Who's the threat to democracy again?
I'm no fan of the "freedom convoy," but I'm even less of a fan of this government.
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As Canada Day approaches, the “Freedom Convoy” is planning to return to Ottawa, because…reasons, I guess. Aside from having to wear a mask on my Flair Airlines flights to and from Montreal - and, believe me, that’s by far the least annoying thing about flying on Flair Airlines - I haven’t come across any COVID-19 restrictions lately, but I guess the Bill Gates nanobots and stuff are still a serious and ongoing threat.
The Ottawa Police insist they’re ready, this time:
Ottawa officials said on Monday they are closing roads and calling in reinforcements to keep anti-government “freedom” protesters from disrupting Canada Day festivities, which are being held for the first time in three years on Friday.
[…]
“We won’t be intimidated by any group that plans to disrupt the celebrations,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said during a news conference. “We’re prepared, and we will not tolerate any illegal activity by anyone.”
Friday’s protests will include an alternative free concert in front of the Supreme Court, a march to city hall where speakers will address the public and finally a dance party in front of parliament.
Multiple police forces, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), are being brought in to help, Bell told reporters.
Already from Wednesday, access to the streets around parliament will be limited, and most of the streets in the downtown core will be closed on Friday. No vehicles will be allowed to park illegally and no structures, including tents, will be allowed, Bell said.
“We’re prepared to take decisive and lawful action to deal with threats, occupation attempts, and other unlawful behavior that we observe,” Bell said.
After the city was brought to a standstill by protesters earlier this year, I can’t begrudge them beefing up security, especially on the national holiday.
Indeed, if you’re a premium subscriber (cough) you’d know I’m out of the Conservative Party if a pro-convoy or convoy-adjacent candidate wins the upcoming leadership race. LibDipGreen Twitter, of course, goes much further, declaring them terrorists, traitors, insurrectionists and a national security threat.
I might actually agree with some of these terms for some of the participants. (Pat King, in particular, is a real piece of work.) And yet, they have yet to seize control of the federal government nor any of its operations.
Which is more than you can say for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, who have been caught messing around in the justice system for blatant political gain:
A scathing letter from an RCMP communications manager released Tuesday says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki referred to direct pressure from the federal public safety minister to release firearm details in the days after the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
It’s the second such claim by an RCMP official who was on an April 28, 2020, conference call in which Lucki criticized Halifax staff, nine days after the rampage that resulted in 22 deaths.
The letter from Lia Scanlan dated April 14, 2021, claims the RCMP’s leader focused on the Liberal government’s agenda of passing firearms legislation during the hastily arranged meeting.
Hours earlier during a news conference, Supt. Darren Campbell hadn’t provided full details about the two rifles and two pistols used by the killer. According to his handwritten notes, released to the public inquiry, the RCMP was concerned providing this information might jeopardize their investigation.
As the dressing down unfolded, Scanlan said Lucki “informed us of the pressures and conversation with (Public Safety) Minister (Bill) Blair, which we clearly understood was related to the upcoming passing of the gun legislation.”
[…]
Handwritten notes from Campbell, released last Monday, also say Lucki told those present she had promised the federal Public Safety Department and the Prime Minister’s Office that information on the guns used by the shooter would be released because it was “tied to pending gun control legislation.”
That the Liberals tried to rush through legislation on a hot-button wedge issue in the wake of a tragedy is not at all surprising. That’s how the game is played.
But when they’re putting pressure on the RCMP to release certain details about a terrible crime while it’s still being investigated, as a means of building public support for this legislation? Yeah, that’s a problem.
And it’s not even the first time the Trudeau Liberals have been caught interfering in what is supposed to be an independent judicial system, free from political meddling. Once could be a mistake. Twice is a pattern.
Obviously, the winner of the federal election is entitled to some spoils, including appointing the Minister of Justice, important officials, and judges, and making changes to the law itself. But the other side of the bargain is that the people tasked with carrying out enforcement of the law shall do so fairly and impartially. Certain people are not to be unduly favored - or targeted - just because of their relationship to the government and the ruling party.
Without that, you have blatant corruption at the very least, and authoritarianism at the worst. At least the Trudeau Liberals haven’t reached the latter stage yet, though you have to wonder about the kind of government that wants to control YouTube content to make sure you’re eating your video vegetables.
The “freedom convoy” has big trucks and lots of other cool stuff that makes a lot of noise. But that’s nothing compared to control of the government itself.
🤯