What's happening in Canada with the truckers and Trudeau?

[GenderNo]

Can anyone explain what's going on here?

The last I read, the truckers are having their bank accounts frozen for protesting!

More racist flags
pressprogress.ca/anti-vax-convoy-leader-says-he-welcomes-protesters-displaying-confederate-flags-in-ottawa/

The police trying to separate and block people

It's so worrying that they are freezing peoples bank accounts. Sure, some people might disagree with the protests in this instance but what happens when a government decides to freeze your bank account because they don't like your views, even if you currently have the "correct" views. This is where we are heading. The thought police can dictate what you can and can't do with your own property. Canada setting the precedent and this will spread elsewhere. This is why we must also keep the ability to pay in cash and reject digital currencies, to maintain anonymity and choice.

@Midlifemusings

It is a mess. The initial reason for the protest was really about people being frustrated with restrictions and mandates but the far right co-opted the protests and took the focus away from the real purpose. The nazi and confederate flags delegitimize any protest. Additionally the truckers who blocked off the downtown in Ottawa were honking their truck horns 24/7 causing significant distress and harm to families who live in that area. I also know people who while just trying to walk to work and they were spit on and called racist names by the protestors. It had become an unsafe place due to those who were the loudest and most obnoxious making it about themselves more than anything.

Trudeau is an idiot and the Emergency Act is complete overkill. The protests were not well handled to keep them safe and peaceful and non harmful BUT that is just Trudeau flexing his power and being who he is. Very disappointed in everyone really.

I don't think the news showing the same three flag photos day after day indicates that the protests have been taken over by the far right. There seems to have been one yahoo with a confederate flag and one Nazi flag, although in that case there seems to have been some thought that it was intended to accuse Trudeau of being a fascist. Other than that just a lot of attempts to show some of the truckers are (gasp) Conservative voters and attempts to pain them as exclusively white (in a country where less than 4% of the population is black.)

Of course you get all kinds of people who come to protests, but the media has been very compliant about presenting the picture the government would like.

Yes, the bank account thing is very worrying. That kind of thing is meant to be used in circumstances where we are being invaded by an occupying army and people are funding them, or funding terrorist organizations. This is completely different and putting these people into that category creates a huge scope for dangerous oppression by the state.

It's also really notable that the police chief resigned because he thought the political direction the police were being given was immoral. He's been replaced by a yes-man.

And then there was the almost ignoring of an eco-protest that has gone on at the same time where there were attempts to actually blow up a pipeline. Those people however are apparently not terrorists.

Oh the awful protesters with their nazi and confederate flags, tut tut. Do you not think that a president and a regime that has, in desperation, thrown every hated label at these protesters (racist, misogynist, anti science, fascists etc), that has frozen the assets of protesters AND donors, that has stated it will impound the pets of those involved and destroy them after 8 days, wouldn't have thought of the simple tactic of planting a few nazi flags to smear the truckers and reduce public support? How naive can you be?

"Horrific", "sad", dictatorship" - what on earth are some of you watching

This "peaceful" protest has blocked up 2 major Canada-us boarder crossings costing billions in lost revenue. The Ambassador bridge crossing that was being blocked supports 360 million in trade a day. It has only worsened supply chain issues across the country. At the boarder crossing in Alberta there was a cache of weapons found and a group planned to murder RCMP officers. The group in Ottawa has basically shut down the cities core with endless reports of citizens being physically and verbally harassed when they left their homes if they dared wear a mask, round the clock horn blaring, fireworks, human waste, garbage. Businesses were shuttered, a school in the area closed. Tow truck companies refused to clear the rigs in large part due to intimidation and fear of reprisal. At what point do you say go ahead and protest but you can't block roads/critical infrastructure? After a month, 2 months?

I think many things about the police response but the actual clearing of protestors this weekend was exceptionally professional, patient, calm - amazingly so frankly. Those folks were given every possible warning (above and beyond) that they would be arrested and moved, they CHOSE to stay and then were shocked and angry when they were arrested and moved. That picture of the horse up thread, police say a protestor threw a bicycle at the animal which caused it to spook forward. I was literally watching the whole thing live and found police action extremely reasonable.

This is a targeted, limited use of the emergencies act with tonnes of over-site in a minority government. I think the hysteria over it is overblown. The core of this group didn't just want to protest health mandates but overthrow the elected government. I don't even disagree with some of the original concerns of some the protestors but you can't stand shoulder to shoulder with white nationalists, far right wing nut jobs of every ilk, anti-Vaxers, US Donald Trump wannabes and claim some sort of moral high ground IMO.

Have a protest until the cows come home - don't block roads and infringe on the rights of others.

planting a few nazi flags to smear the truckers

Seriously? I think if you explore this further you'll find the government had no need to plant such things. There was a video on John Oliver last night of one of the organizers banging on about the systematic decimation of the white race because the strength of white blood lines

Well the House hasn't actually voted on the EMA, yet.

But blockades are hardly new in Canada. They have been a feature of protests over several years.

This is something where the Truckers Association really failed. THey always object to blockades, and that's fair, but what they did not do in this case is offer any leadership to those who were upset. They made no attempt to represent them in other ways.

This has been the case with professional organizations and unions throughout the country over the past two years. They have done little or nothing to represent the interests of their members around vaccine mandates, or think about the long term implications of them for workers. I personally know people who work alone in the woods who were obligated to be vaccinated to keep working because the people they contract their lumber to demanded it, or a business owner who was told the local hospital could no longer fill up at his station unless he could show he required all his employees to be vaccinated. The whole of the civil service was required to be vaccinated no matter what their job, and the same with my work. We could "choose" to go on unpaid leave. The only accepted contraindications were serious effects after the first job, so even people whose doctors recommended they wait had no options.

People in the UK (maybe just England?) have had a relatively soft ride compared to Canada where there has been an incredibly cavalier attitude to civil liberties.

This is a targeted, limited use of the emergencies act with tonnes of over-site in a minority government. I think the hysteria over it is overblown.

What!? You can't be serious. You think a "liberal" Government freezing peoples bank accounts and removing their pets because they are protesting is "overblown". Sorry but that in itself is really worrying. Would you have the same opinion if the Government was freezing the bank accounts and removing the pets of BLM protestors or eco-protestors? And how many millions/billions in trade did lockdowns take from small independent shops that were forced to shut and couldn't compete with big business? The Government didn't give a shit about lost money then, because they were picking the winners and losers (winners = big business, losers = small shops forced to shut).

Next time the Government could be freezing your bank account for having the wrong opinion about something. The reason why so many people are concerned is because it sets a dangerous precedent of authoritarianism that can be applied to ANY group the Government of the day deems to be in the wrong. And apparently they have just made this permanent, not just for emergency use. That is not the actions of a liberal Government!

This is a targeted, limited use of the emergencies act with tonnes of over-site in a minority government. I think the hysteria over it is overblown

If anyone said this to me in real life I would be cautious of them from that point onwards.

Canada and the USA have 119 legal land borders, plus multiple farm borders.
I call BS, if they wanted to, things could very easily be rerouted.
That lost trade really wasn’t lost either, no computer chips from Taiwan no cars going anywhere fast, just delay in manufacturing.
So very frustrated on how this pandemic has been handled.

Those of you who are pro protest would change your tune pretty quickly if you lived in Ottawa. Three weeks of your homes being filled with diesel fumes and never ending loud truck honking. Being severely sleep deprived and having headaches. Watching your pets and children in actual pain from the noise and the fumes. Stepping outside to even louder noise and stronger fumes and human feces all over the ground. Being spat on and having racist things yelled at you on your way to work if you are wearing a mask or not white.

That is not freedom. Protestors were calling themselves a freedom convoy while actively taking away all the freedoms they could of people who lived in the areas.

Many were outwardly racist, crude, rude, and they worked hard to cause harm to animals, children, those with disabilities and other adults living in the immediate area.

Regardless of my own political beliefs, I would never ally with those who hurt animals and children, are racist, spit on people, harass others, and think that pumping loud noise and diesel fumes to harm others and think that is what freedom is. they were wrong. Being racist assholes who hurt animals and children has consequences and now they are facing them. They could have protested in a way that was no racist and non abusive to other people but they didn't. Now they are facing the consequences and that is as it should be. You can't just go around and hurt others to make your point.

I remember feeling sorry for the Parisians when the weekend protests rolled into week 41. It must be hellish