When the local and provincial police were actually AIDING and ABETTING the fucking convoy as they terrorized the citizens of Ottawa, I am glad the feds stepped in. The locals decided to be part of the problem, not the solution, fuck them.
The courts now siding with the terrorists is not a huge surprise either.
My view is that if the city and province responded as they should have, it would have been excessive. They tried something similar in Toronto and the cops kept them from settling in. But the city was stun-fucked and Doug Ford fucked off to the cottage, so here we are.
It was not a wise response.
As much disdain as I have for those convoy protesters, I did wonder at the time “why not simply arrest them and impound their trucks with normal police actions first? Surely deliberately blocking roads like this is already illegal under ordinary laws.” Only if that doesn’t work would there be a bigger issue at hand.
Seems like my thought was correct.
The try this again and the appropriate response is to scatter roofing nails all along their planned route.
Your thinking wasn’t wrong, the problem was that the municipal and provincial police and governments abdicated their duties and abandoned their citizens. The federal government stepped in because the lower levels of government refused to do their duty for weeks. I don’t disagree that Trudeau stepped a foot beyond his jurisdiction, but in that scenario, he was being the only responsible adult who actively cared about the well-being of Canadians.
I’m glad it was done, and there was nothing in the execution that was heavy-handed or otherwise untoward. The people had more than ample warning to disperse, the line moved slowly (giving the people every opportunity to leave of their own volition), force was restrained and minimal. People got arrested because at that point they made the choice to be. It certainly was not the situation we currently see unfolding in the US right now (which, if we are honest, the convoyers would have wanted for their side to perpetuate, if they could).
I think that’s the core here, it’s clearly laid out in the judges decision that the problem wasn’t the government using excessive force, it’s that the EA isn’t really meant to deal with this level of incompetence. Its purpose is to deal with real national security threats, and nothing the convoy did was beyond the scope of the local police, they just chose not to act, and the only mechanisms to hold anyone accountable within the police are operated by the police.
Partisanship within Canadian police departments is a serious issue, and while this ruling should be a wake up call, it won’t be heard.
Unfortunately partisan actors will paint the decision as “Trudeau is a tyrant” in conservative media regardless of the reality.
Ya, I don’t understand what the alternative is supposed to be. It was declining into lawlessness because police forces refused to do their jobs.
I think if it had happened anywhere except Ottawa, where the local authorities recognized this had political implications, it would have been smacked down in normal disturbance of the peace actions. But the local twits weren’t about to get involved in what probably had national impact, so they just left it to the feds to clean up. I’m not sure what other avenues the feds had than the one they used, but they should probably come up with something.
You’d have figured they could order the Ottawa police to deal with it and took responsibility before they starting using things like bank account seizures and other pretty heavy handed bullshit that you’d never see in a regular action for a problem like this. That’s where I was a little taken aback during the process. By all means, deal with assholes blowing their horns and shitting on people’s lawns like you would normally. But using devices reserved for terrorism gave these jackasses way too much credibility.
Invoking the Emergencies Act allowed the government extraordinary temporary powers, including the prohibition of citizens assembling in public and the freezing of bank assets related to the protests. The act became law in 1988 and included stricter rules to be deployed than the previous War Measures Act.
Its like they went out of their way to do it this way. To set a precedence perhaps?
This is sure gonna rile up the seperatists in Alberta.
Our courts are among the most judicial, kind and respectful in the world. I disagree with them here, but ultimately respect a fine institution who is erring on a side of caution that may be absolutely true, but never reciprocated by opposition forces.
Don’t draw the line in the sand too late. We’ve seen where that goes.
I disagree with them too, and I worry about the implications of this ruling with respect to justice for the people and the city of Ottawa. Looks like the convoy and the organizers get off with no legal repercussions so I’m fairly certain this will happen again, and there will be no money to pay for the damage and the disturbance.
What should have come out of this were clear limits on reasonable protest, police powers and legal expectations, and regulations on foreign funding in our politics and NGOs, including, in particular, American funding.
Paywall B Gone: https://archive.is/VUst5
Thanks!
