Trudeau calls trucker protest an 'insult to truth'

MyOpinion

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I strongly dislike some of government's rhetoric here.

If they had any sense (BIG ask), they'd say "You are free to protest. That is your absolute right. You are not free to break the law. If you break the law, you will be treated accordingly, regardless of your motives. Just like anybody else who did the same thing." Then be super-ultra-careful to adhere to that line.
I think the government has said that. For sure the Ontario Premier and Ottawa Mayor has said that numerous times.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on what side you are on), the law has been unevenly or not enforced.
 
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MyOpinion

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed last week the suggestion he should meet with the convoy protesters. “That is the decision Canadians took in the last election, by voting for parties that were supporting those mandates,” he said. Translation: You had your chance to vote last fall so take a hike. This was after the Ottawa police chief said the situation might not have a “policing solution.”

And yet, Trudeau called for “constructive dialogue” during the 2020 anti-pipeline campaign to “shut down Canada.”


Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart released a statement on Friday warning protesters against blocking roads and digging in for the long haul, as has happened in Ottawa: “My message to the convoy is this: Vancouver doesn’t want you here. Make your point and then go home.” This is petulant sneering, but Stewart was, perhaps unsurprisingly, arrested in 2018 for blocking access to a Kinder Morgan job site in Burnaby, as part of an anti-Trans Mountain pipeline protest.

One prominent University of Ottawa professor encouraged people to avoid calling those involved with the convoy “protesters.” Instead, he advised, “call them occupiers,” and added that this was necessary in order to “frame coverage.” However, he had a much different position two years ago. “Protests are meant to disrupt. They’re meant to bring reality crashing down on you,” he wrote.

Nevermind that before labelling protesters as “occupiers” was considered derisive by some on the left, there was the anti-capitalist occupy movement. It was only a matter of time before those with different politics adopted similar tactics.

Blocking infrastructure has always been inappropriate, not just when it is done by those with the wrong political views. Properly and competently policed cities is the bare minimum that should be expected from governments.

What is happening in Ottawa is indeed something different, but I am not sure how much of that is because it is new to Canada, or different in general. Perhaps it is just the plain visibility of it that is unnerving. A protest camp near a pipeline might struggle for attention, not so a camp in front of Parliament. There is still no indication that the intent of the protesters is to be violent, rather than to be a massive unyielding nuisance, but the fact local police don’t appear to have control of the situation is worrying. Mayor Jim Watson conceded Sunday that the protesters are “calling the shots.”

What is becoming increasingly clear is that this is a country that — despite laws, legislative bodies and regular elections — is governed by whoever can block traffic the longest.
They were able to prepare. What Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec City are doing is as a result of what happened in Ottawa.
They were able to prepare and set firm rules before they convoys came.

Ottawa is so used to protests of one sort or another, some big, some small, some a day long, some 2 or more days and there is nothing they can do about them because, as all say "everyone has the right to protest".

This protest went out of control so fast, no one was prepared or did not have a plan for what happened. By the time Monday came, it was a huge shit show, no longer the protest it was intended to be. The initial and valid reason for the protest (vaccination requirements to cross the border) disappeared almost instantly and it became what it is now (which is confounding depending who is asked)
 

harrylee

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Please explain how it is out of control, a shitshow and out of hand. People are gathered, protesting as has always been the way with a protest.

 
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mentalfloss

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Just pointing out the hypocrisy when I see it, which is usually what I’m doing when I respond to a post of yours. There is a pattern here.

As mentioned above, blocking infrastructure is wrong. Applying the law selectively is wrong.

Pointing out hypocrisy doesn't justify defending criminal intent.
 

taxslave

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I mentioned it - it's all I could find really.

If you could find something more/different, why haven't you posted it up?
Haven't really had time to look. I know about the poll you mentioned. Since I am not really good at this kind of stuff I put out a request for help. I think the one I am looking for was done by a newspaper in BC or Alberta.
 
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mentalfloss

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The honkers are becoming squatters.


Ottawa declares state of emergency

The City of Ottawa declared a state of emergency Sunday afternoon in response to ongoing protests in the downtown core, while Mayor Jim Watson described the situation in the nation's capital as the "the most serious emergency our city has ever faced."

Watson said the declaration will help Ottawa Police get the supplies and equipment they need faster.

"The state of emergency gives our staff and our city a few extra tools to speed up things like procurement," he said in an interview with CBC News Network on Sunday evening.

 

taxslave

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Taxpayers have every right to drive on the streets. They also have every right to protest bad government policy at the legislature. The fact that city planers didn't provide anywhere close to enough parking for the number of taxpayers wishing to visit the Capital is not the visitor's fault.
 
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pgs

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It is. It's "woe is me," and I don't know. Didn't help us any, but that preacher King seemed to get some traction.

Is it not the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances?
He did it the right way and his movement was effective in bringing attention and change . Sadly to many weren’t and still aren’t ready for that change but many more are .
 
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pgs

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It is. It's "woe is me," and I don't know. Didn't help us any, but that preacher King seemed to get some traction.

Is it not the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances?
Exactly what the protesters in Ottawa are doing .
 

pgs

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They were able to prepare. What Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec City are doing is as a result of what happened in Ottawa.
They were able to prepare and set firm rules before they convoys came.

Ottawa is so used to protests of one sort or another, some big, some small, some a day long, some 2 or more days and there is nothing they can do about them because, as all say "everyone has the right to protest".

This protest went out of control so fast, no one was prepared or did not have a plan for what happened. By the time Monday came, it was a huge shit show, no longer the protest it was intended to be. The initial and valid reason for the protest (vaccination requirements to cross the border) disappeared almost instantly and it became what it is now (which is confounding depending who is asked)
It is simple , the powers that be can end all these protests at any time with the stroke of the pen . Stop the mandates , is that to hard to comprehend ?
 
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pgs

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Please explain how it is out of control, a shitshow and out of hand. People are gathered, protesting as has always been the way with a protest.

So much violence , this must end . s/ . See the pictures of Ontario’s finest out in all their glory last night complete with face shields and Assault Rifles the horror , I have the vapours it is almost like seeing soldiers in our streets .
 
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pgs

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The honkers are becoming squatters.


Ottawa declares state of emergency

The City of Ottawa declared a state of emergency Sunday afternoon in response to ongoing protests in the downtown core, while Mayor Jim Watson described the situation in the nation's capital as the "the most serious emergency our city has ever faced."

Watson said the declaration will help Ottawa Police get the supplies and equipment they need faster.

"The state of emergency gives our staff and our city a few extra tools to speed up things like procurement," he said in an interview with CBC News Network on Sunday evening.

The same mayor that said it is like a carnival atmosphere there , they have bouncy castles and hot tubs . Oh the horror .
 
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