I may have missed something but from what I recall Canada was giving the unvaxed truckers a free pass at the border but in a day or two said no, they had to be vaccinated. Seemed the government forgot the US people entering the US to be vaccinated. Canada changed the policy and then required all truckers be vaccinated otherwise they would have to isolate themselves after crossing the border into Canada.
Truckers had legitimate grief but it turned into a shit show with every person with a grievance deciding to join in. The covid mandates in each province is determined by the provinces, not the federal government. They are set up to limit the overloading of the medical system. So the demonstrations in Ottawa stared out with some legitimacy and were fine until they stopped trade across the border. Because trade is integrated across the border and with the just in time nature of the automotive industry (which already had supply problems) production stopped on both sides of the border.
So while the protests were nonviolent they were creating a big financial cost to both countries and the people that had jobs that depended on the smooth flow of goods across the border. So the truckers were trying to financially blackmail the federal government to get rid of mandates that provincial governments put in place. And the federal government has no right to tell the provinces when or what mandates they are to have in the provinces.
The greater the concentration of population density the more rules you need to keep people from falling all over each other. If you are off in the sticks then there is not as much need for all the laws and rules to keep people civilized. You may have a traffic light at an intersection in town where it would not make much sense having one on some side road in the rural areas. So with some of the rules in place for the pandemic they make less sense in the sticks as in the cities.
A lot of truckers are also farmers, farming does not pay well and a lot of them are employed as truckers or running heavy equipment when not managing the farm. They are more self reliant and do not see the purpose of most government and do not like following rules they feel they should not be held to. So you get more of a urban/rural divide on how Canadians feel about the truckers. With the transmission rate of Omicron it will die down in a month.
So waiting it out would have achieved the same thing as the protests except for the damage to the economy. Yes we are all tired of the virus, everybody wants life to be back to normal. But we are not there yet and that did not factor into the protests. My next door neighbour is 82 years old and I don't know the details but her friend came over and wanted me to call the paramedics, my neighbour is in a pool of blood on her kitchen floor and was out of it. Eventually had her stabilized and in a ambulance but there was no hospital that had room to take her because of covid. Eventually they found a space and she is still in the hospital. So what would have happened if there was no room?
We had our protests here, they also blocked the border crossing. So would they have managed to get the provincial government to lift the restrictions when the hospitals are full? Not bloody likely. So what was the point? The majority of people have got the virus by now and admissions to hospitals are dropping. The governments are relaxing the restrictions, the protesters are saying they won. No, the governments look at the state of the medical system and deciding at what point to start easing up.
So do most people agree with the government or the truckers? All I have talked to are on the government's side on this one. If they did not try to hold society hostage for their demands, demands that were at odds with public health, they would have more sympathy. They had it before they closed off the border and enacted a cost on the rest.
People have a right to protest here but when it starts to cost the country because a small group of people want things their way things get dicey. We have Native bands all across the country that our infrastructure passes through territory they have some claim over. They have more right to shut things down than the truckers. Should the government allow them to? And any other group? Should the vegans blockade the border because meat products come in from the US? Where does it end?
Not to be a dick, but I don't feel people whom believe they have dominion over their own bodies, should not be subjected to a "vaccine" that is so worthless they literally had to change the definition of the word "vaccine" to call it one.
This is not "blackmail" but freedom to choose rather you want to put a substance into your body which was approved for emergency use only.
Odd how the governments brought financial ruin to millions, closed down small stores, restaurants, service industries, gas stations, etc. But NOW when GM is facing financial hardship with the protests...then it becomes an issue.
Time and time and time again our "leaders" openly flaunted the rules....went maskless while forcing them on the plebes, shut down businesses while Newsome's winery stayed open, while he and many others were able to keep their children in school, keep their businesses open, eat at restaurants without social distancing, etc.
We literally had a restaurant owner here arrested, put in leg irons, and held in jail, WITHOUT BOND, while Pelosi could get her hair done, go out to eat maskless, and not be forced to get the vax to maintain her job.
The blatant abject hypocricy, doublespeak, unconstitutional power grabs, were/are sickening, and illuminate how the vax is utter bullshit.
Yeah, its soooo important that our governor attempted to shut down an 80 year old barbers business on multiple occasions and continuously press charges to have him jailed.
Odd how now one worried about his "financial stability" or how our government was using their unconstitutional power grab to shut him down.
All the while it was ok for pelosi and lightfoot to get their hair done because for them it was a "necessity."
Funny how mom and pop stores were closed down, brought to ruin from forced lockdowns, while Wal-Mart, Sams club, Amazon, etc. All were allowed to stay open.
This was the biggest transfer of financial wealth from the small entrepreneur to large corporations ever seen.
Corrupt, lying fucks in government on an unabated powergrab through "emergency powers" stealing the rights and financial independence of citizens is all this was about. Odd how even when the "science" proves otherwise...if it keeps them from subjecting the peons from their tyranny, they refuse to follow it.
Strange how fauci seems to have shut the hell up lately..even after he was seen not social distancing, or wearing his mask at a baseball game. Maybe he held his breath like the other politicians said they did.
I guess some sheep love to be told what to do, and would gladly put the yoke on themselves.
Two kinds of people in this world, the ones that wear the collar..and the one that holds the leash. Enjoy your collar.
