I live in Ottawa, right smack dab in the middle of everything. There was some fallout for sure. A business who stayed open to serve coffee and bathroom facilities to the protesters was forced to move his business elsewhere by the whiny Trudeau government. This man proved that they were lying a bout having to shut the businesses in the first place. Nobody was looting him or harassing him.
My blind daughter went on a walk downtown in the middle of this, appeared on Viva Frei's show, and the protesters, particularly truckers and veterans, not only treated her like a queen, they brought her into a tent to give her coffee and warm blankets and they made sure she got in a taxi to safely get home. In contrast to this, my daughter, with her white cane, had guns shoved in her face by police officers. She couldn't see them. The protesters helped her get out of there safely because the brave brave police thugs they sent downtown were threatened by a small blind woman. So brave... so impressive that they protected Parliament from blind women, disabled women and old men who dared to honk a horn in their cars.
Thank you may we for this super important comment - I would like to let both you and your daughter that I didn’t have opportunity or the honour to have met your heroic daughter during my 3 weeks parked on Wellington between Bank and Kent Streets- I remember pushing a wheelchair bound older woman through a snow drift between the lines of rigs and I told her she should be in her warm and safe home instead of braving the nasty weather and she told me she made a point to visit each day! I was lucky enough to bump into her another nicer day and have a picture of her on my phone that Zi cherish! I thank all these magnificent Canadian who not only showed support for the Convoy but so boosted our spirits to increase our determination to keep on keeping on - Please pass on our Gratitude and love to your SPECIAL Daughter from All OF US!
As a 79 year old retired 2nd of 3 generations of truckers I spent 3 weeks illegally parked on Wellington St. Without receiving a single parking ticket but had my joint bank account frozen and flagged for life! - My Son who hauls fuel from the Prince George B.C. Refinery who is unvaxxed and couldn’t fly to Ottawa for 3 days on the hill from his 5 days on (70 Hrs.) / 5 days off schedule
I had the vague impression something of this sort was the case, simply because one minute the Trucker Convoy was pretty serious news and the next it had just dropped of the radar to a large degree, and not being Canadian I’m afraid I didn’t follow up. Good to hear this is the case.
You might want to inform Artur Pawlowski, a pastor still on home lockdown, who is still facing imprisonment for speaking to the truckers at Coutts. At trial his defense played his speech in full for the judge. Seems not all has been gained back in Canada and many are still facing the wrath of the insane measures forced on the Canadian people.
The truckers 100% inspired hundreds of thousands of Australians to descend on Canberra. (Media said there were 2,000 no way). I cried when I saw all the guys driving to Ottawa and the people on the overpasses.
Edit: look at our protest in Perth, Western Australia - we laid our fluoro shirts down on the steps of parliament, gave the government the middle finger and went home to wait. They said the mandates would be in place for years and they caved in a few months. No union help - they threw us all under the bus. One day we just looked at each other and said "fuck this" and a few of us walked out. It was more than enough. https://vicparkpetition.substack.com/p/gates-meets-with-australian-pm-to
From a certain point of view, the Canadian trucker protest echoes the Indian farmers revolt in 2020. The reasons there are different: essentially, federal government was passing laws that would force small farmers to have to rely on large agricultural conglomerates to do their farming for them, with no guarantees of maintaining their current earnings or anything.
As a reaction, farmers, first from Punjab (the main agricultural zone), and later from other states. Millions of farmers took their trucks to essentially blockade Delhi - up to 100 million, according to the organizers. Government tried to block the highways, going so far as using spike trips or pouring concrete walls on highways.
Nothing worked. Farmers and their trucks essentially occupied Delhi for the best part of one year. The government had to rollback all their plans for that, and got much more careful about further rules they had to "modernize India" (read, install a manegierial class). And it really United some states around plans for secession.
Thankyou Truckers has reposted this marvellous Substack! I am forwarding to all the truckers I know! Thank you for this overview and pulling all this together.
You guys really showed us down here in "the land of the free and the home of the brave" how it's done. The fact that the US did not have a comparable movement is a disgrace.
Following-up to say I greatly appreciate this perspective. It's certainly help keep some creeping pessimism down, and it means a lot. You're absolutely correct that it was a decisive victory and there are massive forces trying to downplay this.
I was lucky enough to be on the ground to witness much of it. Feel free to browse the collection of photos I took and put on archive.org.
We need to celebrate Trucker Victory Week every year so that nobody ever forgets how to grab the state by the balls.
I live in Ottawa, right smack dab in the middle of everything. There was some fallout for sure. A business who stayed open to serve coffee and bathroom facilities to the protesters was forced to move his business elsewhere by the whiny Trudeau government. This man proved that they were lying a bout having to shut the businesses in the first place. Nobody was looting him or harassing him.
My blind daughter went on a walk downtown in the middle of this, appeared on Viva Frei's show, and the protesters, particularly truckers and veterans, not only treated her like a queen, they brought her into a tent to give her coffee and warm blankets and they made sure she got in a taxi to safely get home. In contrast to this, my daughter, with her white cane, had guns shoved in her face by police officers. She couldn't see them. The protesters helped her get out of there safely because the brave brave police thugs they sent downtown were threatened by a small blind woman. So brave... so impressive that they protected Parliament from blind women, disabled women and old men who dared to honk a horn in their cars.
Thank you may we for this super important comment - I would like to let both you and your daughter that I didn’t have opportunity or the honour to have met your heroic daughter during my 3 weeks parked on Wellington between Bank and Kent Streets- I remember pushing a wheelchair bound older woman through a snow drift between the lines of rigs and I told her she should be in her warm and safe home instead of braving the nasty weather and she told me she made a point to visit each day! I was lucky enough to bump into her another nicer day and have a picture of her on my phone that Zi cherish! I thank all these magnificent Canadian who not only showed support for the Convoy but so boosted our spirits to increase our determination to keep on keeping on - Please pass on our Gratitude and love to your SPECIAL Daughter from All OF US!
As a 79 year old retired 2nd of 3 generations of truckers I spent 3 weeks illegally parked on Wellington St. Without receiving a single parking ticket but had my joint bank account frozen and flagged for life! - My Son who hauls fuel from the Prince George B.C. Refinery who is unvaxxed and couldn’t fly to Ottawa for 3 days on the hill from his 5 days on (70 Hrs.) / 5 days off schedule
Regarding the senate, I've always believed it should be a lottery from the citizenry ala Jury duty but worth participating.
Suddenly legislation would have to be meaningful to more Canadians.
A literal lottery would actually make more sense, and probably select more competent people
William F Buckley once said if government were merely the first 50 names in the old white pages it would have that affect.
Right? I’ve thought the same thing about all elected positions. Appoint competent people, like conscription. Call it a social duty.
I travel a lot, and since winter 2022 as soon as anyone hears I'm Canadian the first thing they bring up is the Truckers — To this day.
It's happened in Asia, South Africa, the UK and Germany. (The second thing they tend to bring up is how they despise Trudeau).
That convoy made me prouder to be Canadian than anything that has happened in my lifetime.
Wow thank you for your comment Mick
I had the vague impression something of this sort was the case, simply because one minute the Trucker Convoy was pretty serious news and the next it had just dropped of the radar to a large degree, and not being Canadian I’m afraid I didn’t follow up. Good to hear this is the case.
* Off the radar. Excuse the proofreading error.
You are aware substack lets you edit comments right?
Just click the "..." next to "reply"
Not on mobile, I tried. Thank you though.
You might want to inform Artur Pawlowski, a pastor still on home lockdown, who is still facing imprisonment for speaking to the truckers at Coutts. At trial his defense played his speech in full for the judge. Seems not all has been gained back in Canada and many are still facing the wrath of the insane measures forced on the Canadian people.
Thanks for this. Pastor Pawlowski's story is news to me.
https://rumble.com/v2zmw46-artur-pawlowski-speaks-to-dr.-alexander-about-threat-of-imprisonment-from-a.html
The truckers 100% inspired hundreds of thousands of Australians to descend on Canberra. (Media said there were 2,000 no way). I cried when I saw all the guys driving to Ottawa and the people on the overpasses.
Edit: look at our protest in Perth, Western Australia - we laid our fluoro shirts down on the steps of parliament, gave the government the middle finger and went home to wait. They said the mandates would be in place for years and they caved in a few months. No union help - they threw us all under the bus. One day we just looked at each other and said "fuck this" and a few of us walked out. It was more than enough. https://vicparkpetition.substack.com/p/gates-meets-with-australian-pm-to
That's all it takes. JUST DO IT! 👍
From a certain point of view, the Canadian trucker protest echoes the Indian farmers revolt in 2020. The reasons there are different: essentially, federal government was passing laws that would force small farmers to have to rely on large agricultural conglomerates to do their farming for them, with no guarantees of maintaining their current earnings or anything.
As a reaction, farmers, first from Punjab (the main agricultural zone), and later from other states. Millions of farmers took their trucks to essentially blockade Delhi - up to 100 million, according to the organizers. Government tried to block the highways, going so far as using spike trips or pouring concrete walls on highways.
Nothing worked. Farmers and their trucks essentially occupied Delhi for the best part of one year. The government had to rollback all their plans for that, and got much more careful about further rules they had to "modernize India" (read, install a manegierial class). And it really United some states around plans for secession.
As a side note, a similar situation happened in 2017 in Brazil, and is closely tied to Bolsonaro's election.
Thankyou Truckers has reposted this marvellous Substack! I am forwarding to all the truckers I know! Thank you for this overview and pulling all this together.
You guys really showed us down here in "the land of the free and the home of the brave" how it's done. The fact that the US did not have a comparable movement is a disgrace.
Amen
What a tremendously uplifting report.
Great article
Freedom convoy truckers are heroes. And I don’t use that word often.
Love this, thank you so much.
Following-up to say I greatly appreciate this perspective. It's certainly help keep some creeping pessimism down, and it means a lot. You're absolutely correct that it was a decisive victory and there are massive forces trying to downplay this.
I was lucky enough to be on the ground to witness much of it. Feel free to browse the collection of photos I took and put on archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/2022-02-13_202305
(Hit "Show all" to see each photo)