I have been on the ground covering the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa for the last two weekends, and I noticed that about half the protesters are Quebec francophones.
Despite having one of the highest vaccination rates among provinces, Quebec has the strictest COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. Its government response to the latest Omicron wave was also one of the harshest in the Western world.
Some of the restrictions the Quebec government has imposed on its people include hospitality and fitness lockdowns, vaccine mandates that limit access to groceries, and a harsh, police-enforced curfew.
I spoke with protesters from Quebec this weekend and asked them why they decided to make the trip to Ottawa. The people I talked to include an Indigenous woman, a union member and a nurse.
Ottawa Police Services (OPS) have enlisted child protective services for advice on how to deal with the kids present in the trucker convoy.
According to estimates, over 100 truckers brought their children along for the demonstrations. Children’s Aid Society was called in to advise officers on how to handle the situation as the city prepares a crackdown on the peaceful protestors.
“Almost 25 per cent of the 418 trucks have children living in them — children who could be at risk during a police operation,” said OPS Deputy Chief Steven Bell.
Police have not ruled out removing the children from their parents and guardians but claim that they’re not at that stage yet.
“We’re not at the stage of looking to do any sort of enforcement activity around that,” Bell told reporters.
“We just think it’s an important factor that complicates and makes this an even more challenging operation.”
On Tuesday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson met with cabinet ministers to discuss shipping in an additional 1,800 law enforcement personnel to help break up the freedom convoy.
According to Bell “all options remain on the table” when it comes to routing the protestors.
“That’s why we’ve made the large ask we have, so that we can have the presence we need to successfully, expeditiously and quickly end this occupation,” said Bell.
Legal steps have been taken to ban anyone from providing material assistance to the convoy, and police have moved to seize fuel and dismantle structures erected in the downtown core.
Support for the convoy and their demand to end all COVID-19 restrictions and mandates has grown and now includes long-time Liberal MP Joel Lightbound.
“I have enough respect for my fellow Canadians not to engage in these easy, absurd labels,” Lightbound said, referring to Trudeau’s claims that the convoy were violent and racist.
“I can’t help but notice with regret that both the tone and policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during the last election campaign.”
A recent poll found that 44% of vaccinated Canadians sympathized with the trucker convoy’s frustrations.
The Freedom Convoy in Ottawa entered its 18th day on Wednesday.
With video now showing Ottawa Police confiscating fuel and arresting truckers for carrying empty gas cans, constitutional lawyers on the ground in Ottawa are warning police that it is illegal for them to be intimidating or arresting people for these actions.
“People who bring food, water, gasoline or other supplies to peacefully protesting truckers are not breaking any law,” stated Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) lawyer Nicholas Wansbutter in a press release. “There is no basis for this police threat, that was issued by Twitter (Sunday) morning.”
On Sunday, Ottawa Police had warned that “anyone attempting to bring material supports (gas, etc.) to the demonstrators could be subject to arrest. Enforcement is underway.”
Video arose the same evening of police confiscating fuel supplies, including a 3200 L diesel container from a baseball stadium being used as a distribution hub. Police also issued a press release confirming they had arrested seven people and issued 100 tickets in “demonstration-related enforcement.”
Not to be outflanked, protesters resorted to new methods.
— CanadianCryptonaire – Same as Getter (@CCryptonaire) February 7, 2022
On Monday, video and images appeared of Ottawa protesters carrying what looked to be empty gas cans and others containing what appeared to be juice. Some walked right past police, with one protester offering an officer a drink from his, saying it was Kool Aid.
In another video, however, a protester appears to be arrested for carrying an empty gas can, explaining as he is led off by an officer that the charge was “mischief.”
True North reached out to the JCCF, asking how it was that police could target individuals for carrying certain legal items, including “material supports” to protesters.
“In my view, the truckers are not doing anything illegal by protesting peacefully against the 23 months of politicians restricting our Charter freedoms,” said Wansbutter in a press release on Tuesday. “Citizens have every right to bring food, water, fuel, and other necessities of life in the winter to other Canadians, including truckers.”
I took this 15 min ago down town Ottawa Canada 🇨🇦 He was carrying and empty Jerry can and he is hand cuffed. That is why we are here, for Freedom for all including you Sir! What are they going to do next?? 2 years now and it’s getting worse. IMO! It’s time the World has Freedom! pic.twitter.com/St8Pz0t34H
“For police seizures of fuel to be legal, the truckers themselves would have to be actively and knowingly committing an offence. Only then could it be a crime to bring supplies to the truckers.”
The JCCF also provided video of an Ottawa police officer justifying his seizure of fuel on the basis that “the fuel is contributing to mischief.”
“This fuel is contributing to what’s been happening downtown, so this is evidence,” the officer is heard to say.
Arguing that the seizure is illegal, the JCCF says that “section 430 (mischief) also makes it illegal to interfere with the lawful use and enjoyment of property, and illegal to obstruct people when they legally use and enjoy property.”
“The Ottawa police seem to be rebranding the exercise of the Charter freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly as criminal mischief under section 430 of the Criminal Code,” Wansbutter said. “Taking fuel from Canadian citizens in the downtown Ottawa area is an illegal seizure in a context where no crimes are being committed, and no charges were laid against truckers or anyone else.”
“Ottawa police have the right to ticket people, including truckers, over seatbelt violations, illegal parking, and other traffic infractions,” added JCCF litigation director Jay Cameron. “However, it is misleading and deceptive to label a peaceful protest in the nation’s capital as a criminal offence.”
True North reached out to Ottawa Police Service (OPS) on Tuesday to request comment on the JCCF’s position and inquire about the legal basis for their recent seizures and arrests. The OPS media relations department replied only with a press release stating that “police continue to prevent people from supplying fuel and other material supports to demonstrators” and that 23 arrests on criminal charges had been made.
“This includes charges for the following: Mischief (Transportation of Gas)”
Cameron also pointed out that confiscating fuel from people trying to keep warm was not simply illegal but dangerous.
“It is winter in Canada,” he said. “Protesting publicly in freezing temperatures requires the truckers to have fuel to stay warm. Confiscation of fuel jeopardizes the personal safety of the peaceful protesters.”
The JCCF also pointed out that despite his varying references to the protest as a “demonstration,” “occupation,” and “siege,” OPS chief Peter Sloly admits that protesters have not harmed Ottawa citizens.
On Day 17 of the Truckers for Freedom Convoy, five provinces announced they’re shedding COVID restrictions, a Liberal MP broke rank with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the trucks in Ottawa stayed put.
Alberta premier Jason Kenney announced that he would be dropping his province’s vaccine passport effective midnight tonight, the first province in Canada to do so.
Alberta announces the end of its vaccine passport program, effective midnight tonight.
Alberta was joined by Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island, who also announced plans to drop their vaccine passports. Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador also stated they would be lightening restrictions, but not passports and mask mandates.
Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe announced his province will be dropping the proof-of-vaccination system as of February 14, with the mask mandate lifted by the end of the month.
PEI announced that capacity limits will gradually increase through February and March and that by April PEI “aims to phase out all public health measures at the earliest possible times.”
In Ottawa this morning, Quebec MP Jöel Lightbound held a press conference where he publicly broke rank with Trudeau, criticizing the divisive tone that his government had set since being re-elected in September.
“I can’t help but notice with regret that both the tone and policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during the last election campaign,” Lightbound said.
“I’m still hopeful that the government will change course.”
"I can't help but notice with regret that both the tone and policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during last election campaign," Quebec Liberal MP @JoelLightbound says it's time to stop dividing Canadians. #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/0RR8c5ZyGZ
Lightbound called on his government to stop dividing Canadians.
He also confirmed to the press that other Liberal MPs feel a similar way. “There are a few of them,” he said, that share his “discomfort” with the tone of the government.
"I made my views known in caucus many times," Quebec Liberal MP @JoelLightbound says he's still hopeful that the government will change course. He says there are other Liberal MPs who share his discomfort with how the Trudeau government has divided Canadians. #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/Vn6I1bzaDE
In Question Period, Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen accused Justin Trudeau of “causing division by overtly politicizing vaccines.” Bergen went on to demand an answer to when the government was going to end all federal COVID restrictions.
Trudeau again accused the Conservatives of not following the science.
During Question Period today, @CandiceBergenMP demands to know when the government will end the vaccine mandates. PM Trudeau responds by accusing the Conservatives of not "following the science."
Speaking to the press about his own MP’s criticism of the government’s handling of COVID, Trudeau said, “we’re all sick and tired of restrictions, of mandates, of having to make sacrifices…it’s really, really tiring for all of us.”
Trudeau went on to say that “(vaccine) mandates are the way to avoid further restrictions.”
"Mandates are the way to avoid further restrictions," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacts to Liberal MP Joel Lightbound's opposition to the government's pandemic policies. #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/RSqAzu1kbv
The trucks in Ottawa remained idle on Wellington Street and throughout the downtown core today.
Footage from on the ground shows that the truckers aren’t prepared to move and that efforts by the Ottawa Police to crack down on resources are not deterring the protesters.
In Coutts, Alberta, the truckers at the border were not satisfied with Kenney’s announcement.
Immediate reaction from the scene shows leaders of the blockade warning that Kenney is “backpedaling like crazy” and that he’s “making excuses for what happened in the past”.
They went on to say that “he is leaving an open door with future variants, to put in mandates again.”
Coutts border blockaders were not happy with the announcement by Jason Kenney today, updates sure to come soon.
The Department of Environment said that an unprecedented 63,000 tonnes of unrecycleable COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) ended up in landfills by last year.
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, department officials contemplated how to deal with the plastic trash piling up during the pandemic in a Nov. 19, 2021 briefing note titled Canadian Action on Plastics.
“An unprecedented amount of single use personal protective equipment is being used in Canada to prevent transmission of Covid-19 leading to an estimated 63,000 tonnes of PPE waste by mid-2021,” wrote staff.
“Initiatives are underway to support the development of innovative systems, technologies and materials to keep personal protective equipment out of landfills.”
Officials even admitted in the memo that “plastics play an important” role in society.
“Plastics play an important role and are being used in the lives of Canadians on a daily basis, even more so now in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the memo. “However their mismanagement is a global concern impacting the economy and the environment.”
Environmentalist groups warned last year that 1.5 billion face masks could have made their way into the world’s oceans globally by the end of 2020.
“Single-use face masks are made from a variety of meltblown plastics and are difficult to recycle due to both composition and risk of contamination and infection,” wrote OceansAsia.
“These masks enter our oceans when they are littered or otherwise improperly discarded, when waste management systems are inadequate or non-existent, or when these systems become overwhelmed due to increased volumes of waste.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had promised in the past to ban single-use plastics in Canada by Dec. 31, 2021. The ban would apply to products such as straws, checkout bags, six-pack rings, cutlery and food containers.
The measure was delayed by the Liberal government nearly a week before it was set to go into effect.
Ottawa city councillor and chair of the police services board Diane Deans told CBC’s Power and Politics on Tuesday that the trucker convoy was “treason” and “an insurrection.”
Deans’s comments come one day after Ottawa mayor Jim Watson put through a request by the city’s police chief for nearly 2,000 additional law enforcement personnel to crack down on the peaceful protestors in the capital.
Ottawa city councillor and chair of the Ottawa police services board Diane Deans says the #TruckersforFreedom convoy is an act of “treason.”
She says the protest is an “insurrection” and is “right out of the Trump playbook.” pic.twitter.com/JgQqFXWpEC
“We all need to work together. This is not something this country has ever seen before,” said Deans. “I understand Mark Carney referred to it as sedition today. I think that’s exactly what it is. This is treason. This is way bigger. This is a group of well-polished professional people that are trying to overthrow the government.”
“It’s not a target on the City of Ottawa, it’s much bigger than that. It’s really an insurrection. It’s an attack on our democracy. It’s an attack on our federal government. It has a lot of international elements to it. The money is flowing from the US. This is right out of the Trump playbook.”
Politicians of all levels and the legacy media have increasingly cranked up their efforts to demonize the Freedom Convoy and its supporters. From before the truckers even arrived in Ottawa on Jan. 29, they have cycled through a series of nasty labels, including branding the convoy as domestic terrorists, white nationalists, fascists and criminals.
The idea that US funds were funnelled into the convoy can be traced back to statements made by Ottawa Police Service chief Peter Sloly before he helped to deplatform the convoy’s GoFundMe fundraiser.
“We are now aware of a significant element from the US that have been involved in the funding, the organizing, and the demonstrating,” Sloly claimed.
Despite repeated allegations that the convoy is backed by US money, Sloly has not provided any evidence to indicate that the protest received foreign funding.
After an emergency meeting of the police services board on Monday, Watson called for the federal government to provide an additional 1,800 law enforcement personnel to aid in quashing the protest, including 1,000 regular officers, 600 public order officers, 100 investigative officers, 100 civilian staff and supporting resources.
The Truckers for Freedom convoy entered its 17th day on Tuesday and had raised over $6.5 million USD on GiveSendGo.
Alberta restaurants and entertainment venues will no longer be required to ask for proof of vaccination from patrons effective midnight Tuesday, according to Premier Jason Kenney.
Kenney announced the abrupt end to Alberta’s “restrictions exemption program” at a press conference Tuesday evening, the first part of a three-phase end to Covid restrictions.
Alberta announces the end of its vaccine passport program, effective midnight tonight.
“The threat of COVID-19 to public health no longer outweighs the hugely damaging impact of health restrictions on our society,” Kenney said, adding the vaccine passports were successful at boosting vaccine uptake and protecting the healthcare system, but have outlived their usefulness.
However, the Alberta government will still be providing the QR codes to fully vaccinated Albertans, a move Kenney defended as necessary for Albertans travelling to other provinces with vaccine passports in place, or boarding a plane while the federal government still maintains a vaccine requirement for air travel.
“As long as there is a federal requirement for provincially issued proof of vaccination, we have to offer that as a service,” Kenney said.
Kenney also said private businesses retain the right to impose vaccine requirements in the “free market,” though he discouraged the practice.
On "free market" grounds, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney defends right of businesses to require proof of vaccination after the government's vaccine passport program ends tonight, but says he wants to move away from all of it. pic.twitter.com/hk9bpuI5pD
“They’ll have that right under law, and I guess I would just say that’s a matter of the free market,” he said. “If a business chooses to have a policy of that nature then that may appeal to a certain kind of customer, and it may turn away other kinds of customers. That’s a commercial decision. At the end of the day, I would love it if we could move away from all of this.”
Last July, when Alberta was firmly against implementing a vaccine passport, Kenney said he believed such a policy would be illegal.
“I believe they would in principle contravene the Health Information Act and also possibly the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,” he said at the time.
In both an open letter and in the House of Commons, Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen has told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau she wants a meeting with party leaders to discuss ending COVID-19 restrictions.
“It is time to depoliticize the response to the pandemic,” wrote Bergen in a letter to Trudeau on Monday. “Canadians across the country have come together, made sacrifices and done what is necessary to keep their families safe.”
It is time to de-politicize the response to the pandemic and bring Canadians together again. My letter to the Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/TF1A15iKnm
Bergen said that Canadians were encouraged to hear Canadian chief medical officer of health Theresa Tam say that there has to be a more “sustainable” way of dealing with the pandemic.
Tam recently recommended that all remaining COVID-19 restrictions be “re-examined” with provinces and territories to “get back to some normalcy.”
Tam’s statement, wrote Bergen, is a message of hope that many Canadians have been waiting for.
Bergen added that Canadians are “looking for leaders to provide certainty, hope and a pathway out of the pandemic.” Instead, she accused Trudeau’s comments of being “dismissive about a ‘fringe’ with ‘unacceptable views.’”
Bergen said that the federal party leaders have a responsibility to help Canada.
“It is my sincere hope that we can show leadership by coming together to talk about solutions, to follow the science rather than the politics when it comes to mandates,” she said. “We can deliver a message of hope to the millions of Canadians who are frustrated and want to return to their normal lives.”
During Question Period on Tuesday, Bergen demanded Trudeau provide Canadians with an end date for COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
“Conservatives believe living with COVID means opening up and ending the mandates,” she said. “So will the prime minister follow the science, end the lockdowns and let Canada once again be the true north strong and free?”
Trudeau refused to commit to an end date for restrictions or a meeting with party leaders. Instead, he accused the Conservatives of not following science throughout the pandemic as well as hypocrisy over supporting COVID restrictions in other situations.
“Fortunately, we’ve been working with provincial premiers right across the country to bring in the kinds of restrictions and mandates that have saved Canadians’ lives,” he said. “Unfortunately, we see Conservatives continue to both call an end to the protests from in here and support them out there.”
"I can't help but notice with regret that both the tone and policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during last election campaign," Quebec Liberal MP @JoelLightbound says it's time to stop dividing Canadians. #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/0RR8c5ZyGZ
Liberal MP Joel Lightbound broke rank with Trudeau and spoke out against public health measures on Tuesday.
Lightbound said that he believes the Canadian government has divided people in recent months, particularly on vaccination status.
“I can’t help but notice with regret that both the tone and policies of my government changed drastically on the eve and during the last election campaign,” he said.
Lightbound’s remarks come as a new poll suggests that 44% of Canadians believe that Trudeau along with Canada’s premiers “share the blame for the protest in Ottawa because of their condescending attitude toward Canadians who disagree with vaccine mandates and lockdowns.”
The Truckers for Freedom convoy has more momentum than ever, as cities across Canada saw massive protests this past weekend and into this week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has successfully united the country – unfortunately for him, Canadians are united against him and this drives the Establishment crazy.
The legacy media and Ottawa politicians are pulling out all the stops to end the protest. They attempted to cut the convoy’s funding, increase police presence and continue to demonize Canadians participating in the protest.
Candice Malcolm says Canada is experiencing a political realignment – the people VS. the Establishment. And the good news is – the people are winning. Tune into The Candice Malcolm Show!
A defiant Quebec gym forced to shut its doors by a court order in January has launched a Charter challenge to try and keep Canadian gyms from being closed again.
Shane Miller, owner of CrossFit 819 in Gatineau, told True North he doesn’t believe the lockdowns will stop until people put a stop to them.
“What I’m hoping is that we raise enough awareness and we mount a successful Charter challenge and we win and we make it that gyms are made essential,” he said.
Although Quebec is set to reopen gyms again on Feb. 14 at 50% capacity, the province took Miller to court last month for refusing to close during the current lockdown – Quebec’s fourth – which came into effect in December.
“I shut down the first three times, and I just couldn’t do it again,” Miller told True North. “It wasn’t about me. It was a moral thing. I stayed open for my clients with health issues who had letters from doctors and physiotherapists.”
A major COVID outbreak at a Quebec City gym in March 2021 has seen the province impose some of the most severe lockdowns on fitness facilities in the country, with the only potential exceptions for professional athletes and owners.
Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services spokesperson Marie-Louise Harvey said in an email to True North on Tuesday that during lockdowns, “only establishments offering essential services related to food, the distribution of drugs or gasoline could continue their activities.” She added that gyms will be allowed to return to full capacity on Feb. 28.
Miller said that Quebec’s stringency during lockdowns set the province apart from Ontario, where some gyms had looked to a disabilities law to allow them to stay open for people with a medical note.
“The problem here in Quebec is that they said gyms had to close,” he said. “In other places like Ontario, if you have a note from a physio that says you need physical therapy, you can be doing physical activity. I don’t know about the mental health aspect of it, but I said no matter what, I had to do this because we have people who are recovering from different substance abuse disorders, binge-eating disorders. If they can’t come to the gym, they spiral out of control.”
“We had one guy who came back 80 pounds heavier after the first lockdown,” Miller said. “I didn’t even recognize him. I had other people who basically said they couldn’t come back because they’re too ashamed. Another guy who had used CrossFit as a way to beat his drug addiction never came back.”
Miller said that mental and physical health considerations make gyms an essential service, and it doesn’t make sense to close them. He said he was inspired by the handful of gyms in British Columbia who refused to close during B.C.’s last lockdown, and who had cited an obligation to their clients’ mental health.
“Some people can do the Zoom stuff online, but some people can’t,” Miller said. “They need to be here to stay on track, and those are they people we stayed open for.”
Someone called the police to complain and the matter went to provincial court, with the judge issuing a closure order and telling Miller that if he continued to operate, he could go to jail for 30 days.
“I’d be happy to go to jail for 30 days for this fight, but I have a wife and three kids and it would be more than they would be able to handle,” Miller said.
Although Miller is obeying the court order and will be running fitness classes through Zoom until gyms are allowed to reopen on Feb. 14, he said that his clientele is dwindling and that he has to build up his business again every time he is locked down.
Miller said he doesn’t think the latest lockdown will be the last either.
“I lost $62 thousand last year,” he told True North. “If we can’t do a Charter challenge saying that gyms are essential, then I can’t keep running my business.”
Miller says is waiting to hear back from the Attorney General for a trial date for the challenge. In the meantime, he is gathering evidence and testimonials for his case.
As far as the cost for the charter challenge, Miller said his lawyer told him to budget for at least $25,000.
He has launched a GoFundMe page to help with the fundraising.
