It never had to come to a 23-day illegal occupation of downtown Ottawa affecting thousands of ordinary citizens and small businesses. But it did. COVID-19 restrictions were the excuse but Trump nationalism and Trudeau hatred, promoted by federal conservative leaders, and the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan, were the catalysts.
During the last election, O’Toole was leading in the polls and could have become the next Prime Minister of Canada until Alberta-led ‘Trump Nation’ pushed back. The Conservative Party of Canada lost their chance to govern on two issues. Not mandating their candidates be vaccinated and not explaining to rural gun owners the necessity for improved gun controls.
The flow of illegal guns into Canada and the unacceptable gun violence on the streets of our major cities should concern all law-abiding citizens—even rural gun owners.
During the takedown of the illegal occupation in Ottawa, protestors and arrestees seemed well versed on their rights under the American Constitution, but seemed willfully unaware of Canadian laws and rights. Not surprising, really, when most protestors use Rebel, Rumble and Fox platforms as their go-to news sources.
With roots in rural Alberta, an evangelical Christian faith and former member of the Reform Party, I’ve had a front row seat watching the transformation of ordinary people from progressive conservatives into far-right activists, and today even martyrs. When we become convinced that Canada is run by ‘Evil’—Godless men, liberated women, gays, immigrants, abortionists and ethnics—then illegal occupations, justified by a self-serving definition of God’s will, is inevitable.
That is the reason behind Kenney’s rewrite of the education curriculum, and why public and separate school teachers were excluded from the process. The curriculum is not about preparing children, it’s about restoring the ‘right’ history—white colonialism, Judeo-Christianity, American superiority.
Imagine how angry, scared or convicted you must be to deliberately get arrested, have your truck (livelihood) impounded, bring your children to an active police operation and push them to the front-lines to stare down police officers in riot gear. It doesn’t make sense, unless radicalized.
I suspect many of the arrested have never been in the justice system before, some will be lucky and released, but those who aren’t will learn that receiving a life-membership in the justice system—once a criminal, always a criminal—isn’t much fun.
Now, that is a loss of freedom!
Once convicted your star status ends, reason returns and realty slams down on you and your family. And don’t expect those conservative politicians in either Canada or the States to stand by you when you’ve lost your rig and revenue and move into and through the justice system.
You’ll have wished you were like those grain farmers at the Coutts border crossing, who had their fun disrupting the lives and livelihoods of others before making their judicious departure. They weren’t going to lose their pricey equipment or their regular government relief cheques.
Truckers, and especially those who held the line, were played for fools. They’ve never received a single government handout, ever.
Ottawa residents now know first-hand the other side of western hospitality—intolerance and supremacy—and yet Premier Kenney can’t understand how that negatively impacts Alberta’s reputation as a place to invest.
The American motto is ‘In God we Trust’. It is exclusive and manipulative. Since God doesn’t speak for Himself in the public square, the motto is interrupted to the advantage of white, Judeo-Christians.
The Canadian motto, in contrast, is inclusive ‘From Sea, to Sea, to Sea’. It includes EVERYONE who lives within the geographic borders of Canada.
We’re a broken country. We are a divided country. We’ve become an angry, intolerant country. Whether we survive as a free country of peace, order and good government is anyone’s guess.
Brenda Schimke
ECA Review
