Dear Editor
Blame for the trucker’s protest and the resulting turmoil in Ottawa and elsewhere must be laid squarely at the feet Justin Trudeau and his political advisors.
Most pundits, commenting on the so-called “occupation” from the comfort of their home offices and in the security of their regular paychecks, seemingly cannot comprehend this as merely a vaccine mandate issue. They “took the jab,” why can’t the truckers? (Never mind that the Canadian constitution protects the individual from unwanted medical intervention.)
No, it couldn’t be that, there must be other forces at work among these truckers, many accompanied by their families. Surely extremists or anarchists; good chance even terrorists!
The simple fact is that until last summer’s ill-considered federal election, Mr. Trudeau gave very explicit signals that he was not in favour of vaccine mandates. Not in free and democratic Canada. Then , about halfway through the campaign when Conservatives pulled ahead in the polls, Mr. Trudeau cynically reversed his stance; he attacked unvaccinated Conservative Members of Parliament, and broached the need for mandates. After all, the majority of Canadians favoured vaccination.
Well, it did the trick, Liberal fortunes reversed and they won the election. Just! No further ahead than at the start of the campaign and $610 million taxpayer dollars later.
Meanwhile from the start of the COVID pandemic and for most of two years, much of that time with no access to vaccines, thousands of truckers criss-crossed the continent delivering essential goods and were considered unsung heroes. They mostly ate in their trucks – restaurants didn’t want them; They slept in their trucks and had difficulty finding showers and toilets open to them. But they continued with their work until recently when provinces were already hinting at an easing of restrictions and a lifting of mandates.
It was at this point that Mr. Trudeau announced that for all intents and purposes, all truckers would have to be vaccinated to cross back into Canada. Quite predictably many truckers both vaccinated and unvaccinated resented such high-handed impositions, and we had the start of the Tucker’s Convoy. Not once since then has Mr. Trudeau addressed them directly to discuss their grievances or to listen to their concerns. Instead he has made it clear it is beneath his dignity to address this rabble, and instead his solution is to implement a draconian Emergency Measures Act. For shame Mr. Trudeau!
James Wiebe
Sonningdale
