I have been following the Canadian trucker's strike with some puzzlement. Aren't Canadians supposed to be the sensible neighbors?
Maybe you remember a family from your childhood in grade school, whom your parents held up as paragons. The kids were well-behaved, and never had to be nagged to finish their homework or do their chores. I have to admit that I felt a touch of schadenfreude when one of them got in trouble and had to stay after school. That's a little the feeling that comes up over the trucker's strike. Canadians have always been the responsible ones, who had a national health system, a better social safety net, and didn't buck sensible restrictions to prevent the spread of disease.
So now there is the wildcat trucker's strike north of the border, which has been going on for a month:
EXPLAINER: A look at what’s behind at the protests in Canada (news4jax.com)
From the article:
"Much of it can be tied to anger against Trudeau, a Liberal Party politician who has been prime minister since 2015 and is loathed by many conservatives, particularly in the western province of Alberta, the most conservative in the country."
"In 2019, well before the current protests, demonstrators drove a convoy of hundreds of trucks from western Canada to Ottawa in opposition to the Trudeau government's new carbon tax, an environmental measure they said would hurt the oil industry. Many wore yellow vests in solidarity with a French protest movement that same year against perceived economic injustice. This year's “freedom convoy” began in January with the first vehicles also setting out from the western part of the country and protesters from elsewhere joining in."
"Convoy organizers said they were moved to protest by a federal government requirement that truck drivers be fully vaccinated if they want to avoid a 14-day quarantine upon re-entry from the United States. However it's a bilateral measure with the U.S. imposing the same rule on Jan. 22 — meaning that even if Canada ended the restriction, it would make no practical difference."
The demonstrators in Ottawa, Ontario and elsewhere are primarily demanding an end to all COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions including mask requirements — though most of those were put in place by provincial governments. Protesters have called, too, for Trudeau’s resignation.
"Few actual commercial trucks are a part of the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that the last count he had was five of them there, with the rest being personal cars: “Ninety-nine percent of the truckers are working their backs off. ... This is about a political statement, that's what this is about.”
"Some far-right figures appear to be trying to capitalizing on the protests and pandemic fatigue to try to revitalize their movements, which represent a small minority of Canadians."
"....The protests have also been widely condemned by truckers and trucking groups. That includes the Canadian Trucking Alliance, which says the vast majority of drivers are fully vaccinated, in line with the country's broader population."
"Pandemic restrictions have been far stricter in Canada than in the United States, but Canadians have largely supported them. The country has less hospital capacity, so provinces have been quick to impose lockdowns when infections rise. Canada's COVID-19 death rate is one-third that of the United States."
"In the United States, the protests have been cheered and promoted by Fox News personalities and former president Donald Trump, who issued a statement attacking “the harsh policies of far left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates.” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has called the truckers “heroes” and “patriots,” and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk also tweeted his support." (Because of course they did!)
Covid isn't the only thing that's been spreading around. Everyone is having an "anger moment". To quote Howard Beale in the movie "Network", "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!" Except I don't know that people always know what they're angry about. And we don't know how to get past this angry time.
Auto manufacturing is up a creek right now. GM is shutting down assembly plant shifts in Lansing because they can't get Canadian parts. And assembly plants in Canada are shut bc they can't get steel and aluminum from the US.
ReplyDeleteMy old high school friend in Detroit sent me this report:
Here's a little bit on the Ambassador Bridge fiasco. I've been listening to the Canadian news and talk shows on CKLW.
The demonstrations started out as a somewhat focused protest against Ontario mandates requiring truckers (and everyone else) have proof of vaccination. A reasonable amount of public sympathy and understanding. But it doesn't matter if a trucker can enter Windsor or Niagara Falls without being vaxxed since he or she can't come back to the States and complete the roundtrip! Kind of pointless.
But the protests have degenerated into a sort of "we want our freedom, but for what and from what, well, we don't know." They want a "dialogue" with Premier Trudeau but don't have any recognized leaders or spokemen. And the average Joe and Josephine Canadians are getting really pissed. Shut down the Bridge and a whole lot of Canadians are out of work in a few days and the other Canadians are out of toilet paper and half of their grocery items.
It seems like a strange way to win converts to your cause by alienating them. Most of the radio callers would like to arrest the protestors and lock them up in the old Huron Gaol in Goderich or worse.
It's ironic how the arguments why we need a replacement for the aging Ambassador Bridge were always focused on the economic disaster if terrorists attacked the Bridge, or it collapsed like that one in Pittsburgh right on cue for Biden's infrastructure rally, or if cranky old owner Matty Maroun shut it down out of pique. Well...here we are. But the terrorists aren't Russians or Cubans or Arabs.
The new Gordie Howe International Bridge should be finished in a few years.
The Tunnel is still open and the lines aren't too awful but that's only for cars.
Thanks for the info, Jean. You're a lot closer to the area than I am.
DeleteYes - thanks for this Jean. Very interesting.
DeleteSupposedly law enforcement is all over the bridge taking names and photos of license plates and doing drone photos with an eye toward eventual prosecution.
DeleteSo far, there is a lot of outrage from elected officials on both sides of the border, but no one is willing to resort to force yet.
The temperatures plunged overnight, and another big dump of snow is scheduled for next week. That bridge is 386 feet at its highest point, and once the trucks run out of diesel, it's gonna get mighty cold up there. Supposedly protesters are running back to Windsor on foot to get food from supporters at the bridge entrance. Not sure how long that will last.
Only a matter of time before somebody has a medical emergency up there.
The NYT reports that part of the problem in Ottawa was a small unprepared police force for some new tactics:
ReplyDelete.The trucks began roaring into the city on Jan. 28. But the police did not put down concrete barriers to keep the trucks a safe distance from the legislature, nor did they ensure that the downtown core would not be converted into a parking lot.
It was only at that point that everyone understood how a 30,000-pound tractor-trailer that a trucker may live in for days at a time while on the job could be converted into a strategic tool of protest — huge and immovable, equipped with a heater and a bed, and with a built-in, ear-shattering noise maker.
In some cases, the truckers removed their tires and bled their brake lines to make their trucks immovable, the police said. And some heavy-duty towing companies have refused to work with the police to remove the trucks.
The police were also greatly outnumbered and outflanked.
Seems that governments need new laws and new tactics. If they are not allowed already, that need the ability to seize and sell the trucks just like vehicles used in drug trade can be seized. My understanding is that none of the towing agencies in Ottawa was willing to tow the trucks. I suspect the Canadian government like the US government has military units that can seize such equipment. They need to make a distinction between using the military to remove vehicles versus remove people.
The Canadian police like the US Capital police simply did not have the manpower to control the crowd. Perhaps as a part of all the armaments that have been flowing from the federal government to local police (at least here in the US0 there needs to be training and laws that allow the deployment of police from across the country in these situations rather than resorting to the military (e.g., National Guard)
Seems to me that the harm done by the protests and the "good" to be achieved are totally disproportionate. It seems there's no problem getting people to initiate civil disorder when the cause is something silly and stupid. I hope this pandemic is over so there's one less thing over which to act like an idiot.
ReplyDeleteAt the old fart retirees lunch yesterday, three guys fessed up to coming down with COVID, one in his nineties. Being vaccinated, they had mild cold-like symptoms for a day. And now, if it was Omicron, their immunity should be superior to the vaccination. They have antibodies that not only counter the spikes but also the shell wall proteins and the nucleocapsid.
Truck related, there are new requirements this year to get a CDL:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wsiltv.com/news/new-nationwide-cdl-training-requirement/article_77b25720-8801-11ec-a690-c76236ce5961.html#:~:text=Beginning%20Feb.%207%2C%202022%20%2C%20all%20new%20commercial,allowed%20to%20complete%20certain%20skills%20or%20knowledge%20tests.
The truckers and the trucking industry are howling bloody murder and blaming the Biden administration, even though it was originally supposed to go into effect in 2020.
If you've been sharing the highways with trucks lately, you know that the semis have gotten bigger and more powerful, they're not your 1960s trucks any more. Doesn't seem unreasonable to me to raise the bar for training drivers a little.
Canada may have not been prepared to handle a major protest. They are very common in the US, but that’s not the case in Canada from what I know.
ReplyDeleteMy takeaway is that the people most willing to effect change with drastic measures are the people most likely to get worked up about inconveniences that they misconstrue as violations of their God-given rights.
ReplyDeleteIt bespeaks ignorance + rejection of any notion of the common good.
The trucker debacle is just a tiny taste of what would happen if anybody in Washington (or Ottawa, apparently) actually got serious about global warming.
Update: Fun is fun, but enough is enough. Looks like cops are getting traction now at getting protesters off the Ambassador Bridge. Bridge is still closed, but crowds around entrance ramp had dwindled from hundreds to a couple dozen overnight. Continued cold temps and tomorrow's Super Bowl may keep crowds from re-forming.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-braces-action-us-border-bridge-blocked-by-protesters-despite-court-order-2022-02-12/
I am reading that a similar trucker's strike is being planned for March 1 in the DC area. There's no way that they can shut down all access like that bridge on the Canadian border, but it could cause significant disruption. I'm hoping the cops are on it. I still don't entirely understand what they're trying to accomplish besides just stirring the pot.
ReplyDeleteDC gets protests all the time. With the exception of January 6, they usually handle these things pretty well but nobody expected that American citizens would stoop to violence and storm the Capitol. Foreign terrorists, maybe, but not Americans. Now we know better. One major bridge is right next to the pentagon, another connects DC directly with Arlington National Cemetery. The government itself has blocked the bridges at times - notably during Obama’s inauguration - nobody could cross into DC from Virginia. In the many years I’ve lived here I never saw such tight security- they apparently feared an assassination attempt of the first black President They may have blocked the toads from the Maryland side too. I don’t remember now. Because there are lots of ways to get in that don’t require crossing a bridge. Rand Paul is pushing this. He wants to disrupt the super bowl too. WHAT is wrong with that man? They just want to cause trouble.
DeleteWhat is wrong with Rand Paul? Thousands want to know. His FB page is pretty weird. He's freaking out about subsidies to the eel industry that support turning male eels into females with estradiol.
DeleteBridge open now. From CNN:
ReplyDeleteWindsor Police on Sunday started arresting protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge. Up to 30 protesters had been arrested, most of whom were charged with "criminal mischief," Windsor Police Chief Pamela Mizuno said Sunday afternoon.
Police also seized five vehicles from protesters Sunday, Mizuno said, and seven vehicles were towed Saturday. Police expect to have a heightened presence in the area to maintain order, the chief said.
"Let me be crystal clear: It is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure," Ontario Premier Doug Ford tweeted Sunday. "Fines for noncompliance will be severe, with a maximum penalty of $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment."
Police started detaining protesters after a judge ordered them to leave the Ambassador Bridge by 7 p.m. Friday. Some protesters moved away on their own as police approached Saturday morning.
The thoroughfare's reopening "follows a state of emergency declared in Ontario and an injunction granted by an Ontario judge which took effect Friday," the bridge company said.
The protesters represent a vocal minority. About 4 in every 5 Canadians are fully vaccinated, Johns Hopkins University data shows. And nearly 90% of the country's truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, according to the Canadian government.
I wonder how the 90% of truckers who are vaccinated feel about the 10% who are impeding their businesses too.
DeleteNot too good. A Canadian organization of truck drivers condemned the blockade. I doubt that even 10% of the truckers were sympathetic with it. The local and provincial authorities have said that most of the vehicles blocking the bridge were not semis but pickups.
DeleteI suppose this will become clearer as arrests are processed. But there were Trump flags and Confederate flags flying amongst the Canadian flags, and there were reports that American groups had provided "assistance" to the Canadian protesters.
All the protesters interviewed on the news here sounded Canadian to me.
But how much of the protest involved Canadians, Canadian truckers, or Americans remains to be seen.
Similar protests in France, but that's not unusual in France.
DeleteIt seems we are exporting some of our political pathologies.
In a way, they shame me. If these folks can cause so much chaos over something so stupid, I should be out there for climate change, democracy, medical coverage for all, economic equality, nuclear disarmament. There's been a dearth of demonstrations due to COVID. I haven't attended one since the science march in DC. But maybe it's time if Omicron is the last wave. By the way, I have a pickup truck, too. Eh?
DeleteOne Canadian’s view of the protests
Deletehttps://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/02/canada-anti-vaccine-trucker-protests/622060/
His view of the role right wing Americans are playing
Peter Sloly, the Ottawa police chief, has declared that a “sizable element” from the U.S. has been involved in fundraising and organizing. The Ottawa police have been overwhelmed by 911 calls intended to disrupt operations, and “they were coming in from the United States,” according to Sloly. By far, the largest supporters of the trucker convoy on social media are Americans, namely Donald Trump and Elon Musk. (One of Trump’s former “science advisers” has attended rallies.) Republican Senator Ted Cruz is way, way more into the trucker convoy than any Canadian Conservative is.
His concern that the US extremists will continue to impact Canada
. This episode is no doubt just the beginning of the nightmare of living next to the United States in its time of breakdown. As American politics enters a state of complete toxicity, veering into insurgency, its violence and misinformation networks will inevitably spread across the border.
Canadians have a hard time believing that they are susceptible to some of the same dark/dumb elements as the US. But there are considerable differences between the eastern and western provinces. And there are still Quebecois elements who like to act up. Lots of protest signs in French ...
Delete"This episode is no doubt just the beginning of the nightmare of living next to the United States in its time of breakdown. As American politics enters a state of complete toxicity, veering into insurgency, its violence and misinformation networks will inevitably spread across the border"
DeleteDang, not an optimist, is he?
There are some very noisy bad actors, for sure. And some hypocritical politicians like Ted Cruz who are willing to exploit the situation for their own advantage. (I believe he was actually born in Canada. But birth on foreign soil only counts if they say you were born in Kenya).
But if I actually believed things were as dire and hopeless as the Atlantic author apparently does, I should just go back to bed and pull the covers over my head.