January 29th from LifeSite News
February 1
One of the organizers of the convoy is an Indigenous woman, and another is a Jewish man. Yet at a press conference, yesterday Trudeau claimed the freedom movement is tarnished by Nazi and racist sympathies. What's he talking about? There is no indication of this whatsoever. Maureen
https://twitter.com/hashtag/ConvoyForFreedom2022?src=hashtag_click
We all know that the organizers specifically wanted to meet with the Prime Minister to express their frustration with the vaccination mandates etc. but he refused to meet with them and seemingly went into hiding instead. He fled Ottawa just before the convoy of trucks arrived, citing exposure to COVID, even though at the time he tested negative. Today he tweeted that he had tested positive despite being triple vaccinated. Really? Maureen
From lifesite news https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-equates-canadian-truckers-at-freedom-convoy-rally-to-nazis-racists/?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=canada.
"Within the first couple of minutes of the press conference, Trudeau said that “freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy, but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery … are not.”
He was asked by a reporter if he would meet with the truckers or attend the protest, as he attended, for instance, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations during the height of lockdown in 2020, but he said he would not. “I have attended protests in the past when I agreed with the goals,” referring to BLM, but he is choosing to stay away from the trucker protest because of “hateful rhetoric” and “violence toward citizens.”
Trudeau’s expressed unwillingness to support the trucker convoy movement due to his belief that there is a risk of violence associated with the movement is in contrast to his government’s past actions that saw him hand over a compensation cheque of $10 million to a convicted terrorist who killed an American soldier. "
.....................................................
Anyways there you have it from the mouth of our Prime Minister. According to him, the freedom Convoy protestors are a bunch of racists and Nazis with hateful rhetoric and violence toward citizens. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like I said I was on the Hill on Sunday. The grounds were awash in Canadian Flags. The speeches were heartfelt, compassionate, and humble. There was nothing with even a touch of violent rhetoric. This is the Prime Minister who clearly supports anarchists such as the BLM movement but he won't even meet with sincere Canadians who drove thousands of miles for a meeting with the man who is supposedly their prime minister? At the very least it is mean and childish but it seems to be more than that. I don't get our Prime Minister and I don't get the Canadians that are on board with the hatred he is inciting for the Freedom Convoy because that is clearly what is happening. And I am fed up once again with our reporters from the mainstream because they just echo what Trudeau says without any regard for the truth it seems. I am sure none of them were on Parliament Hill on Sunday. CFRA used to be better than that. God bless Canada! God bless those who promote love and not hatred, truth and not lies! God bless all who work for freedom justice and peace! And God bless Canada! Maureen
Beginning of this Peaceful protest ( I am going to try to put together a summary of sorts )
You know there was so much name-calling and lies said about the Freedom Convoy, by our Prime Minister not to mention the biased reporting by Legacy Media. In just 2-3 weeks we saw the brainwashing of almost an entire city.And don't forget the false accusations ( scapegoating ) by our mayor. Oh, and not just the mayor but news reporters CBC CTV, etc. Not a word about why the truckers came to Ottawa in the first place. Read the book by Andrew Lawton
I don't know how many times I heard a reporter interview someone about the fire incident and without a shred of evidence guess who gets blamed, Isn't that calumny? And I know folks who to this day still believe the lies. And never mind that the tuckers prepared food for the homeless and each other during those days in frigid weather That I heard from some of the homeless themselves. Lord have mercy on us.
Maureen
January 30 2022
After 9:30 mass at Saint Patrick Basilica, I walked to Parliament Hill hoping to get there before Maxime Bernier arrived because I wanted to tape his speech. Pat told me he was leaving Nicholas Street at 11 so I presumed that I had missed his speech because I got to the Hill after 12 and I didn't see him anywhere near the speech area which was on Wellington Street outside the front gates. I did listen to Tamara and a few others speak. I left the Hill about an hour later with a sad but grateful heart . Thank you Truckers!
more below
January 30 2022
After 9:30 mass at Saint Patrick Basilica, I walked to Parliament Hill hoping to get there before Maxime Bernier arrived because I wanted to tape his speech. Pat told me he was leaving Nicholas Street at 11 so I presumed that I had missed his speech because I got to the Hill after 12 and I didn't see him anywhere near the speech area which was on Wellington Street outside the front gates.
There were thousands upon thousands of peaceful souls at Parliament Hill. I never saw so many people on or near Parliament Hill except maybe on Canada Day or the annual March for Life. There were a lot of really good passionate and loving speeches going on. I couldn't really concentrate on them though because I was freezing. I asked a young lad who was holding numerous Maxime Bernier signs if Mr. Bernier had spoken yet and he told me, no but he should be around shortly so I stayed and waited a while for him ( I really like Maxime Bernier: I wish he was our Prime Minister) but my hands were so cold I wasn't able to stay much longer. I listened to a few of the speeches that came right from the hearts. Because I was so cold I decided to leave and walked back to the train. Honestly, I don't know how the crowds were able to withstand the frigid cold, only by the Grace of God I think. When you're fighting for a great cause such as this is, I think God gives you the strength to endure
As I passed the crowd I felt like I was at a Canada Day Celebration. There was spontaneous singing of O Canada, lots of friendly smiles, countless trucks, and the truckers who are the men and women Canada depends on 24/7; young parents pushing bundled-up tots in their strollers, older folks in wheelchairs, some with walkers, some with canes, teens laughing and smiling at each other, Canadian flags and smiles were everywhere. There was an old lady who kept dropping her mittens ( oh wait a minute, that was me). At least twice a kind soul approached me with one of my mittens and a smile!
There were signs all over the place (some pretty funny ) most were very serious. I honestly felt so proud of everybody involved in the Rally. I couldn't even begin to imagine all the tireless hours of preparation and dedication it took to prepare all of it; the thousands of miles of travel, the frigid weather the love they have for their beloved country and for all of us? And to think that Our Prime Minister wouldn't even meet them and that he calls them a fringe group? The way our Prime Minister treats Canadians is unbelievable. It seems anyone the Prime Minister doesn't agree with is a fringe person. I know what that's like: I am a Pro-Life Christian so I'm accustomed to fringe too.
Anyways as I walked back along Wellington Street to Bank Street to go home I took a few short videos
( which I put together below)
Thank you Freedom Convoy!
Mon Jan 31, 2022 - Life site News Trudeau Rhetoric
https://twitter.com/hashtag/ConvoyForFreedom2022?src=hashtag_click
We all know that the organizers specifically wanted to meet with the Prime Minister to express their frustration with the vaccination mandates etc. but he refused to meet with them and seemingly went into hiding instead. He fled Ottawa just before the convoy of trucks arrived, citing exposure to COVID, even though at the time he tested negative. Today he tweeted that he had tested positive despite being triple vaccinated. Really? Maureen
From lifesite news https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trudeau-equates-canadian-truckers-at-freedom-convoy-rally-to-nazis-racists/?utm_source=featured&utm_campaign=canada.
"Within the first couple of minutes of the press conference, Trudeau said that “freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy, but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery … are not.”
He was asked by a reporter if he would meet with the truckers or attend the protest, as he attended, for instance, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations during the height of lockdown in 2020, but he said he would not. “I have attended protests in the past when I agreed with the goals,” referring to BLM, but he is choosing to stay away from the trucker protest because of “hateful rhetoric” and “violence toward citizens.”
Trudeau’s expressed unwillingness to support the trucker convoy movement due to his belief that there is a risk of violence associated with the movement is in contrast to his government’s past actions that saw him hand over a compensation cheque of $10 million to a convicted terrorist who killed an American soldier. "
.....................................................
Anyways there you have it from the mouth of our Prime Minister. According to him, the freedom Convoy protestors are a bunch of racists and Nazis with hateful rhetoric and violence toward citizens. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like I said I was on the Hill on Sunday. The grounds were awash in Canadian Flags. The speeches were heartfelt, compassionate, and humble. There was nothing with even a touch of violent rhetoric. This is the Prime Minister who clearly supports anarchists such as the BLM movement but he won't even meet with sincere Canadians who drove thousands of miles for a meeting with the man who is supposedly their prime minister? At the very least it is mean and childish but it seems to be more than that. I don't get our Prime Minister and I don't get the Canadians that are on board with the hatred he is inciting for the Freedom Convoy because that is clearly what is happening. And I am fed up once again with our reporters from the mainstream because they just echo what Trudeau says without any regard for the truth it seems. I am sure none of them were on Parliament Hill on Sunday. CFRA used to be better than that. God bless Canada! God bless those who promote love and not hatred, truth and not lies! God bless all who work for freedom justice and peace! And God bless Canada! Maureen
Trudeau said that 'freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy, but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery are not
Mon Jan 31, 2022 - 2:47 pm EST
OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broke his silence on the trucker convoy on Monday with a press conference, claiming the freedom movement was tarnished by Nazi and racist sympathies.
Tens of thousands of Canadians fighting against vaccine mandates, along with thousands of trucks, descended on Ottawa over the weekend to stage one of the largest protests in Canadian history. Similar protests took place across the country as well.
Justin Trudeau fled Ottawa just before the convoy of trucks arrived, citing exposure to COVID, even though at the time he tested negative. Today he tweeted that he had tested positive despite being triple vaccinated.
One of the organizers of the convoy is an Indigenous woman, and another is a Jewish man.
Within the first couple of minutes of the press conference, Trudeau said that “freedom of expression, assembly, and association are cornerstones of democracy, but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery … are not.”
He was asked by a reporter if he would meet with the truckers or attend the protest, as he attended, for instance, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations during the height of lockdown in 2020, but he said he would not.
“I have attended protests in the past when I agreed with the goals,” referring to BLM, but he is choosing to stay away from the trucker protest because of “hateful rhetoric” and “violence toward citizens.”
Trudeau’s expressed unwillingness to support the trucker convoy movement due to his belief that there is a risk of violence associated with the movement is in contrast to his government’s past actions that saw him hand over a compensation cheque of $10 million to a convicted terrorist who killed an American soldier.
Despite Trudeau’s claims of violence and hateful messaging present at the protest, police on the scene commented on how peaceful the event was.
A man was seen at the protest carrying a Confederate flag with a truck emblem at the center, which was shared on social media in an attempt to paint the movement as racist. However, attendees exposed the person carrying the flag — who completely hid his face — and political commentators speculated the man was a provocateur.
Update February 2 from Pat Maloney - Run with Life
If you are interested in what and why the truckers are doing what they are doing, this is an excellent independent analysis from Andrew Lawton who was there all weekend. He interviewed a lot of people including the organizers, indigenous people, and politicians, and others. About 43 minutes long. Andrew's fist hand observations are NOT what you will hear from the mainstream media (Postmedia, CBC, etc).
[The Andrew Lawton Show] The convoy was heard loud and clear #theAndrewLawtonShow
https://podcastaddict.com/episode/134864369 via @PodcastAddict
Andrew Lawton Interviews Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis
Andrew Lawton
What brings you out today why are you on parliament hill?
Leslyn Lewis
Why wouldn't I be? This is democracy. This is what democracy is all about. People believe that the government has overstepped with mandates and they're here to exercise their democratic right. People give the government the power to act in accordance with their values. The government doesn't have any independent power. It is us that confers the power on the government. Where they overstep the people, then the people have a right to voice their opinion. What we've seen in the past year with the demonization of people, turning people against each other, the hatred that has been spewed from the highest levels is completely unacceptable and the people have had enough and they are here to voice their opinions and I support any peaceful active democracy and all I've seen here is law-abiding Canadians express their voice which they're allowed to do so why wouldn't I be here?
Andrew Lawton
Do you think the Conservatives have done an adequate job representing these people throughout the pandemic in the last couple of years or even during the time you've been in office the last few months?
Leslyn Lewis:
Well, I've always spoken out. You've seen that I've always spoken out from the beginning about things that concern my constituents I will always be a voice from my constituents. I will never be silent so I believe that MPs Act in accordance with the voice of their constituents yes?
Andrew Lawton
For a lot of people there is not about whether you're pro or anti-vaccination it's about the fundamental message. it's about government overreach. Is that resonating with what you are hearing from your constituents on the ground?
Leslyn Lewis
Absolutely whether you're vaccinated or non vaccinated it's about the mandate and whether or not their mandates are fair whether they adhere to public health principles because that's what we're concerned about we want everybody to be safe. We want everyone who is able to be vaccinated to be able to exercise informed consent: that's what we're concerned about. So it's not about whether you're vaccinated or not it's about government overreach
Or you can watch this program on youtube
(By the way. Postmedia receives a lot of government funding, and probably owns the media you consume https://www.postmedia.com/brands/ MSM receives a LOT of government funding. Canada Grants and contributions database registers 258 such grants for the last number of years for Postmedia alone. https://search.open.canada.ca/en/gc/?sort=agreement_value_fs%20desc&page=1&search_text=postmedia The CBC received 1.2 billion last year from the government. https://tnc.news/2021/04/19/liberal-budget-promises-new-funding-for-the-cbc/ Andrew Lawton's True North independent media, receives no government funding.))
Trudeau’s lies about Canadian truckers show he’s nothing more than a gaslighting dictator
We all have a right to be free of Trudeau.
BLOGS
Tue Feb 1, 2022 - 4:38 pm EST
OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Justin Trudeau delivered remarks during a press conference (see transcript here) on Monday where he gaslit the participants in the Freedom Convoy and those who support them in a manner historically reserved for authoritarian dictators.
Canada is currently at a crossroads, with the enemies of freedom in the mainstream media working hard to rewrite history and portray a unifying movement as something it is not. If the efforts of Canadian patriots are not successful, Trudeau’s remarks from Monday could go down as the words that thrust Canada into a full-scale Orwellian dictatorship where Pravda-esque messaging defines reality.
The lies that came out of his mouth were so filthy, I felt that I needed a shower after suffering through what he had to say.
Throughout the 30 minutes he spoke to the media — some prepared remarks and some responses to questions — he managed to compare the truckers to Nazis, said that Canadians were “disgusted” with the protest, and intimated that the movement was a violent threat to the safety of Canadians.
Of course, he provided no justification or evidence for his claims, but we shouldn’t expect anything less from such a man. He has routinely shown himself to be the most dictatorial and veritably evil man who has ever led the nation. With a populist movement rising across Canada that has received overwhelming support, it seems that Trudeau is happy to double down on his divisive and vile rhetoric with the seeming intention of destroying the country.
Masterclass in projection of the hallmarks of Marxist governance is to accuse the people of the very evils you commit.
For example, if you are a communist dictator, you will accuse the rich of having too much money because they are greedy, and then you will greedily take all of their money away.
Or the Marxist will claim that “corporations” have too much power, and of course the socialist solution is to nationalize the corporations so that the government becomes even more powerful.
Trudeau is a master in this sort of rhetoric, and it was on full display.
“Nazi symbolism, racist imagery and desecration of war memorials” are anathema, Trudeau said, while h he himself has enacted a coercive regime of experimental medical procedures on the population, and has divided the country into the clean and unclean — nothing Nazi about that …
It is Trudeau who has put on blackface more times than he can remember, and he has the strange habit of dressing up in ethnic costumes wherever he goes, making a mockery of cultural customs.
Regarding the desecration of war memorials, Trudeau did more than anyone to stoke the flames of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the so-called Every Child Matters movement, which saw statues of Canadian heroes beheaded and toppled, as well as entire churches burnt to the ground.
He said that the freedom movement dishonors “the memory of our veterans.” Is he perhaps referring to the World War II veterans who fought the Nazis, who, as we have said, forces medical procedures on people and segregated a minority of citizens?
“There is no place in our country for threats,” the prime minister said. That is quite the statement coming from the man who takes every chance he gets to threaten his most hated group — the unvaccinated — with further sanctions if they just don’t do what he tells them.
For Trudeau, peace is violence and violence is peace after his initial remarks, he was asked why he won’t meet with the truckers, even though he met with and attended a BLM protest during the height of the lockdown in 2020. After all, he said “Canadians are compassionate, kind, strong and resilient,” which one would think would apply to the truckers as well, that is unless he doesn’t think they are Canadian.
Come to think of it, if the truckers weren’t Canadian, like the convicted terrorist he made sure received $10 million a few years ago, then he might actually like them better than the Canadians he despises so much.
According to Trudeau, he attended the protests in the past where he “agreed with the goals,” but will “not go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric.”
I must have missed the part of the BLM movement that was about peace and unity and love, maybe Trudeau is privy to something that I am not aware of.
There is no evidence that the freedom protests in Ottawa have become violent, although there is a video showing some truckers engaging in an activity where they swing long sticks around on the street. That is, they are playing a game of street hockey.
Maybe the prime minister would meet with the hockey-loving patriots if they used their sticks to break store windows and topple statues of historical figures.
Threatening opponents also used the propaganda session to threaten his political opponents. “This is a moment for responsible leaders to think carefully about where they stand and who they stand with,” he said.
“I think all politicians need to think very carefully about who they’re supporting, about what messages they’re putting out. We have seen over the past many, many months conservative politicians sharing disinformation about vaccines, encouraging conspiracy theories online.”
Now, considering that Trudeau believes that falsehoods are true, and that truth is falsehood, I wish so-called conservative politicians had been sharing information that Trudeau believes is “disinformation about vaccines.” Sadly, most conservatives have parroted mainstream media talking points.
In addition, he leveled a veiled threat at Conservative leader Erin O’Toole: “And I think Erin O’Toole is going to need to reflect very carefully on how he’s walking a path that supports these people who do not represent truckers, let alone the vast majority of Canadians.”
Well, Erin O’Toole is perhaps the worst leader that the Conservative Party of Canada has ever had, in fact I think he would make Mitt Romney look like a “far-right extremist” in comparison. However, as the Conservative Party is looking to oust its squishy leader, his ministers have made it very clear that they support the truckers and not Prime Minister Blackface.
Jordan Peterson
Hello everyone, I'm here today with Mr. Benjamin Dichter who's the owner-operator of his own rig and integrally involved with the Organization and ongoing activities of the Truckers Convoy in Ottawa so Mr. Dichter has something to read to us today which outlines what the truckers have accomplished and wanted to accomplish and hope to still accomplish.
Benjamin Dichter
We just prepared a statement that can really solidify some of the basics so nobody is confused.
The Freedom Convoy is a peaceful and loving demonstration based on the principles of unity and respect for all Canadians. We have come to Ottawa with two very simple demands.
1. The government end all COVID mandates and
2. The federal government removed its digital COVID tracking app, called arrivecan, as a requirement to re-enter Canada.
We had not anticipated the thirst for freedom in all Canadians after two long years of restrictions and harsh lockdowns, which in the minds of sensible Canadians, are not in the spirit of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our esteemed Constitution.
The supporters of our convoy have come from all walks of life, and have been a source of unification for Canadians from across all provinces and cultures. We are not a group interested in identity politics or racial divisions. We are in fact open to all people who want to share their love and help with the revival of the Canadian identity.
The Freedom Convoy leadership spans the country and comes from various indigenous, rural and urban communities, all who have an ambition for unification and freedom. Our demands have not changed from day one: end the mandates and end the passports and we will all go back home to our communities and our businesses and help Canada heal from the COVID years.
There have been many demands attributed to us that are not our demands, primarily from the legacy media. We do not want to overthrow the government. We do not want to remove any of our elected officials from power. That's what elections are for. We do not want confrontation with the good people of law enforcement. Within our organization and within our crowds, we have countless first responders and military veterans who are all proud of the Ottawa police. We do not wish for military action.
Nothing other than for our peaceful and loving demonstrations as well as our community outreach to help inspire our fellow Canadians to have a voice and to appreciate the freedoms which we are fortunate enough to have and which many others in the world struggle to achieve.
We also would ask that our political class and the legacy media tone down their rhetoric. The era of slander and indiscriminately labeling fellow citizens with pejoratives or as racist needs to come to an end.
We need to talk openly and respect one another. But we cannot achieve this if our political class continues to behave in such an unparliamentary manner, while the legacy media attacks the very people they're supposed to reach.
The unifying goal that all Canadians have is: we want to a return to a normal life, a free life. No matter where one lies on the political spectrum. Now is the time and the first courageous step would be for the federal government to remove these divisive policies of mandates and data tracking of our citizens.
Allow us all to heal together. Peace, Love and Unity is the future of the Canadian identity. Let's inspire, the world to follow us on this journey of enlightenment.
Jordan Peterson
Well, we can all pray for peace and stability and sanity to prevail and with any luck we'll get the country on its feet again and get moving forward as we all should.
Benjamin Dichter
Indeed. Indeed
Rex Murphy: Published Feb 02, 2022
A Canadian insurrection? It is to laugh
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-a-canadian-insurrection-it-is-to-laugh
Is it really that hard for politicians to acknowledge that the majority of people who went all the way to Ottawa are just decent folks?
No Molotov cocktails.
No vulgar harassment of police — no “All cops are bastards” signs.
No rocks for every Starbucks window and those of small businesses. No blizzard of break-ins, no store owners standing guard on their shops. No arson or looting.
Jan. 6 insurrection Canadian edition? Ha! It is to laugh. I’ve seen more threatening picnics thrown by a few nuns.
Yet if you listened to much of the established press predictions, Ottawa over the weekend was supposed to be like Rome waiting for the Visigoths. Ooooh — the end of cottage government as we’ve come to know it. A full-scale assault on our Zoom Parliament.
Plain, straight reportage uninflected by the personal dispositions or ideological pre-sets of the reporters or the corporations they work for was hard to come by. Our stern reporters, always ready to squeak agreement to power, worked to set a context.
I’ve seen more threatening picnics thrown by a few nuns
They perspired with eagerness that an almost completely incident-free protest might turn into a gathering of “yahoos.” That an angry diesel mob fired up by Boston creams and cold coffee would storm the House of Cottage and end democracy in Canada, such as we know it. They leaped at trivial individual mischiefs and tried to brand the entire protest as negative and even hateful.
The bottom line — they did not cover this protest in the gentle, generally approving manner they have covered so many others, from the Summit of the Americas demonstrations in Quebec City in 2001 to Black Lives Matter in 2020. I believe that Justin Trudeau joined that one.
Rex Murphy: Published Feb 02, 2022 A Canadian insurrection? It is to laugh
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-a-canadian-insurrection-it-is-to-laugh
Is it really that hard for politicians to acknowledge that the majority of people who went all the way to Ottawa are just decent folks?
No Molotov cocktails.
No vulgar harassment of police — no “All cops are bastards” signs.
No rocks for every Starbucks window and those of small businesses. No blizzard of break-ins, no store owners standing guard on their shops. No arson or looting.
Jan. 6 insurrection Canadian edition? Ha! It is to laugh. I’ve seen more threatening picnics thrown by a few nuns.
Yet if you listened to much of the established press predictions, Ottawa over the weekend was supposed to be like Rome waiting for the Visigoths. Ooooh — the end of cottage government as we’ve come to know it. A full-scale assault on our Zoom Parliament.
Plain, straight reportage uninflected by the personal dispositions or ideological pre-sets of the reporters or the corporations they work for was hard to come by. Our stern reporters, always ready to squeak agreement to power, worked to set a context.
I’ve seen more threatening picnics thrown by a few nuns
They perspired with eagerness that an almost completely incident-free protest might turn into a gathering of “yahoos.” That an angry diesel mob fired up by Boston creams and cold coffee would storm the House of Cottage and end democracy in Canada, such as we know it. They leaped at trivial individual mischiefs and tried to brand the entire protest as negative and even hateful.
The bottom line — they did not cover this protest in the gentle, generally approving manner they have covered so many others, from the Summit of the Americas demonstrations in Quebec City in 2001 to Black Lives Matter in 2020. I believe that Justin Trudeau joined that one.
The contributions over the course of this protest from the prime minister and the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh were viciously demeaning.
Trudeau was extremely derogatory, to the point of calculated insult, concerning all who were not in line with his view of things. And he acted as a woke Pope in assuming the right to make the judgment on which views of Canadians were “unacceptable.” And to declare the protesters a band of racists and misogynists.
Does he not know the meaning of the words he recklessly threw out to brand Canadian citizens? “Racist” is the dynamite word of our time. Throwing the word “racists” at a collection of Canadians is mean, nasty, and false.
You know what the saddest part in all of this is? A walk down to the protest, an easy talk with random truckers, with Trudeau saying his piece, and the drivers theirs — that would have been a Canadian moment. The civilized, respectful thing to do.
It was never to be however. Hard politics is better than harmony. Sunny Days has morphed into Mr. Thunder-cloud.
Then there was the other party leader, Jagmeet Singh, the scaffold and support of Trudeau’s stay as prime minister. Of Mr. Singh let us say it must be very hard to have the instincts of a demagogue without the talent to carry it off. But to give him credit, he does try.
First, just to set the stage, is it really that hard to believe that after two years of a pandemic regime some Canadians are not “on-board” with current policies? Hard to believe that people living and working (or trying these days to get work) far from Ottawa and power, feel left out and frustrated?
Sunny Days has morphed into Mr. Thunder-cloud
More to the point, is it also that hard for a Canadian political leader to believe that some Canadians act on principle, and out of concern for their personal autonomy?
Was not the NDP once, of all parties, populist in a positive sense, more tuned to the “working man and woman” than any other? Those days are obviously long gone and the dimmest memory. Instead what we got from the current and most-urban NDP leader was a smearing of the protest, citing a comment from one individual who claimed “the superiority of the white bloodline” as an index of the thinking of the other leaders, and by insinuation, the whole convoy. A crumb is not the whole cake. Let me put it to the reader: Is this tweet a fair description of the convoy:
Mr. Singh: “Conservative MPs have endorsed a convoy led by those that claim the superiority of the white bloodline and equate Islam to a disease.” (Italics mine.)
The convoy of Canadian truckers, of multiple ethnicities, may be many things. But it is not composed of men and women who subscribe to, use, or think in such crapulous terms. In my judgment Singh’s comments were the lowest of the whole weekend — and he had some stiff competition in that department.
Singh is either desperate to out-Trudeau Trudeau in demonizing the truckers, or there is a serious wobble in the runners on his cushioned rocking chair.
Singh's comments were the lowest of the whole weekend
Final point: Is it really that hard for Trudeau and Singh not to acknowledge that the full majority of people who went all the way to Ottawa are just decent people? Not racists. Not women haters? Not orcs. That these protesters may be as at least as fair-minded and decent as the politicians who govern them.
A talk with a dozen or more of these folk may not have changed minds, on either side, but would have had a touch of Canadian respect and politeness, and taken the charge of sheer politics out of this whole episode.
Far too much to ask I suppose when politics is a cynical game, the press are an essential part of the same game, and some guys in a truck, on the edge of making a living, travel across the country to say a few things to their government. After all … who are they?
PS. As I was writing this, the Conservatives, with their superb sense of political timing, were behind closed doors busily disembowelling themselves. More on that in the next column.
National Post
Update Today February 3, 2022 - Jonathan Van Maren Interviews Maxime Bernier
The state of the Canadian Media
Complete Interview below
The state of the Canadian Media - February 3, 2022 -
Jonathan Van Maren Interviews Maxime Bernier