It threatens our democracy and our civil liberties,” It said in a statement.
Do these lily -livered 'Neville Chamberlain' clones not see fascism is already being normalized each day this goes on, as their democracy is threatened from within and about to be taken down? Jesus Peace, look at what's happening in Ottawa! E.g.
Beleaguered Ottawans losing faith in leaders, want 'siege' to end
Excerpt:
"locals say they feel abandoned and helpless. They are also furious about the disruption and what they describe as an insufficient response by police and government officials. "
If the Canadian Civil Liberties Association needs a corrective counter- perception, look at Shannon Stubbs, a Conservative lawmaker who called Trudeau’s move a “serious blow to individual liberties." Of course! Because she doesn't want her "trucker" partners in havoc to be dragged from their rigs in Ottawa - but to continue their pseudo freedom onslaught, the "freedom" to keep Ottawans up all night with honking horns, fearful to venture to the corner grocery, or even send kids to school.
She's a damned conservative for Pete's sake. Conservos will always value faux freedom over responsibility. But Trudeau and his government can't afford that luxury.
As I wrote in my earlier post:
Make no mistake the rule of law is on the dock in this standoff, and Canadian authorities - especially Justin Trudeau - can either acquiesce to terror or show that their laws still mean something more than dried ink on paper.
See Also:
Opinion | When ‘Freedom’ Means the Right to Destroy - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Excerpt:
So this isn’t a grass-roots trucker uprising. It’s more like a slow-motion Jan. 6, a disruption caused by a relatively small number of activists, many of them right-wing extremists. .. Any attempt to put a number on the economic costs of the blockade is tricky and speculative. However, it’s not hard to come up with numbers like $300 million or more per day; combine that with the disruption of Ottawa, and the “trucker” protests may already have inflicted a couple of billion dollars in economic damage.
That’s an interesting number, because it’s roughly comparable to insurance industry estimates of total losses associated with the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the killing of George Floyd — protests that seem to have involved more than 15 million people.
This comparison will no doubt surprise those who get their news from right-wing media, which portrayed B.L.M. as an orgy of arson and looting. .....In fact, the demonstrations were remarkably nonviolent; vandalism happened in a few cases, but it was relatively rare, and the damage was small considering the huge size of the protests....What it’s really about is an attempt to exploit pandemic weariness to boost the usual culture-war agenda.
As you might expect, the U.S. right is loving it. People who portrayed peaceful protests against police killings as an existential threat are delighted by the spectacle of right-wing activists breaking the law and destroying wealth
And:
by Henry Giroux | February 13, 2022 - 8:59am | permalink
Excerpt:
The “Freedom Convoy” movement, consisting of hundreds of trucks, has ground to a halt the busiest border crossing between Canada and the United States and occupied Ottawa, Canada’s capital, effectively blockading the city and disrupting daily life for most residents in the core of the city. The convoy participants reject all vaccine requirements and mandates and support a decidedly anti-government discourse reminiscent of far-right ideology in the United States.
The convoy participants lack the support of the general public, which is largely vaccinated. They also lack the support of most Canadian truckers, 90 percent of whom are vaccinated, and of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA).
Support has also come from powerful anti-democratic social media figures such as Tucker Carlson, Jordan Peterson and Elon Musk, and an array of white supremacist groups. Some of the more powerful right-wing groups in Canada include Action4Canada, which makes the false and conspiracy-riddled claim that the COVID-19 pandemic “was carried out, at least in part, by Bill Gates and a ‘New World (Economic) Order’ to facilitate the injection of 5G-enabled microchips into the population.” With the help of the social media, support for the Freedom Convoy protests snowballed globally with upcoming convoys being planned for the United States, France and all 27 European countries.
......
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network, a nonprofit group, has reported that “The so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’ was organized by known far-right figures who have espoused Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and other hateful views.”
The Ottawa protests have made clear that extreme elements supporting fascism and white nationalism are attracted to the movement, and visible in the appearance of neo-Nazi and Confederate flags and an abundance of QAnon logos emblazoned on trucks, signs and stickers.
And:
by William Rivers Pitt | February 18, 2022 - 7:31am | permalink
And:
by Brandon Gage | February 17, 2022 - 8:12am | permalink
Excerpt:
Today has been a wild one over in Fox News propaganda land, even by their standards. This morning, anchor Jesse Watters urged the United States to annex Canada to save it from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom Watters suggested is a communist. And he was serious.
“We have to finish the wall and build a fresh one in the north if this keeps up. Or we could just liberate the Canadians from their dictatorship,” said Watters. “It’s not like America hasn’t done that before. There’s room for a few more stars on the flag.”
The full eight-minute segment is below:
Meanwhile, on Mornings with Maria on Fox Business, host Maria Bartiromo accused President Joe Biden of manufacturing the crisis between Russia and Ukraine as a “ruse” to yank attention away from – who else? – Hillary Clinton.
And:
by Bill Berkowitz | February 13, 2022 - 7:19am | permalink
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