We have a convoy of angry and shambolic truck drivers to thank for pulling back the curtain and exposing how fragile our democracy is in this country.
This group has unwittingly released a torrent of pandemic-weary frustration and contempt for our democratic institutions and our leaders. The lawlessness and civil unrest we’ve experienced in Ottawa as a result of the protesters has spread to other cities and now threatens to spread to other countries as well.
The convoy was originally intended to protest mandated vaccinations for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border but quickly grew as thousands signed on to express a festering anger and fear over lockdowns, school closings, job losses, and a multitude of other social and financial ills during these past two pandemic-plagued years.
Unfortunately, the protest got hijacked and overshadowed along the way by a motley cabal of racists, anti-Semites, outright hooligans, and extremists committed to fomenting social unrest. Opportunistic politicians haven’t helped.
Despite pleas and threats that the protesters must go, there is a solid core determined to stay until the hell they’ve created freezes over.
In fact, it’s a witch’s brew that police and politicians now struggle to control—stirred by social media and lies, distortions, conspiracy theories, racism, and hate.
We knew the big trucks were on their way to Ottawa from all across the country but we can be forgiven for thinking it would be just another protest group that would cause some inconvenience, get some attention, squeeze some promises out of politicians, and then pick up their marbles and go home.
After all, this is Canada and until three weeks ago we were known around the world for our civility, stability, and playing nice.
But when citizens in our nation’s capital become barricaded in their downtown homes and businesses are shuttered out of fear and Ottawa’s police chief admits his force is inadequate and untrained to deal with a city under siege, it is time to admit we’ve got a problem.
In fact, it’s more than that. With the distribution of Jew-hating literature and as symbols of evil like the flags of Nazi Germany and the U.S. Confederacy fluttered amidst the bedlam in the shadow of the Peace Tower, we were confronted with the reality that we have lost our innocence and are not immune to U.S.-style politics and social upheaval.
We have tasted the conservative right-wing populism felt across Europe and which has denigrated the U.S. in the eyes of the world, engulfed the once-great Republican Party, and hobbled the U.S. Congress
That’s not just diesel fumes that permeate the city core around Parliament Hill, the Ambassador Bridge at Windsor, and elsewhere. It’s the unmistakable odour of Trump-like far-right extremists and white nationalists and social media venom right here in our once safe, respectful, and comfy backyard.
What does it say when first responders become the target of demonstrators’ venom and abuse and protesters demand “freedom’’ while depriving their fellow citizens the basic freedom to feel safe in their own communities?
In Toronto, as the city prepared for the protesters, health care workers were told not to display their hospital credentials for fear of being attacked by rabid anti-vaxxers and outright fools.
What does it say when roads and bridges are barricaded, supply chains are severed, and tens of thousands of workers are denied the freedom to work and earn the money needed to support their families?
People demand that the trucks be towed but local towing companies fear the wrath of the protesters and won’t assist police.
The demonstrators are unfazed by the billions of tax dollars being spent on policing, the huge losses to the Canadian and U.S. economies, the damage to international relations, and the potential permanent loss of manufacturing jobs in the automobile and other sectors.
So much for all that money spent on convincing investors that this is a good, safe place to build and create jobs.
Police intelligence confirms the “significant” involvement and influence of U.S. extremists and big money in the demonstrations. It’s no coincidence that Donald Trump, as he plots his return to the White House in 2024, was quick to praise the chaos up here north of the 49th and encourage its spread.
Fox, the conservative cable news channel in the U.S. and rabid Trump supporter, has highly praised the truckers protest and one of its star commentators has called it “the single most successful human rights protest in a generation”.
There was an obvious U.S. presence at all of the demonstrations—from the Stars and Stripes to Vote Trump 2024 banners and Let’s Go Brandon signs (a vulgar expression Republicans have coined to denigrate current President Joe Biden).
Donations have become a major issue with one fundraising company agreeing under pressure to refund the $1O million to donors and MPs have voted to investigate the source of the money.
It is no wonder politicians have an interest in the source of money raised—not just over concern about foreign influence but the reality that the data would be valuable to fundraising by our political parties.
Maxime Bernier’s alt-right People’s Party of Canada (PPC) would be especially happy to get its hands on the list of donors, many of whom would share a similar political philosophy.
Bernier failed to win any seats in last year’s election but more than 800,000 votes were cast for the PPC and support for him and his party has increased in recent months.
Meanwhile, it hasn’t been the finest hour for our system of government and leaders. Politicians have spent more time bickering and testing which way the wind blows than showing the leadership needed to prevent or solve the crisis.
Beleaguered Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly has been begging for help almost since the outset—and is still waiting. The politicians are falling over each other tangled in jurisdictional wrangles.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been a major target of the protesters’ venom with signs and slogans calling for his resignation and condemning him for earlier belittling the convoy as a fringe group of misfits and refusing to meet with the convoy.
Truth to tell, the group is without leaders and their demands (including an overthrow of the Trudeau government) were either so unreasonable or so diverse and numerous not to be taken seriously.
How the public will judge Trudeau’s handling of this whole nightmare is yet to be determined. That will probably be decided by how the situation finally ends.
The Conservative Party of Canada emerges the biggest losers with several of its MPs openly encouraging the protesters and the party clinging to its refusal to call for an end to the protest even as the situation became more dire and costs soared.
No doubt influenced by polls that show Canadians are fed up and want the protests to end, the CPC under its new interim leader Candice Bergen finally put up the white flag this week and urged the protesters to go home.
However, MP Pierre Poilievre, the only announced contender so far in a contest to choose the new Conservative Party leader, stood in the Commons on Thursday, congratulated the protesters for their support of Canadian freedoms, and in a ravenous bid for power left his party bitterly divided.
The outcome of the Conservative Party leadership could well be determined on the issue of the truckers convoy.
Like Fox news and Donald Trump, far right Conservatives will support the truckers and their call for more freedom to live their lives as they wish without government influence and mandates.
Poilievre has firmly staked out his claim on the right and, sadly, it wouldn’t be the first time that a Conservative Party leadership is determined by which candidate can win the social conservative alt-right wing of the party.
The far right is the ball and chain that drags down the Conservative Party of Canada and keeps the Liberals in office election after election as voters show their preference for moderation over extremism.
Poilievre is a shrewd politician and his reading of the public mood is that the time is right for that to change.
The truckers have opened our eyes to the dangers of civil unrest and the fragility of our democracy.
We should learn a lot from this whole sorry mess. We can only hope.
Sally Barnes has enjoyed a distinguished career as a writer, journalist and author. Her work has been recognized in a number of ways, including receiving a Southam Fellowship in Journalism at Massey College at the University of Toronto. A self-confessed political junkie, she has worked in the back-rooms for several Ontario premiers. In addition to a number of other community contributions, Sally Barnes served a term as president of the Ontario Council on the Status of Women. She is a former business colleague of Doppler’s publisher, Hugh Mackenzie, and lives in Kingston, Ontario. You can find her online at sallybarnesauthor.com.
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Let’s start from a place of Love. God Bless those in Ottawa, especially our MPs, who need to make a serious decision. This also includes Canadians, from across Canada, who’ve suffered much in the last 2 years, as well as small businesses. Remember, people come to visit the Capital and Parliament, because at its core, it serves Canadians in a democracy. It’s commen to protest there, 365 days a year: think soapbox. This large group of people is a big missed opportunity for bussiness in the city and area! Ponder these questions: Why are small businesses closed, Big profits being missed?; Why is the city complaining? You’re not a tourism spot anymore?
Nice to know that Bill Blair is looking after things! Minister of Emergency Preparedness! Really?
Maybe because I’m old (76) but I don’t understand what “freedom” these protestors want. They don’t want to wear a mask in public places? Then tell your doctor if you ever need an operation no need to wear mask or wash their hands. Same if you visit a dentist. Do you really want a dentist in your face with no mask or cloves?Most Canadians are vaccinated and no one i s forcing anyone to get a shot. As far as freedom goes. Try this trucker nonsense in Russia or China. C’mon I dare you. Canada Now and Canada forever.
Ms. Barnes; I want to register my agreement with your point of view on this one. To further George Gilley’s point, I believe also that we the “silent majority” are deeply concerned with the happenings around the country. I, however, see this as a turning point in our Canadian, evolving, democracy. When the dust settles (snow) I have hope, yes hope, that we citizens, and hopefully, our federal and provincial governments will realize something important: we can’t decide what to choose until we know what we don’t want. We don’t want “that”! We need to speak up, and stand up, for that which serves us best in a civilized and fair fashion..at least that’s what I wish. I don’t think we should be silent any longer about this behaviour. We don’t need trucks we need a voice.
As a Jewish woman, who has lived my whole life in many places across Ontario, I know for sure that most people in Canada are not Nazis. I have only once seen a Swastika on a locker in my high-school and one on a gravestone, not something that scared me and not likely done by someone who truly holds Nazis believes. Would I paint my entire high-school student body as racist, Nazis with unexceptional views?…of course not. I would think people who truly idealized these views are a fridge minority. What scares me is the hate I see from people like the author of this article. What scares me is the hate speech made by Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, as he stated on a public television broadcast in Quebec, that those who have not been vaccinated are very often “Misogynists and Racists”, he then stated that “They don’t believe in science/progress”. Finally, Mr. Trudeau went on to make the statement “This leads us, as a leader and as a country, to make a choice: “Do we tolerate these people?” and “that they take up some space.”
It’s scary when lawful, peaceful citizens are left fearing for their safety, their families safety, their job security, their body autonomy and the possibly of violence against them due to comments and actions from the Prime Minister of Canada! These egregious statements were made for the purpose of promoting hatred and violence against an identifiable group. Charges should be persuaded, The Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) s. 319(1) and 319(2) be laid and proceeded upon immediately against Justin Trudeau. That’s not likely going to happen. But for some reason people like the author, Sally would rather talk about one Nazis flag at a peaceful protest than the hate crimes by our own Prime Minister. For some reason Sally would rather regurgitate propaganda from the government paid for media than do some real journalism. Maybe Sally should go to Ottawa and see for herself. Maybe Sally should ask an orthodox Jew how they felt when they were harassed ticketed on their way from prayer due to Quebec nonsensical curfew. Maybe talk to a Jewish person, maybe ask them if the slippery slope of our freedoms being eroded scares them or reminds them of the raise of tyrannical leaders in history.
From my perspective all the political governments- Municipal ( Jim Watson -mayor Ottawa ), Provincial
( Premiers Ford , Moe , and Kenney ) along with our federal leaders ( Trudeau, Bergen , Singh ) have done little to solve the ” Freedom Convoy ” protesters’ insurrection from coast to coast .
If the interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen had initially worked / compromised with the the Liberals and the NDP and vice versa it is possible that this confrontation growing larger by the day might have been resolved by now
Here is the letter I emailed to Interim Leader Candice Bergen on Feb . 4 ,2022 .
Truckers’ ” Freedom Convoy ” Rolled Over the federal Conservative Party
John Barltrop
Feb 4, 2022, 9:34 PM (8 days ago)
to candice.bergen, pm, chrystia.freeland, jagmeet, omar.alghabra, yves-francois.blanchet, premierministre, andrew.scheer, marco.mendicino, jim.watson, erin.otoole, michael.chong, michelle.rempel, premier, mayor_tory
Dear Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen
I totally agree with PM Trudeau that he should not negotiate with the protesters who are insurrectionists and anarchists that are now occupying and holding our capital city of Ottawa hostage .
I am appalled that you and fellow Conservative MPs had photo ops which were viewed across all aspects of the media nationally, and internationally ( ie Late Night Shows: Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel ) . You are going against the vast majority of Canadians who have taken the shot .In Ontario, 90% of Ontarians have received at least 2 shots. Ontarians have little patience for those who won’t do the safe , neighbourly thing of getting vaxxed .
Today, CTV senior political correspondent Ottawa stated : I quote
Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen pushed predecessor Erin O’Toole to show support for the Freedom Convoy protest, arguing last week there are “good people on both sides,” an echo of the phrase made infamous by former U.S. president Donald Trump after a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
Bergen also told O’Toole and other members of the Conservative shadow cabinet that there were “reasonable people” at the truckers’ protest, just as there were in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. ”
With those comments I hope that you will resign the post of Interim Conservative leader . Your party is fractured into many uncontrolled camps-Reformists , Libertarians,Social Conservatives , Christian Right , and Populists. .
Middle -class families in suburban ridings across this country (-Halifax , Montreal , Toronto, Calgary , Vancouver ), New Canadians , BIPOC Canadians and LGBTQ Canadians aren’t going to join a party that appears to encourage Trump Style Politics / American style populism .
There are definite fissures in the Conservative Caucus as of today.
1) Conservative Quebec MP Pierre Paul-Hus says the Ottawa protest “is a siege being controlled by anarchist groups “.
2) Conservative caucus senator Denise Patterson of Nunavut is leaving the Conservative caucus over his colleagues supporting the protest.
In conclusion , your party will be in the wilderness for years as Canadians, especially in suburban centers, will not forget this selfish, arrogant Truckers’ Freedom Convoy that has morphed into a protest to overthrow our democracy.
From my perspective ,the Truckers’ Freedom Convoy has rolled over the Conservative party , and not PM Trudeau’s Liberal party as you had hoped .
john barltrop
Markham , Ontario
Most diverse , inclusive city in Canada
Great article Sally as are all your contributions to this electronic news paper
Too bad two or three comments to your article come from people who spend more ink whining and criticizing your free speech.
We are all at our wits end with the closures and openings and more closures and mask wearing etc.
The last time I looked we still live in a democracy. And the smart people in our democracy (90 per cent plus) are vaccinated
And this “silent” majority understand peaceful protest but these border closures and city occupations can not be allowed
The last thing we want in Canada is Trump style politics
Keep up the good work
It’s interesting when you actually go-to Ottawa, you will see unity, respect and peace from the truckers and their supporters. There is no hunger on the streets , crime rate has drastically dropped and the street’s have never been cleaner.
Shame on you for not researching deeper and not questioning 2nd hand news.
Sad to say, Canada’s “JANUARY 6” !!!
There may have been forays against our parliament before but never such as it is today. The War Measures were taken during the First World War and the Second World War (hence the name) and again during the October Crisis. When Pierre uttered his “just watch me” and everybody watched.
Today’s insurrection is on a different scale.
I just listened to our federal transport minister say “We will support them in whatever they do”, maybe not quoted verbatim, but close as ‘damit’ is to swearing. He inferred with ‘what they do’ that it was someone else that had to make the move; other premiers I suppose, because none of these happenings are against federal regulation. Now if the insurrectionists were actually out on the bridge……..!
The conservatives have been plowed under by this whole performance, some appearing like unoccupied clowns behind unemployed truckers (if they were employed, they would be at work) and then later saying ‘OOOps!!!’ Maybe we shouldn’t have done that.” And who has much confidence in people who say oops; especially if those people are politicians?
The liberals are inert, inactive and are being stared down. If there is police intervention, it’s possible some actions will be over the top. They may involve court actions later, but do you measure that against hundreds of millions of dollars industrial losses each day?
The NDP is only significant as a ‘klingon’.
We seem to be leaderless, our democracy in peril. Just another banana republic in search of a dictator? I wonder who will be there to fight for all these ‘rights’ they claim, when we begin to lose them?
But maybe there is hope! I heard one trucker say he was ready to go to jail if necessary. Then Off with you man!
Apparently some people are much easier to satisfy than others.
I understand freedom and peoples rights but not the way the protestors are going about it. I am concerned for our beautiful Ottawa downtown. When people get backed into a bad position they will rage and destroy everything in their sight. Our Prime Minister needs to be a lot more perceptive when it comes to protecting what all Canadians have worked so hard to build. The news has become a challenge to watch. When will the army be called in to protect Ottawa. I am a proud Canadian. Lived with my head held high most of my life, but I am so ashamed of my Federal Government. We need a strong leader that will stand up for all of us. Tough talk doesnt accomplish anything.
Before the truckers reached Ottawa, did you not hear Trudeau accuse unvaxed citizens of being ‘racist and misogynist’?
He should apologize, as these words are ignorant and insulting.
Canada has lost its innocence, but you cannot blame the truckers.
Perhaps Sally should stand up from behind her fancy keyboard and actually take a look at what’s going on outside?
You can whine and complain about how bad and scary a place Canada is now (it isn’t), but you can’t ignore the fact that the dregs are sick of the unproductive telling us how to live our lives. These aren’t “Nazis,” Miss Buzzword, they’re blue-collar people trying to save their livelihoods and their kids’ livelihoods. Stop watching CBC and reading rags like the Doppler. Those things make you stupid.
Freedom is always worth fighting for. United We Stand and Divided We Fall
Sally, I would suggest that the trucker protest, from the beginning has appropriately been on the radar of the federal government and its agencies.
My goodness, previous attacks on Parliament Hill are not a new phenomenon. You have historical amnesia.
“Canada has lost its innocence” is a false assumption to your narrative. Where have you been? Terrorist attacks have occurred from the October Crisis of 1970 onward to recent decades. I won’t give you a historical list unless you would like one. Let me know and I will supply examples. Canadian history is anything but boring and innocent. There has been strife and change; we are affected internally at a national level, a regional level, and internationally affected.
The challenge for me with this ‘freedom convoy’ is that the original intent has morphed into a nightmare which has not been handled well regardless of your political affiliation. There have been several protests/demonstrations here in Huntsville outside town hall. At no time was I threatened or felt anxious. People parted to let me by and wished me a good day. And I thanked them for the civilized approach regardless whether I agreed with them or not. Ottawa is now occupied by a variety of people who are not representing the original intent of the convoy. And the ‘freedom’ many espouse is being denied people in Ottawa who are not free to work..wear a mask if they choose..sleep..etc.