Freedom is not the Government's to Take

Cowichan News | BC Legislature

Normal people - yes, normal people - have taken to the highways and streets of our country calling for a return to sanity. It is strange that the protestors of yesteryear now complaining about the Freedom Convoy, the radicals who were habitually anti establishment, are now siding with a government whose policies fail to acknowledge and respect those who have laboured to keep our economy from completely imploding.

The Freedom Convoy

If you haven't heard by now, a simply search of the web will reveal that Canadian truckers and allies have congregated en masse in Ottawa. The Prime Minister, citing covid contact, disappeared into seclusion. Justin Trudeau has since chirped up saying he has refused to meet with representatives of the trucking community, citing problematic behaviours by a tiny minority of those gathering across the nation as justification for his refusal to meet with the organizers and responsible representatives of the Convoy. Trudeau claims to have attended protests involving the BLM movement, protests which have included a much higher percentage of individuals committing unlawful acts than members of the Freedom Convoy movement.

Meanwhile, similar convoys have staged peaceful gatherings at the BC Legislature and other provincial capitols. This movement of freedom loving Canadians is growing and not going away any time soon.

Earlier today, a good many small trucks and cars bearing Canadian flags convoying to the Legislature passed the intersection of the TransCanada at Tillicum. Most of the cars stopped at the intersection honked their horns in support as the convoy passed. It was the same last weekend at the same intersection. Many cars I've witnessed on the daily drive have signs of support posted one their windows and on the sides of their vehicles. More than a few signs read "Trudeau must go!"

https://www.foxnews.com/world/canada-man-drives-suv-through-freedom-convoy-protesters-injuring-4

For the many of us who have driven past the gatherings, it is easy to see the lack of integrity of local media that are refusing to capture the protests with accuracy. Anyone - for or against the protests - can see that the gatherings are drawing large numbers of pro Freedom Convoy protestors. That a very small number of counter protestors are attending at the fringes of the gatherings is evident to anyone who drives by (or attempts to drive by - the streets are often jammed) or walks by the legislature district. Counter protestors, missing the obvious by holding signs stating something equivalent to the common slogan "Vaccines Matter", conveniently ignore that

Around 90% of Canada's 120,000 cross-border truckers are vaccinated, in line with the country's adult population. - BBC

Alaska Highway News | Freedom Convoy vehicles for as far as the eye can see

Commenting on the bad actions of the very small number of protestors, Prime Minister Trudeau commented

This (convoy) is not the story of our pandemic, our country, our people. My focus is standing with Canadians and getting through this pandemic.

And yet, as the Freedom Convoy approached Ottawa, the Prime Minister disappeared from Parliament Hill, ostensibly due to exposure to coronavirus, thus making his comment about "standing with Canadians" yet another empty slogan uttered by a man whose politicking exposes him as a liar and fraud. Trudeau, the Catholic, openly rejects the teachings of the Faith he claims as his own.

Has anyone mentioned to the Prime Minister that the same truckers of the Freedom Convoy likely join the many regionwide processions of commercial trucks adorned with Christmas lights that stretch for miles every holiday season as they peacefully wind around city streets accompanied by police escorts that ensure the convoys bring the light of Christmas to hundreds of communities across Canada?

Alaska Highway News

When common people protest, members of the cultural elite (for lack of a better term) allergically resort to name calling to dismiss their fellow citizens. There is no shortage of snobbery among some classes of people who have forgotten who is responsible for maintaining the supply chain that keeps grocery stores, etc., stocked so we can enjoy our necessities and creature comforts.

Like any effective protest, the Convoys are making life inconvenient for complacent citizens by blocking streets, to send a message: the status quo is unacceptable. Health policies are arbitrary, ineffective (How many seniors have died in care homes that have become death traps!), a threat to the economy, and setting precedents that carry a threat to restrict fundamental freedoms in the future. For those relying on the science, as the country slips in and out of recovery, the promoters of restrictive mandates seem unable to find the science to confirm such policies actually result in lasting positive outcomes. After months and months of frustratingly ineffective health policies, Canadians are expected to continue to comply with restrictions that have the effect of robbing citizens of basic rights. E.g., freedom of movement, freedom of association and, most importantly, freedom of conscience.

Thankfully, while our own news organizations seem to have mentally checked out, our media cousins to the South and around the world have checked in and have taken notice. They have noticed that we easy going Canucks, known for being "nice" and always saying 'sorry', are entirely capable of saying enough is enough when faced with restrictive health policies that are moodier and far less predicable than the weather of any region of Canada.

And so, kudos to the frontline workers, the truckers, who bring us food and fuel.