Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act against the Freedom Convoy in Canada. AP. Trudeau has threatened the protesters by saying he would go after their private and corporates bank accounts, seizing truckers rigs, and even suspending insurance for truckers. Trudeau has largely been powerless to stop the protests but was able to clear the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. Trudeau's actions are controversial in Canada, with some premiers of the provinces saying they don't support the move. The protests are against Canada's various Coronavirus mandates.
My Comment:
These are not the moves of a man who is confident of his political survival. Trudeau seems to have no other option other than the nuclear one and it is almost assured to backfire on him. Indeed, this seems like a huge error on his part and one that will probably destroy him, one way or the other.
Why? Because this won't stop the protests. Theses protests are well funded and Canada doesn't have the manpower to take out every single one of these protesters. They may be able to stop some of the smaller border protests but they if they concentrate forces to stomp out one they leave weaknesses that other protesters can pop up. Trudeau has made his ruling but I don't see how he enforces it.
Going after people's bank accounts seems like the biggest own-goal that Trudeau could do. These people already feel like they have nothing to lose and this is just confirming it. They know now that they will get no mercy if they back down, so why not just see this through to the end? Trudeau needs to study his Sun Tzu as it is always important to leave your enemy an out.
I think it's obvious that Trudeau is abusing his power. The Freedom Convoy has remained completely peaceful with pretty much no violence whatsoever. Compared the the George Floyd riots in 2020, the Convoy is on another level. If the protesters were burning down buildings and assaulting people in the streets, it might be justifiable but that hasn't even come close to happening. They are mostly just having parties in the street.
As for the protesters they have a major decision to make. Do they stay the course with border blockades and the protest in Ottawa? Or do they try and make a change in tactics that is less vulnerable to disruption from the government? Both ways have arguments for and against and even a combination of the two is possible.
Doubling down might be the way to go. It's very clear that the border protests have put enormous pressure on the Canadian government. The action at the Ambassador Bridge alone had a massive economic impact on both Canada and the United States. Trying to bring that back would be easy enough, but would be very risky for the people involved.
The other option is to change gears and largely stop the protests and instead try and get a general strike going. A work stoppage of even 5% of Canada's workers could cripple the economy and I think they could get more than that. The best part of that is that the government would be totally powerless to do anything about that. They can't make people work and given the fact that the majority of protesters are critical workers the effects would be multiplied.
But doing both would probably be the best. Keeping up the blockades and then having a general strike on top of it? That would bring Trudeau to his knees. People are already turning against him and they would blame him for any disruptions caused by further protests as he hasn't even taken the basic step to talk to these people on equal footing.
Are the truckers winning? I think that they are, assuming that they don't give up. Like I have been saying, Canada does not have the manpower to try and put this movement down, and if they try it they will lose any claim at morality and legitimacy. The protesters have absolutely nothing to lose here and should be able to win. And I think they are a major reason why these restrictions are starting to get pulled back across the world.
But what worries me is that it seems pretty clear that Trudeau and the people around him are going unhinged. They are desperate to hang onto power and I wouldn't rule out them using violence. I don't think that would work and indeed, that's how civil wars start, but they don't seem to care anymore. The truckers don't have anything to lose but it might be the case that Trudeau doesn't either. At the very least he faces losing his position as Prime Minister, but he could end up in a small cell for the rest of his life or worse.
What really gets me is that none of this is necessary. All across the globe, and within Canada itself, governments are pulling back on Coronavirus restrictions. The Omicron variant has proven to be a lot weaker than any other variant and it's also clear that the current wave has already peaked. And the vaccine and mask mandates? They haven't done a thing to stop or even slow Omicron.
All Trudeau has to do is pull back the mandates. They don't work and offer nothing to gain for him and his constituents. The science is pretty clear, there is no gain for any of these restrictions and people are absolutely tired of him. But he still wants them. Which makes me wonder why? It makes me wonder if some of the conspiracy theories might be true...
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