A Canadian’s Take On the ‘Freedom Convoy’ — It’s Not as Shocking as You Think
“In Canada?!?” Yes, and where you live, too.
As a Canadian, it’s been interesting to hear reactions from people in other countries about the ‘Freedom Convoy’, a protest on vaccine mandates led by cross-border commercial truckers. Protesters descended on Ottawa (Canada’s capital) and have effectively taken over much of the downtown core by refusing to move their vehicles and engaging in loud and aggressive behavior on the streets.
Peaceful protest is an unassailable democratic right. But that’s not what’s happening here. Ontario Premier Doug Ford correctly described it as a siege.
The general response I hear is: “In Canada?!?!” Yes, in Canada. Guess what? In every other country as well.
It’s easy to understand the initial shock. Canada is correctly perceived to be a country where the prevailing culture is prioritizing the collective good. Almost 80% of the country is fully vaccinated. The lockdowns some provinces experienced were among the most aggressive in the world. Here in Toronto, one of our three lockdowns lasted a full 8 months.
Another set of provincial restrictions was just lifted and vaccine mandates apply to any non-essential place you go.
Canadians have for the most part accepted these measures without significant protest for the health of citizens and to avoid the implosion of the health care system. So, it’s not surprising the federal government wasn’t expecting serious issues when vaccine mandates went into effect for cross-border truckers.
Here at home, much of the rhetoric around the ‘freedom convoy’ is sheer revulsion.
So, you’re taking a city hostage to demand “freedom” from a safe vaccine? Go f*ck yourself.
I understand this sentiment, and how tempting it is to outright dismiss people who’ve made the lives of Ottawa residents a living nightmare for weeks. People who are desecrating national monuments and bullying volunteers into giving them food meant for the homeless. People honking their horns 24-hours a day for weeks on end until it was described as “psychological warfare.” People killing the livelihoods of the city’s small businesses since residents are scared to walk the streets.
People who are flying the flags of white supremacy and hatred.
Believe me, I’m very tempted to dismiss them, too. Here’s the thing. We ignore the roots of all this at our peril.
The modern far-right is nothing new, especially in the U.S., and many agree that behind the anger and repugnant behavior is fear. Fear that a significant amount of truckers could lose their jobs. Fear of a more permanent loss of civil liberties.
The federal government refuses to engage. I understand that backing down means giving these tactics power, and I’m not advocating that. But ignoring these issues instead of talking about them won’t make them go away. It would be incredibly short-sighted to think that quashing this particular incident, as the government is attempting to do by announcing hardball initiatives yesterday, solves the problem forever.
There is considerable discussion around the fact that America’s far-right is helping to fund this initiative and U.S.-based right-wing media have expressed support. While Umair Haque’s take seems characteristically incendiary, it‘s also true that the closer connection now being forged between the American far-right and Canadian sympathizers will have huge repercussions for Canada.
Many believe the convoy was overtaken by a radical fringe. This could be true, however, we must acknowledge that Canada has had a far-right for years. They are much smaller and less vocal than our neighbors to the south. They don’t get a lot of breathing room in a country with highly central politics. Without a significant far-left to repudiate, most Canadians have little appetite for a far-right. But clearly, they do exist.
New Zealand, a country with a brand similar to Canada’s, is now dealing with its own ‘freedom convoy’, which is flying Canadian flags. This shows that the world is watching and listening to what’s happening here. The far-right all over the world is more than likely taking notes and making plans.
For those of you shaking your heads in other countries, don’t be surprised if your country is next. The far-right exists in Canada, and it exists where you live. And I suspect this is just the beginning.
Medium is full of great lifestyle content like this. You can get access for only $5/month by clicking here. If you join using this link, I’ll earn a commission.
