Thought of the Day - February 16 2022 - Canada's Emergency

Later this week I was planning on an article about how the Trucker's Rally was being viewed by the rest of the world. How up to this point in the pandemic Canada had largely been known for stockpiling vaccines but was now being seen as a country where people fed up with COVID restrictions could peacefully stand up for their rights.

The Trucker's "Freedom" Rally, whether you support the cause or not, was seen around the world as a model. While it is true people were being inconvenienced with noise and roadblocks especially in Ottawa, unlike demonstrations across much of the world this rally was not about property damage, tear gas and violence.

One of the reasons things were not going too badly is that the police, municipal, provincial, and the RCMP, although being front-line responders are not subject to vaccine mandate. They know that without the Trucker's protest a mandate for them could have been next (I am sure there is plenty behind the Ottawa police chief's sudden departure).

Whether you agree with the Trucker's methods in supporting their personal interests, the truth of the matter is winding down of pandemic measures is the direction the majority of Canadians wish to go, and where most provinces are already going. One just has to look at vaccination rates as a proxy. The vast majority of Canadians went ahead with their first and second shots, but now many have weighed up the pros and cons, and for numerous reasons are not going ahead with boosters ( Thought of the Day - December 6 2021 - Ex-vaxxers ) - figures show less than half of Canadians have chosen to get one.

Well, so much for the article. The Trudeau government, rather than proactively addressing the issue as was done in Quebec City (for example by providing a forum for negotiations or layout the roadmap for exit from this pandemic), has now invoked the Emergency Act. Wow!

This means Canadians involved no longer have any rights. This means you can be arrested without charges and your bank accounts frozen if you support a demonstration against COVID measures. Forget the model that was being emulated by others around the world now fed up with COVID restrictions. This could now get ugly quickly. We can only hope that the House or the Senate will revoke or severely limit this declaration. While I don't pretend to know anything about the legal nuances, in my personal opinion, I do know it is a sad thing that Canada has reached this point.

Cliff