February 2022
The truck convoy protests and how the government is taking action
Article by Alexa Lupsor
The truck convoy also known as the “freedom convoy” is a massive protest that ruptured throughout the country and concentrated in the streets of downtown Ottawa and in several other border locations. Initially the protest started because the government decided to enforce vaccination mandates for truckers traveling across the borders however it quickly became much more than that. The convoy got massive unexpected support from people from all walks of life. It became an expression of frustration of never ending lockdowns, restrictions and destruction of small businesses that has been going on for the past two years.
The actions that the federal government has taken from the beginning were questioned by a lot of people. From the start, the Prime Minister did not want to engage in any discussions with the protestors. According to the opposing parties, this lack of action to resolve this protest quickly and peacefully brought a lot of criticism from a lot of Canadians. Every day that the government did nothing things got a little bit worse. Not only that the Prime Minister did not take any action but also started using isolated events and divided Canadian society even further. The protest in Ottawa became a true blockade in our capital. Despite a lot of criticism, the Prime Minister did not want to engage and listen to any of the protesters' complaints instead he decided to enforce the Emergency Act created in 1988 which has never been used before. The reasons behind it were questioned by opposing parties and even Liberal members themselves stated that not a lot of substantial proof was brought in front of the Parliament to justify such an extreme measure. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) announced recently that they intend to sue the federal government over this decision. The enablement of this Act gives extensive power to the government to freeze participants’ and donors’ bank accounts, cancel insurance and be able to arrest people without probable cause. Despite positive local media coverage, Canada has recently been petraited all around the globe as a country that violates rights of freedom of expression. The Prime Minister was even compared to dictators from other parts of the world. Even if the Prime Minister decided to cancel this Emergency Act after a few days, this has put a stain on our country’s image. Media across the world had journalists stationed in Ottawa for weeks and showing that some of the claims that our government made about lots of violence were not entirely correct at times. There were indeed unlawful acts by a small number of the participants but the majority followed the rules and participated peacefully. This convoy actually inspired protests all across Europe and the USA.
The question I am asking today is how would our generation want to live? Do we picture ourselves living in a democracy where we can have differences of opinions and resolve them through debates? Or do we picture ourselves in a country where tolerance is discussed only when it suits the politicians? Have we not learnt from our own Canadian history that tolerance and acceptance makes us the best we can be? History teaches us again and again that critical thinking and building a generation that questions the status quo and has tolerance for
