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Forgive me if this has been covered, but the protests are in Ottawa, the national capital. Are the restrictions they are protesting legislated federally?
Because here in Australia, we have some copycat protests in Canberra (our national capital) But most of the rules they are protesting about are legislated by our state governments and outside the control of the feds. For example, in NSW which is the most populated state, all rules stopping unvaxxed entering the state, going to hospitality venues etc were dropped on December 15th. They still apply in most other parts of the country.
I wonder if our protestors really understand the structure of our government and wonder if it is the same in Canada.
True. Impossible asks. That same break with reality is happening in Canada.
The truck protesters want the Canadian government to extend the exemption truckers had for vaccines at border crossings. Commercial truckers were deemed essential workers, who were allowed through the border unrestricted from pre-vaccine days. Most truckers are vaccinated. The USA and Canada recently implemented a cross border vaccine mandate for commercial truckers. That would have brought truckers in line with the rest of Canada and the USA.
That's how it started. Protesters demanded that Prime Minister Trudeau remove provincial level mandates; that he impose federal control over provinces. He has no authority to remove provincial level pandemic restrictions. It's as though people who don't understand Canada are protesting - unclear who the leader is, unclear on goals, unclear on government structure.
Political parties seem to be using "freedom" as a political football, completely ignoring the fallacy in their reasoning where it means more federal oversight of provinces. In some ways, the stage seems to be filled with everyone's 15 minutes of fame grievance against government. It's more anti-government than covid mandates.
That's how it started. Protesters demanded that Prime Minister Trudeau remove provincial level mandates; that he impose federal control over provinces. He has no authority to remove provincial level pandemic restrictions. It's as though people who don't understand Canada are protesting - unclear who the leader is, unclear on goals, unclear on government structure.
In fairness, there is, in Canadian law, a doctrine known as federal paramountcy, where the federal government can override a province's law. However, this doctrine has not been used in about a hundred years, and now joins those constitutional traditions where we don't dare use them, because to do so would invite a constitutional crisis.
You make a good point, though. Protesters seem to feel that Trudeau is in charge of everything. He's not; and he's certainly not a dictator who controls every aspect of Canadians' lives, especially in their provinces. He cannot control whether you need a "vaccine passport" to get into a bar in Alberta, or how many people can attend a Maple Leafs hockey game in Toronto. He cannot control whether kids need masks to attend school in British Columbia, or whether grocery shoppers need masks to go to Sobey's supermarket in Halifax. He's powerless over most of the mandates and restrictions that Canadians encounter daily, which tend to be all at the provincial level, not federal.
If you're PO'ed at mask mandates in Ontario, protest at Queen's Park in Toronto. If you are PO'ed over vaccine passports in British Columbia, head for Victoria. If you're PO'ed over in-school attendance and/or virtual learning in Nova Scotia, head for Halifax. And so on. But none of these are issues that Trudeau or the federal Parliament can control, so if you cannot get into a bar in Saskatchewan without a vaccine passport, going to Ottawa won't help you.
Justin Trudeau has responded poorly to the pandemic over the last two years (IMHO), but expecting him to wave a magic "freedom" wand now because of the truckers, in order to override what every province has done, and continues to do, is asking him to do what he cannot do. Our Constitutional traditions prevent him from doing so.
Last edited by ChevySpoons; 02-13-2022 at 03:59 AM..
In fairness, there is, in Canadian law, a doctrine known as federal paramountcy, where the federal government can override a province's law. However, this doctrine has not been used in about a hundred years, and now joins those constitutional traditions where we don't dare use them, because to do so would invite a constitutional crisis.
You make a good point, though. Protesters seem to feel that Trudeau is in charge of everything. He's not; and he's certainly not a dictator who controls every aspect of Canadians' lives, especially in their provinces. He cannot control whether you need a "vaccine passport" to get into a bar in Alberta, or how many people can attend a Maple Leafs hockey game in Toronto. He cannot control whether kids need masks to attend school in British Columbia, or whether grocery shoppers need masks to go to Sobey's supermarket in Halifax. He's powerless over most of the mandates and restrictions that Canadians encounter daily, which tend to be all at the provincial level, not federal.
If you're PO'ed at mask mandates in Ontario, protest at Queen's Park in Toronto. If you are PO'ed over vaccine passports in British Columbia, head for Victoria. If you're PO'ed over in-school attendance and/or virtual learning in Nova Scotia, head for Halifax. And so on. But none of these are issues that Trudeau or the federal Parliament can control, so if you cannot get into a bar in Saskatchewan without a vaccine passport, going to Ottawa won't help you.
Justin Trudeau has responded poorly to the pandemic over the last two years (IMHO), but expecting him to wave a magic "freedom" wand now because of the truckers, in order to override what every province has done, and continues to do, is asking him to do what he cannot do. Our Constitutional traditions prevent him from doing so.
While some people left immediately, including some transport trucks, a crowd remained and even swelled heading into Saturday evening.
But as of Sunday morning, only about 25 protesters remained. And as of 7:30 a.m. ET, about 75 police officers lined up across the road and warned that anyone who didn't leave would be arrested.
Okay now if you remember, the police said they couldn't just use tear gas to disperse demonstrators, because vehicles were involved. It just won't work, because vehicles were involved. I disagreed but whatever.
As of 7:30 Sunday morning there are now no vehicles left blocking the Ambassador Bridge. Just 25 pedestrians remain. Just 25 protesters on foot are keeping international trade between Windsor and Detroit at a standstill. So why can't the police now use tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and reopen the bridge? What's their excuse now? Better yet why don't the police just carry the demonstrators off the bridge? At this point the police outnumber the demonstrators at least 10 to 1, if not 100 to 1. What's their excuse now? Are they even trying to reopen the bridge? Do the police even want to reopen the bridge?
Okay now if you remember, the police said they couldn't just use tear gas to disperse demonstrators, because vehicles were involved. It just won't work, because vehicles were involved. I disagreed but whatever.
As of 7:30 Sunday morning there are now no vehicles left blocking the Ambassador Bridge. Just 25 pedestrians remain. Just 25 protesters on foot are keeping international trade between Windsor and Detroit at a standstill. So why can't the police now use tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and reopen the bridge? What's their excuse now? Better yet why don't the police just carry the demonstrators off the bridge? At this point the police outnumber the demonstrators at least 10 to 1, if not 100 to 1. What's their excuse now? Are they even trying to reopen the bridge? Do the police even want to reopen the bridge?
I'm sure when you figure it out, you'll let the rest of us know.
Okay now if you remember, the police said they couldn't just use tear gas to disperse demonstrators, because vehicles were involved. It just won't work, because vehicles were involved. I disagreed but whatever.
As of 7:30 Sunday morning there are now no vehicles left blocking the Ambassador Bridge. Just 25 pedestrians remain. Just 25 protesters on foot are keeping international trade between Windsor and Detroit at a standstill. So why can't the police now use tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and reopen the bridge? What's their excuse now? Better yet why don't the police just carry the demonstrators off the bridge? At this point the police outnumber the demonstrators at least 10 to 1, if not 100 to 1. What's their excuse now? Are they even trying to reopen the bridge? Do the police even want to reopen the bridge?
I saw it mentioned somewhere, can't remember where, that cops won't use tear gas when kids are present, which is why so many people are bringing their kids to the protests. Don't know if that's true or not.
It's cold as hell out there. I personally can't think of a cause important enough to me to stand outside for hours. Perhaps I'm just a person of weak convictions, lol.
The unvaccinated in either country no longer have a pathway,” Picone said Friday. “An unvaccinated wife can no longer enter Canada or an unvaccinated father can no longer drive by land to see his two American-born children. So, they’re stuck.”
Boo hoo.
As I posted above I don't agree with the truckers on the vaccine mandate issue. The protests have mushroomed to a general "no" regarding pandemic restrictions. I agree in general on pandemic restrictions. As far as vaccines we took for granted, as children, starting school with required vaccines. I just don't see it as a big deal even if they only protect against serious illnesses. A cold epidemic never shut down society even if, in the odd case, a common cold progressed to something an awful lot worse.
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