July 19, 2023 - "The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) just released a report claiming there are 1,225 hate and anti-government groups in America. These groups cause 'fear and pain [in] Black, brown, and LGBTQ communities.' The SPLC lists such groups on its 'hate map.' I once believed the Center. Well-meaning people still do. Apple once gave them $1 million. But what donors don't know is that today, the SPLC smears good people, not just 'haters.'
"Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up Muslim in Somalia, but now she criticizes radical Islam, and sometimes (maybe this is what really bothers the SPLC) fraternizes with American conservatives. The Center put Hirsi Ali on its list.
"The Center also smears the Family Research Council. I sometimes disagree with the Council. But they don't belong on a 'hate map'.... The Council merely opposed gay marriage, an opinion they shared with Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. One man became so enraged by what the SPLC wrote, he went to the Council's headquarters to kill people. He shot a security guard. Fortunately, that wounded guard stopped him before he could shoot anyone else....
The Center also smears the Ruth Institute, a Christian group that believes adoption agencies should first try to place children with straight couples.... When the SPLC put the Institute on its hate map, its bank cut them off. 'You're an organization that promotes hate, violence…,' wrote the bank. 'Therefore we're not doing business with you.' The Ruth Institute and Family Research Council are still on the hate list....
"I suspect the Center keeps its hate list long to bring in lots of money. The Center pays some of its people more than $400,000 a year.... Harper's Magazine once reported that the Center was the richest civil rights group in America, one that spends most of its time and energy trying to raise more money. They promised they'd stop fundraising once their endowment reached $55 million. But when they reached $55 million, they raised their goal to $100 million, saying $100 million would allow them to 'cease costly fundraising.' But when they reached $100 million—they didn't cease. They collected $200 million. Then $400 million. Now they have $730 million. Yet they still raise money....
"Today the SPLC even smears groups like Moms for Liberty and Moms for America, calling them anti-government extremists because they oppose sexually explicit content in schools, and seek school board seats to try to 'stop…school districts [from] disregarding the opinions of parents'....
The Center puts Moms for America on its 'hate map,' but not Antifa, the hate group that beats up people on the right. Today the Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate group itself. It's a left-wing, money-grabbing smear machine."
May 12, 2023 - "People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxine Bernier ... announced Friday he’ll run in Manitoba’s Portage-Lisgar by-election ... at a press conference in Portage la Prairie. Bernier said it will be a 'two-horse' race between him and Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) opponent Brenden Leslie. The seat was previously held since 2008 by Candice Bergen, CPC’s interim leader in 2022.... Bernier urged constituents to join the political revolution and compared the PPC to the old Reform Party....
"Bernier cited inflation 'eating away at our standard of living,' skyrocketing government and household debt, and a 'hopelessly broken' health care system.... 'But even worse than the state of our economy is the state of our culture. We are living in highly immoral times'.... 'We are living in a completely different society, one overtaken by evil'....
"'Radical cultural Marxists seized control of our educational system, the mainstream media, and governments. They push a program of anti-life, anti-family, and anti-Canadian values. Gender ideology and the trans movement are promoting confusion and the mutilation of children. It is useless to debate with these extremists. There is no common ground. They seek only one objective — to destroy Canadian society as we know it and upend the traditional structures of life which have underpinned our civilization. Their insanity is undermining our traditions, our history, and our nation'....
"He accused the Conservative Party of Canada of 'giving up.' 'Whether it's gender ideology, mass immigration, climate hysteria, the cult of diversity, or abortion, the CPC has refused to fight the necessary cultural battles. They are too scared of negative coverage from the mainstream media and being called bigots. They have sat on their hands as the radical left has taken over our society' [he said.] 'I am ready to fight. The PPC is ready to fight. That is why I am proud to announce I am putting my name forward in the upcoming by-election to be your representative, you the people of Portage-Lisgar, in the House of Commons. Because families deserve a strong voice.'
"In 2021, the PPC earned 5.1% of the vote [nationwide]. In 21 ridings the size of the PPC vote was higher than the number of votes Conservative candidates lost by....Bernier ran and lost in Beauce in 2019 and 2021 after he quit the Conservative Party in 2018 — after losing the leadership contest to Andrew Scheer — and formed the PPC. Bernier held several positions in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s government....
"The riding has been held by Conservatives since it was created in 1997. In 2021, the PPC won 22% of the vote.
"His opponent, Brendan Leslie, served as Bergen’s campaign manager. 'If Maxime Bernier does decide to leave his home province of Quebec in an attempt to boost his profile and raise money for his party, I think it will only further prove to the residents of Portage-Lisgar, and all Canadians, that Mr. Bernier is an opportunist who will go anywhere and say anything he thinks will get him the most attention,' said Leslie in [a] written statement."
May 14, 2023 - "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday that four byelections will happen in June. The byelections will be held on June 19 in four districts:
December 11, 2022 - "The World Economic Forum (WEF) and its long-serving founder and Executive Chairman, Professor Klaus Schwab, are the subjects of many insane conspiracy theories.... It isn’t mad, however, to regard the WEF as a dangerous force in global politics. The WEF is a dangerous force in global politics. To adapt Joseph Heller, just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean the WEF isn’t after you....
"For many WEF critics, the vileness of the organisation can be encapsulated in one word: ‘neoliberalism.’ It’s a term that conjures up images of plutocrats and untrammelled markets ravaging the planet and exploiting blue-collar folk in the name of profit. Funnily enough, Chairman Schwab agrees with that assessment of the world’s ills.... In October 2020, Schwab stated that: '[S]hibboleths of our global economic system will need to be re-evaluated with an open mind. Chief among these is the neoliberal ideology. Free-market fundamentalism has eroded worker rights and economic security, triggered a deregulatory race to the bottom and ruinous tax competition'....
"Precisely how and where ‘free-market fundamentalism’ has run amuck remains a mystery. After all, we live in a world in which most governments in developed nations routinely control 40 per cent or more of their nation’s GDP. Nor does the regulatory and welfare state’s relentless growth in, say, the European Union, Britain and America suggest that free market radicals have been in charge.... Ignoring these inconvenient facts, Schwab believes that the world needs a ‘Great Reset.’ Covid, according to the WEF’s website explaining the global reboot awaiting the world, revealed all the ‘inconsistencies, inadequacies and contradictions of multiple systems – from health and financial to energy and education.’ The entire planet needs a new ‘social contract’ to reshape ‘the future state of global relations, the direction of national economies, the priorities of societies, the nature of business models, and the management of a global commons’....
"A key concept for Schwab’s vision of a reset world is ‘stakeholder capitalism.’ In his 2021 book Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet, Schwab defines it as ‘a form of capitalism in which companies do not only optimise short-term profits for shareholders, but seek long-term value creation, by taking into account the needs of all their stakeholders, and society at large’.... So who are the stakeholders who will collaborate to usher in the four Ps? For Schwab, they are ‘governments,’ ‘companies,’ and ‘civil society’ (NGOs, unions, etc.). At this point we arrive at the essence of Schwab’s grand redesign. For all his invocation of the predictable woke pieties, Schwab’s core commitment is to political and economic arrangements which used to be known as corporatism. Schwab is quite explicit about this....
"Corporatism is a broad concept. It can run the gamut from the hyper-authoritarian version embraced by Mussolini’s Italy to worker-boss structures of the type described by Schwab in postwar western Europe. All forms of corporatism, however, share some common themes. One is the necessity of limiting market competition in order to preserve social cohesion. Another is mandating cooperation between representative groups of different social and economic sectors – a process overseen and, if necessary, enforced by government officials for the sake of the common good. What, you might ask, could be wrong with this? The answer is: plenty.
"For a start, corporatism – including its Schwabian expression – isn’t big on freedom. It’s all about forming and then maintaining a consensus on economic and social policies. For this reason, corporatism doesn’t cope well with dissent. Indeed, it discourages any questioning of the consensus, whether the issue is tax-rates or climate change.... Not only does this generate groupthink. It encourages the marginalisation of those who dispute the consensus. Another problem is the collusion and cronyism fostered by corporatism. Corporatist structures facilitate client-patron relations between businesses and governments. That in turn produces insiders and outsiders. Insiders are those companies who sign up to the consensus, play the corporatist game, and consequently do very well out of their cosy relationships with governments. Outsiders are those who lack the resources to grease the wheel....
"Lastly, corporatist-style stakeholder capitalism is decidedly ambivalent about democracy. The emphasis is upon insiders negotiating with each other, and then presenting the populace with a series of faits accomplis about anything ranging from fossil fuels to ESG. There’s not much room for contributions from the wider populace to the decision-making process in Schwab’s stakeholder capitalist model, let alone popular assent to decisions taken.... On an economic level, corporatism discourages innovation, produces inflexible labour markets dominated by unions whose priority is maintaining the status quo, and riddle the marketplace with privileges for well-connected businesses. In political terms, even mild forms of corporatism significantly disenfranchise voters and put an ever-growing number of important decisions in the hands of unaccountable bureaucracies. In many ways, the EU’s [European Union's] governance structures – and the democratic deficit which they personify – exemplify such arrangements.
"Which brings us back to the WEF. It wields no formal political power... Nonetheless, since its founding in 1971, the WEF has become an organisation which embodies supreme confidence in the imperative of a particular type of person running the world from the top-down. In his famous 2004 essay entitled Dead Souls, the political scientist Samuel P. Huntington called this prototype ‘Davos Man’.... Davos Man was Huntington’s short-hand description of ‘academics, international civil servants and executives in global companies, as well as successful high-technology entrepreneurs’ who thought alike and tended to view national loyalties and boundaries ‘as residues from the past.’ Davos Man also looked with undisguised disdain, Huntington suggested, upon those who weren’t getting with the programme – whatever the content of the programme happened to be.
"Therein lies the deepest problem with the WEF. It’s one thing for people to come together in international settings to discuss problems, share insights, and network....It’s another thing for an outfit such as the WEF to decide that the time has come to rearrange the world from the top-down and remake the planet in a corporatist image. The ideal for which Schwab is aiming, judging from his speeches and writings, is something akin to a globalised EU, with its supranational and ingrained bureaucratic ways being transposed to an international level, and the levers of power vested in the hands of reliable Davos men and women....[T]he agenda ... is sufficiently alarming that anyone who believes in preserving things like liberty, sovereignty, and the decentralisation of power should be concerned."
October 19, 2022 - "The latest Obama documentary series is The G Word. "G" for government. As Netflix documentaries go, this one is remarkably stupid. It's big government propaganda.
"Obama begins by claiming that he does his own income taxes, saying, 'It's actually easy'.... But that's just silly. It's so complex that millions of us pay to get help.
"Obama's series is hosted by silly comedian Adam Conover. Conover, correctly, calls himself 'an idiot.' He uses his time with the former president of the United States to make lame jokes and, at one point, to make sandwiches. He compliments Obama on how well he cuts the bread. It's not funny.
"The series occasionally covers some serious issues — meat inspection, for example. But instead of honest reporting, actors do a skit suggesting that, without government, meat companies would sell us dead poisoned rats. 'Food regulation was unbelievably successful,' concludes Conover. But food is largely safe today mostly because slaughterhouses cleaned themselves up way beyond what government requires.... One company executive showed me how they voluntarily do extra things like treat beef carcasses 'with rinses and a 185-degree steam vacuum.' Also, 'equipment is routinely taken completely apart to be swab-tested.'
"By contrast, for 90 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspected meat with a crude process called "poke and sniff." Inspectors stuck spikes into carcasses and smelled them. They kept using the same spikes, so they sometimes spread disease. The government only stopped poke and sniff in the 1990s.
"A few times, Obama's series admits that government agencies mess things up. Conover mocks the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 'not a name you normally hear after the words "did a great job."' No, but he then claims FEMA fails because it's underfunded.... That's ridiculous. FEMA doesn't fail because it lacks resources. U.S. disaster relief funds have increased by billions. FEMA fails because it's a government bureaucracy, and bureaucracies do wasteful things, like bring bottles of water to hurricane victims but then leave them at an airport.
"The private sector is more efficient. The G Word sneers at what it calls 'this philosophy that the free market should be trusted over the government.' But Walmart donates supplies much more efficiently than FEMA. They employ sophisticated weather tracking that helps them determine what assets are needed where. They get things to people because they lose money if they don't.
"Obama's series smears those of us who are skeptical of government handouts. 'In the wake of the civil rights movement,' claims Conover, 'some Americans began to resent the fact that the government was now providing assistance to black and brown citizens.' What? We didn't resent welfare because we're racists. We objected because it created a new permanent underclass. Handouts, President Ronald Reagan explained correctly, 'discourage work'....
"Obama's documentary depicts Reagan as a vicious surgeon cutting valuable government agencies, throwing them into a bucket labeled 'free market.' But government wasn't cut under Reagan. Federal spending went up during his terms. It always goes up.... It only grows. Today it's bigger than ever.
"That's fine, says Conover, because Washington rescued us during the COVID shutdowns with 'stimulus checks, small business loans, and corporate tax breaks!' They don't mention how much of that money was stolen or that their spending orgy brought 8 percent inflation.
"For three hours, Obama and his sidekick say government should do more. Whatever the problem, their answer is always more government and more money. Maybe someday a president will point out that government has no money of its own and that spending more than you have is a road to ruin."
March 23, 2022 - "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had trouble filling out the seats of European Parliament during his speech [March 23]. Video posted by Global News's David Akin shows the majority of seats in Parliament empty.... 'As [Justin Trudeau] enters the European Parliament, I count about 200 of the 705 MEPs are in their seats. Gallery however is packed,' tweeted Akin with the video. The prime minister addressed the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium during a two-day visit, where he will attend meetings of G7 and NATO leaders concerning the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine....
"Trudeau also took time to criticize the Freedom Convoy protests that took place in Ottawa throughout February. 'They pretend to have easy solutions that play on people's fears. Even in Canada, where 90 percent of people are vaccinated, and our motto as a country "peace, order, and good government," we saw anti-vaccine and antigovernment protest evolve into illegal occupations of our communities and blockades of our borders,' said Trudeau, who said that the leaders of the convoys were 'effective in turning citizens with real anxieties against the system bet suited to allay those concerns.' Trudeau said that democracy 'isn't a game,' and that there are no easy solutions to the 'big, complex problems we're all facing.'" Read more: https://thepostmillennial.com/majority-of-seats-empty-during-trudeaus-speech-to-european-parliament
March 24, 2022 - "During a plenary session of parliament Wednesday in Brussels, several MEPs called Trudeau out, accusing him of violating human rights over the handling of the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa last month.
"In one speech that has gone viral online, MEP Mislav Kolakusic of Croatia criticized Canada’s leader, stating, 'There are those among us who trample on those fundamental values'.... 'For many of us are fundamental human rights for which millions of citizens of Europe and the world have laid down their lives,” Kolakusic said in front of Trudeau, who had addressed parliament. 'To defend our rights and the rights of our children, which we have acquired over the centuries, many of us, including myself, are willing to risk, our freedom and our own lives.'
"Kolakusic said Canada was once a symbol of the modern world but in recent months has become a 'symbol of civil rights violation' under Trudeau’s 'quasi-liberal boot.' 'We watched how you trample women with horses, how you block bank accounts of single parents so they can’t even pay their children’s education and medicine, that they can’t pay utilities, mortgages for their homes,' said Kolakusic.... The Croatian MEP had previously stated vaccination should be a choice for residents of the European Union, comparing vaccine mandates to capital punishment and murder....
"MEP Christine Anderson of Germany said Trudeau shouldn’t be allowed to speak to the European Parliament over the handling of the Freedom Convoy, calling him a 'disgrace for any democracy.' 'A prime minister who openly admires the Chinese basic dictatorship, who tramples on fundamental rights by persecuting and criminalizing his own citizens as terrorists just because they dared to stand up to his perverted concept of democracy should not be allowed to speak in this house at all,' said Anderson. Anderson — whose critics have accused her of being part of a right-wing movement in Europe — has been criticized for refusing to wear a mask in parliament and committee meetings in 2021.
"Another MEP, Cristian Terhes of Romania, refused to attend the meeting because of Trudeau. In a Facebook post, Terhes said Trudeau can’t come and 'teach democracy lessons to Putin from the European Parliament when you trample with horse hooves your own citizens who are demanding their fundamental rights be respected. The difference between democracy and tyranny is not determined by the geographical location of political leaders, but by the values they promote,' said Terhes.
"German MEP Bernhard Zimniok also blasted Trudeau, stating he valued democracy highly and welcoming Trudeau is 'an invitation to someone who has been trampling on democratic rights.' Zimniok said Trudeau has been 'cracking down on people who protested against disproportionate corona measures, people who were supporting a non-sanctioned movement coming under criticism.... Clearly the values of democracy are being despised by this individual,' he said. 'Let us not give someone like this any speaking time in this house of democracy.'" Read more: https://torontosun.com/news/world/dictatorship-of-the-worst-kind-european-mps-blast-trudeau-for-covid-rights-violation
March 21, 2022 - "A man has been charged in connection with the Feb. 6 botched arson attempt at an Ottawa apartment complex during the Ottawa Freedom Convoy protests.... Police wrote in a news release on Monday that 'There is no information indicating [the suspect] was involved in any way with the Convoy protest which was going on when this arson took place'....
"There were widespread claims that [the] fire was deliberately set by pro-convoy supporters ... as the Freedom Convoy entered its second week of demonstrations in Ottawa's downtown core.... Apartment resident Matias Muñoz took to Twitter — despite self-proclaimed hesitation on making the 14-tweet Twitter testimony public —to detail the 'facts' after resolving he 'must' disclose what he knows for the community's 'safety.'
"Muñoz said that Sunday evening that the two arsonists brought a full package of firestarter bricks into the building's lobby at approximately 5 am. Two male suspects, who then began lighting the fire-starting material, were captured in screengrabs of security footage that Muñoz posted online. Muñoz was quick to emphasize just two tweets into the detailed social media disclosure that the apartment building, which he stressed is old and has wood paneling on the complex's walls, resides 'at the epicentre of the convoy protests.' A suspect taped the door handles so no one could get in or out, Muñoz said....
"As the package fire was being lit, a tenant walked by the scene unfolding and 'nervously' asked who the pair of suspects were. One of the men allegedly admitted to being part of the Freedom Convoy protests, Muñoz claimed. The resident entered the elevator and the suspects continued to ignite the package. Once lit, the fire grew and almost touched the building's wood panel walls. Then the arsonists escaped out of the side door while recovered surveillance video shows the blaze growing, Muñoz said, providing only still images on Twitter.... A good Samaritan was walking by the door outside and saw the fire, Muñoz said. 'Luckily the door opened after some struggle with the taped handles' and he was able to get inside the apartment's lobby to extinguish the flames, he stated.
"'It is clear to us, as residents, that this was a blatant reprisal by protesters,' Muñoz said. 'Not only have they subjected Ottawa residents to widespread harassment, assault, and aggression, but now an attempt to light an entire building on fire'.... Responding to backlash a day later, Muñoz ... doubled down and claimed 'whoever it was that did it I firmly believe it was because of a prevailing sense of lawlessness downtown Ottawa caused by the convoy.' [sic] 'This terror needs to stop now,' Muñoz beseeched.
"Muñoz went on a media tour the next day, telling The Canadian Press that when he came downstairs Sunday morning, he saw that the carpet, as well as the floor, were charred and observed blackened fire-starter bricks strewn across the lobby. 'On top of all that, somebody trying to do something as insidious as taping the door shut so people can't leave if there's a fire in the main lobby — it's terror, is what it is,' Muñoz said to reporters, also describing the audible protests outside. Muñoz called the incident 'a perfect example of the situation that can arise when this kind of lawlessness happens' in a Feb. 7 video interview with Global National.... Muñoz said there was a confrontation between some of the residents and a few anti-vaccine mandate protesters outside just hours before the fire, CBC News reported....
"During a virtual press conference, Ottawa Deputy Police Chief Steve Bell confirmed the following Tuesday that authorities don't have any direct connection whatsoever between the early morning arson and the Freedom Convoy protesters. 'Is there any reason to believe there is a connection with the trucker protests...?' Globe and Mail political reporter Kristy Kirkup asked Bell at the Feb. 8 presser.... 'Although we don't have any direct linkage between the occupation — the demonstrators — and that act,' Bell established while speaking with reporters remotely, 'the community is at a heightened risk because of those activities'....
"Ottawa mayor Jim Watson condemned the alleged arson at a special council meeting that Monday afternoon, blaming the incident on the then-ongoing pro-medical freedom rally.... 'Yesterday we learned of a horrific story that clearly demonstrates the malicious intent of these protesters occupying our city,' Watson stated on Feb. 7. 'Thankfully no one was hurt, but this story could have ended very, very differently. It's extremely disturbing, and points to a desire to harm our residents.' Watson had declared a state of emergency that Sunday over the Freedom Convoy's presence, arguing that the declaration 'reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations.'
March 18, 2022 - ""With people still dying of COVID without effective treatment, the New Hampshire House became the first legislative body to pass a bill essentially allowing citizens to access ivermectin over the counter at a pharmacy. On Wednesday, by a vote of 183-159, the House approved HB 1022, legislation allowing pharmacists to make ivermectin available via standing order from a physician or nurse practitioner that allows a pharmacist to dispense a medication without an individual prescription....
"All but two Republicans voted for HB 1022, and all but two Democrats opposed it.... Legislat[or]s I’ve spoken to in New Hampshire credit Dr. Paul Marik, a prominent ICU doctor, who gave an impassioned testimony on how this drug has helped him save so many patients sick with COVID.
"The ivermectin bill wasn’t the only success this [session] for advocates of medical freedom. The New Hampshire House successfully passed the following bills seeking to redress the civil liberties issues from the past two years:
HB 1268: A ban on localities implementing mask mandates.
HB 1379: Repealing the health commissioner’s authority to add a vaccine to the school schedule of required shots.
HB 1439: Requiring hospitals to allow patients to have visitors....
HB 1455: Prohibiting state enforcement of vaccine mandates and data collection.
HB 1495: Prohibiting the state and its political subdivisions from requiring a private business to have a vaccine mandate.
HB 1044: Allowing the creation of new health care facilities that only take direct payment, thereby bypassing the medical cartel, federal COVID restrictions, and other onerous federal regulations.
HB 1280: Prohibiting judges from using a parent’s refusal to vaccinate their child as basis for abridging parental rights.
HB 1606: To become the first state to require a patient to opt in to the vaccine registry in order for his or her vaccination status to be recorded.
HB 1131: Prohibits public schools from requiring masks to attend....
"Three freshmen female representatives, Leah Cushman, Erica Layon, and Melissa Blasek, were instrumental in the push for medical freedom bills this session.... I asked Blasek why she felt there was more success in New Hampshire than in other states with far superior GOP majorities. The young mother, who works as a music teacher and ran for office exclusively on fighting for medical freedom, told me that there were numerous factors at play. 'New Hampshire has a strong tradition of freedom, and the voters on both sides of the aisle tend to be wary of government intervention,' said Blasek. 'It may have taken two years, but they’ve had it with the authoritarian response, and I think the politicians feel that.'
"Blasek notes that usually the grassroots fail at first and then get discouraged, but in New Hampshire they came back the second session to retry bills that failed last year.... She also credits the newly formed House Freedom Caucus, which was buttressed by representatives endorsed by Rebuild NH, an activist group she co-founded to fight the COVID response, for 'making a lot of noise in the House and pushing the rest of the Republican caucus in this direction.' Blasek also notes that, unlike in other GOP-controlled bodies, 'our leadership is liberty-minded and likely the best leadership anywhere in the country'....
"Whether the New Hampshire Senate will pass the bills with as much support as the House is yet to be determined. Gov. Chris Sununu has also been surprisingly quiet about all of these bills.... However, the strong show of force from New Hampshire House members and the grassroots involved demonstrates that the Granite State might serve as the cold-weather alternative to Florida for those seeking to preserve our most important liberties."
17 March 17, 2022 - "South Korea has recorded the highest number of daily COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic as the country continues to battle a surge of Omicron cases. Health officials reported 429 deaths in the latest 24-hour period, nearly 140 more than the previous one-day record set on Tuesday. More than 621,000 new infections were reported, another record daily jump, shattering Wednesday's previous high of 400,624.
"The latest figures pushed the national caseload to more than 8.2 million, with 7.4 million cases recorded since the start of February. Despite the rise, government health authorities have maintained their message that Omicron is no deadlier than seasonal influenza for vaccinated people and believes the strain of coronavirus is nearing its peak.
"The country still has a much lower rate of COVID deaths than the US or some European nations, in relation to population size. Officials attribute this to high vaccination rates, with more than 68% of the population having received booster jabs. However, some experts have criticised the country's government for easing social distancing rules and communicating to the public that Omicron causes mild symptoms....
"Speaking during a briefing, Lee Sang-won, a senior Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official, said that health authorities feel 'apologetic' over the explosion of Omicron cases, which has been bigger than they had anticipated. He said around 70,000 of the new cases reported on Thursday were infections that were mistakenly omitted from Wednesday's tally, and that the real daily increase would be around 550,000.
"As a result of the Omicron surge, the country has been forced to focus its limited medical resources on priority groups, meaning stringent COVID response tests, contact tracing and quarantine have been abandoned."
March 11, 2022 - "China on Friday ordered a lockdown of the nine million residents of the northeastern city of Changchun amid a new spike in COVID-19 cases in the area attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant. Residents are required to remain home, with one family member permitted to venture out to buy food and other necessities every two days. All residents must undergo three rounds of mass testing, while non-essential businesses have been closed and transport links suspended.
"The latest lockdowns, which also include Yucheng with 500,000 people in the eastern province of Shandong, show China is sticking to the draconian approach to the pandemic it has enforced for most of the past two years.... Authorities have repeatedly pledged to lock down any community where one or more cases are found under China's 'zero-tolerance' approach to the pandemic. Another 93 cases were confirmed in the nearby city of Jilin that bears the same name as the surrounding province. Authorities have already ordered a partial lockdown in the city and severed travel links with other cities." Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-covid-pandemic-lockdown-1.6381175
14 March 14, 2022 - "China is facing its worst COVID crisis since early 2020.... China, the last major country to relentlessly pursue a Covid-zero policy, reported 1,437 cases across dozens of cities on Monday. That’s a fourfold jump in a week. The epicenter of the omicron variant outbreak is the Northeastern Jilin province, where 895 cases were recorded, but there are also outbreaks and containment measures in ... Shanghai, the financial powerhouse, and Shenzhen, the southern tech hub.
"Authorities announced on Monday afternoon that all 24 million people in Jilin province would go into lockdown, including the previously locked down city of Changchun. It's the first provincial lockdown since Wuhan and Hubei in January 2020.
"On Sunday, China ordered all of Shenzhen’s 17.5 million residents into a seven-day lockdown, with three rounds of testing. All public transport is halted and all businesses, except essential services, will be closed until March 20.... The lockdown and outbreaks threaten manufacturing and tech production in Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley. It’s home to Huawei and Tencent, and is home to one of the country’s key ports....
"There’s immense pressure on local authorities to contain the virus, with state media reporting that the Jilin City mayor and the head of the Changchun city health commission were dismissed from their roles over the weekend.
"Across the border from Shenzhen, neighboring Hong Kong ... recorded 26,908 cases and 286 more deaths on Monday, officials said. Hong Kong’s death rate is the highest in the developed world, in part because of sluggish vaccination rates among the elderly. Mega isolation facilities are being built across the Hong Kong for people with mild cases. One facility, with 3,900 beds, was built in a week. ABC News witnessed several busloads of people arriving at the facility from all over the city..... The mental-health strain of the strict lockdown has also becoming apparent. Last month, police reported three suicide attempts in 27 hours at one of the quarantine camps. Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/china-orders-51-million-lockdown-covid-surges/story?id=83431247
March 15, 2002 - "At least 13 cities nationwide were fully locked down on Tuesday, while various other cities had partial lockdowns. The northeastern province of Jilin was the worst-hit, with over 3,000 new cases on Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission. Residents of several cities there including the provincial capital of Changchun – home to nine million people – are under stay-at-home orders. Shenzhen – the southern tech hub of 17.5 million people – is three days into a lockdown with many factories closed and supermarket shelves emptying, while China's largest city Shanghai is under a lattice of restrictions – which fall short of a citywide shutdown....
"Jilin's governor vowed to go all-out to 'achieve community zero-Covid in a week' during an emergency meeting Monday night, state media reported. Residents of Jilin, which is on the border with North Korea, were banned from travelling out of and around the province Monday."
February 22, 2022 - "Ontario's legislature has unanimously passed a motion authorizing the Speaker to bar an independent member from eastern Ontario from participating in the chamber. A motion moved by Government House Leader Paul Calandra says the house expresses its disapproval of Randy Hillier's 'continued disreputable conduct.' It calls on him to apologize for what Calandra called racist and discriminatory statements about federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, and for social media posts that Calandra says were insinuating a call to violence. The motion says the Speaker is authorized to not recognize Hillier in the legislature until the member for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston publishes written apologies and the Speaker is satisfied of their sincerity." Read more: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-mpp-could-be-barred-from-participating-in-the-legislature-1.5791584
March 8, 2022 - "This proceeding shows a blatant disregard for the principles of fundamental justice. Calandra presented no evidence in support of his allegations. He never even specified the words he alleged to be racist, discriminatory, or an incitement to violence. He gave no opportunity to the accused to refute them. Hillier was not in attendance that day and had been given no advance notice that his conduct would be the subject of any motion. Much to their discredit, no member of the House then present asked any questions, and no debate was held.
"Note that in order to be released from the penalties laid upon him in this charade, Hillier would first have to admit his guilt by writing letters of apology. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be allowed to make a peep in the House. What if the allegations made against him weren’t true in the first place? This vicious circle would demand he confess to something he hadn’t done in order to have even the opportunity to deny having done them....
"And was the vote really unanimous? Did all 124 members of the House of all political stripes really sit there and vote in favour of compelling forced expression, a clear breach of Hillier’s Charter right to freedom of speech? Definitely not. For starters, Ontario MPPs are taking turns being present in 'cohorts' due to 'social distancing' requirements. At most, only half could have been present....
"Furthermore, it turns out a quorum in the Ontario legislature consists of the speaker plus only 11 other members. Procedurally, if nobody speaks up to voice any objection to a motion, the speaker is entitled to say it passed 'unanimously.' Abstentions are not counted. It’s entirely possible the only people who passed this so-called unanimous motion might have been Calandra, the speaker, and 10 other MPPs who might well have been sleeping or doing crossword puzzles....
"To the best of my knowledge, only one MPP (Belinda Karahalios) has come forward to say she didn’t vote to ban Randy Hillier from the House. Her husband Jim Karahalios tweeted that Calandra had actually waited until she had left the House before bringing his motion.
"Why has nobody raised this in the moribund media? Why is the world left believing that Hillier is universally condemned by his colleagues when the truth may well be that many of them secretly admire him and wish they had as much backbone?... Calandra succeeded in silencing a dissenting voice without having to prove he ever did anything wrong. I e-mailed Calandra’s office to see if I could interview him for this article, but he did not respond.
"Full disclosure: I’ve known Randy Hillier for at least 20 years, since the days when he headed up the Ontario Landowners Association and invited me to speak at conferences about property rights. I consider him one of Canada’s few politicians with any integrity, and I’m very sorry he made the decision not to stand for re-election in Ontario this year. Sadly, the unjust treatment he received at the hands of the Ontario legislature demonstrates what anyone else who might dare to thwart the establishment can expect." Read more: https://westernstandardonline.com/2022/03/selick-the-railroading-of-randy-hillier/
March 9, 2022- "Austria is suspending mandatory Covid-19 vaccines for all adults saying the pandemic no longer poses the same danger, just weeks after the law took effect. The Alpine nation of nine million people was one of the few countries in the world to make jabs against the coronavirus compulsory for all adults.
"The law took effect in February and called for fines up to 3,600 euros (£3,000) from mid-March for those who do not comply. But minister Karoline Edtstadler said the law's 'encroachment of fundamental rights' could no longer be justified by the danger posed by the pandemic.
"'After consultations with the health minister, we have decided that we will of course follow what the (expert) commission has said,' Edtstadler told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. 'We see no need to actually implement this compulsory vaccination due to the (Omicron) variant that we are predominantly experiencing here.'
"The highly-contagious variant is widely believed to be less severe than previous strains of the virus, and so far Austrian hospitals have been able to cope with a surge in cases. This has led to the government to drop most coronavirus restrictions in recent weeks.
"Tens of thousands have demonstrated in regular weekend rallies across the country since the government said last November that it would seek to force people to get jabbed in an effort to boost the staggering vaccination rate. But the rate of those considered fully protected against the virus has hardly changed in recent week[s], hovering around 70 percent of the population. That group includes people who are vaccinated, those who have recovered, or a combination of both. Calls to review the law - including from within the ruling conservative People's Party - have also become increasingly loud as Austria has dropped many restrictions....
"The law was adopted by parliament on January 20 with all but the far-right [Freedom Party] supporting it and came into effect on February 5. It applied to all residents above 18 years old with the exception of pregnant women, those who have contracted the virus within the past 180 days and those with medical exemptions."
January 26, 2022 - "The militia members who allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer because of her COVID-19 lockdown policies will go to trial in just a few weeks. Six were charged in connection with the plot, and one of them has already pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against the rest. State authorities charged eight others with aiding a terrorist plot.
"But the government's case against these 14 alleged extremists relies on work done by at least a dozen government informants and undercover FBI agents whose extensive involvement in the plot calls into question whether it would have moved forward at all without the government's prodding. Some of these government actors took lead roles in organizing the supposed plot — one of the informants was even paid $54,000 by the FBI. Taken together, these and other details raise the strong possibility that the militia members were victims of entrapment....
On a rainy night in northern Michigan in September 2020, a group of armed men divided among three cars surveyed the landscape around the vacation cottage of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, considering how to kidnap her as payback for her Covid-19 lockdown measures.... Later, after team members returned to the rural camp where they had already conducted military-style training exercises, a man identified as "Big Dan" in government documents asked the assembled group, "Everybody down with what's going on?" Another man responded, "If you are not down with the thought of kidnapping, don't sit here." Of the dozen men on that nighttime surveillance mission, four of them including "Big Dan" were either government informants or undercover F.B.I. agents, according to court documents.
"'Big Dan' was no passive spectator: After initially alerting the authorities that he was involved in a Facebook group for militia members in which violence against police officers had been discussed, he agreed to become an informant. The government paid him $54,000 for six months' work. When the militia group surveilled Whitmer's vacation home, it was Big Dan leading the charge. According to the group's defense attorneys, Big Dan — an Iraq War veteran — took charge of training the other men in military tactics....
"Big Dan's FBI handler, Jayson Chambers, ... was attempting to build a security consulting business in the midst of the investigation.... BuzzFeed obtained a resume that Chambers had shared with prospective clients, and in that document, he took credit for using 'online undercover techniques' to investigate terrorist groups. According to BuzzFeed, Chambers has a long history of participating in FBI investigations of Muslim youths who were enticed by law enforcement to become involved in wholly theoretical violent plots, according to their defense attorneys. Chambers is no longer slated to participate in the trial. Another government asset, Stephen Robeson, worked as an informant during the investigation, but is no longer involved after pleading guilty to various felonies. And the government's star witness, FBI Agent Robert Trask, was fired by the agency after beating his wife....
"The court may determine that none of this matters.... Historically, victims of entrapment have had a tough time prevailing, no matter how duplicitously the FBI behaved. But in any case, it is now clear that Whitmer was in no real danger. At all stages of the alleged plot, the FBI was aware of every facet: Their agents and informants were intimately involved — not just surveilling the militia members, but actively offering guidance on how to pull off the kidnapping....
"Many conservatives have become committed to the idea that the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was not the work of Trump supporters, but rather, elements of the so-called Deep State.... The Whitmer kidnapping plot ... was extensively directed and encouraged by agents of the government. It's a much, much, much, much more persuasive case of Deep State nefariousness."
February 28, 2022 - "While testifying at the Commons public safety committee, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the Freedom Convoy truckers were rapists, suggesting 'threats of rape' justified implementing the Emergencies Act, said Blacklock’s Reporter. 'There were Ottawans who were subjected to intimidation, harassment, threats of rape,' said Mendicino.
"No Freedom Convoy member was charged with sexual assault. Former Crown prosecutor and Conservative MP of Brantford-Brant, Ont. Larry Brock questioned Mendicino’s claim, highlighting that cabinet never once mentioned sexual assault over the three days of Commons debate on the Emergencies Act.
“The most disturbing aspect of what I hear is this rape allegation, a very heinous crime. We debated this particular issue for over 40 hours. Not once did the prime minister, did you or any other senior member of cabinet or any member of your backbench raise a rape allegation,” said Brock. 'My question to you is very pointed: If that allegation did not result in a criminal charge will you undertake to provide this committee with proof of the allegation?' Mendicino replied: '… the absence of criminal charges doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.'
"Conservative MP representing Kildonan-St. Paul, Man. Raquel Dancho asked why cabinet allowed MPs, senators, reporters, political aides, and the general public to walk past the convoy for over 24 days if protesters were known to be violent criminals.... Mendicino, at 'the risk of generalizing,' as he put it, said for every one example of safe passage there are probably 'thousands who did not feel any public safety.'
"Timmins-James Bay, Ont., NDP MP Charlie Angus was the first to raise concerns of sexual assault in the Commons on February 3. 'I have received three messages from young women around Gloucester and Metcalfe streets talking about the threats of rape they are facing because of the lawlessness and lack of police to protect residents in Centretown in Ottawa from this protest,' said Angus.
"Street crime in the neighbourhood declined during the blockade according to preliminary police data, said Blacklock’s.
"Cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14, making the claim that Canada was facing a national security threat as a result of the protesters."
March 1, 2022 - "Hong Kong reported a record of more than 55,000 daily new infections on Wednesday as the city’s spiraling outbreak sees thousands of residents flee while those remaining strip shelves of food and medicine. The figure is up from 32,597 a day earlier. Health authorities also announced 117 deaths, mostly people from care facilities, and said there are 64 patients in critical condition in hospital.
"The continued spike in cases comes amid growing chaos and confusion around the city’s plan to test the whole population of 7.4 million three times in March, with dueling local media reports about the length and strictness of the lockdown to occur while testing is conducted.
On Wednesday afternoon, after over a week out of the public eye, Chief Executive Carrie Lam sought to reassure residents.... China will ensure Hong Kong has enough food and other supplies during the Covid outbreak, said Lam, urging residents to stop their panicked purchasing. There will also be unlimited supplies of medical equipment available, she said. Lam acknowledged that there won’t be enough beds to isolate everyone found to be infected with the virus during the city-wide testing program.... People will be able to get their needs met even during the mass testing effort, she said, ruling out a 'wholesale' city lockdown, though she did not clarify how the mass testing would be conducted and when....
"The uncertainty about how residents will be treated, and rising case and death rates, led U.S. authorities to warn against travel to the city. The U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory to a Level 4 - Do Not Travel - because of Covid and related restrictions, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bumped its travel alert two places to 'high.' The zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 by Hong Kong and China 'severely impacts travel and access to public services,' the U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau said in an email. 'We especially want to note for families considering traveling to or residing in Hong Kong that in some cases, children in Hong Kong who test positive have been separated from their parents and kept in isolation until they meet local hospital discharge requirements'....
"Local media reports have differed on the details of the upcoming lockdown, sowing confusion. HK01 reported Wednesday that there would be a four-day limited lockdown at the end of March, and Cable TV said the city will set a time limit for residents to buy groceries. Stories from Sing Tao Daily and the South China Morning Post a day earlier triggered panic-buying with details of a strict nine-day lockdown planned for the middle of March.
"Many among the anxious population, which just two months ago were living in largely virus-free conditions, have had enough. There were 43,689 net departures from the city in the past two weeks, the most since the start of the pandemic, according to government data. In a bear case -- where the Covid outbreak peaks late in the second quarter -- Bank of America Corp. analysts estimate 2% to 3% of Hong Kong’s population could depart every month."
February 24, 2022 - "A High Court challenge questioning the legality of Covid-19 vaccination mandates for Police and Defence Force employees has been upheld, with the court determining that the government mandate is an unjustified incursion on the Bill of Rights.... Justice Francis Cooke determined that ordering frontline police officers and Defence staff to be vaccinated or face losing their job was not a 'reasonably justified' breach of the Bill of Rights.....
"The challenge was supported by a group of 37 employees affected by the mandate, who submitted written affidavits to the court. Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Michael Wood, Deputy Police Commissioner Tania Kura and NZDF Chief People Officer Brigadier Matthew Weston filed affidavits defending the mandate.... 164 of the overall police workforce of nearly 15,700 were affected by the mandate after choosing not to be vaccinated. For NZDF, the mandate affected 115 of its 15,500 staff.
"The group relied on two aspects of the Bill of Rights - the right to decline a medical procedure and the right to religious freedom. On the religious freedom argument, a number of those who made submissions referred to their fundamental objection to taking the Pfizer vaccine, given that it was tested on the cells that were derived from a human foetus. Justice Cooke agreed with the claim.... However, Justice Cooke disagreed with the claimants' broader claims that requiring vaccination is inconsistent with holding religious beliefs more generally.
"'I do not accept that a belief in an individual's bodily integrity and personal autonomy is a religious belief or practice. Rather it seems to me, in the circumstances of this case, to be a belief in the secular concept referred to in section 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.'
"Justice Cooke also agreed with the claim that the mandate impinged on the right to decline a medical procedure. The judge said that while it's clear the government isn't forcing Police and NZDF employees to get vaccinated against their will and they still have the right to refuse vaccination, the mandate presents an element of pressure. 'The associated pressure to surrender employment involves a limit on the right to retain that employment, which the above principles suggest can be thought of as an important right or interest recognised not only in domestic law, but in the international instruments,' Justice Cooke stated....
"The court accepted that vaccination has a significant beneficial effect in limiting serious illness, hospitalisation, and death, including with the Omicron variant. However, it was less effective in reducing infection and transmission of Omicron than had been the case with other variants of Covid-19.
"'In essence, the order mandating vaccinations for police and NZDF staff was imposed to ensure the continuity of the public services, and to promote public confidence in those services, rather than to stop the spread of Covid-19. Indeed health advice provided to the government was that further mandates were not required to restrict the spread of Covid-19. I am not satisfied that continuity of these services is materially advanced by the order,' the Judge said. 'Covid-19 clearly involves a threat to the continuity of police and NZDF services. That is because the Omicron variant in particular is so transmissible. But that threat exists for both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff. I am not satisfied that the order makes a material difference, including because of the expert evidence before the court on the effects of vaccination on Covid-19 including the Delta and Omicron variants'....
"Matthew Hague, counsel for the applicants, said that the affected workers must be allowed to return to work. He said he doesn't see why they won't be allowed to return on the grounds that they are currently still in a suspension period and because the basis of their dismissal was the mandate which has now been overruled.... In two separate but identical statements on Friday, spokespeople for both Police and NZDF said that any move to terminate staff contracts as a result of the vaccination order will be suspended while the decision is considered by government.... Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood also released a statement on the decision, saying the government will take time to consider the decision and seek advice on next steps."
February 23, 2022 - "Jagmeet Singh must be the most embarrassed person in the country today. Less than 48 hours after the federal NDP leader compromised every principle he and his party had ever stood for, just so he could support the Liberals’ invocation of the Emergencies Act, Singh had to watch Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pull a complete 180 and announce he was ending the state of emergency (presumably so he didn’t have to watch the Senate do it for him).
"Wait a minute, you say. Shouldn’t Trudeau be even more embarrassed? After all, Monday he was claiming there was still a nefarious plot to overthrow our democracy, but Wednesday he was insisting the bad bogeymen were all gone. Of course, he should be embarrassed.... But being a Liberal means being shameless. Nothing comes before preserving your party’s power. So, even if you have to make the biggest about-face in recent political history, if that’s what’s needed to keep your party from sliding further in the polls, you do it....
"Monday, Trudeau stood in the House of Commons and insisted his government needed — absolutely needed — to seize bank accounts, cancel mortgages, hold convoy leaders without bail, make arrests without warrants, ban otherwise lawful protests and exercise all sorts of police-state powers arbitrarily without oversight by Parliament or the courts....
"Wednesday afternoon, Trudeau said, 'We are confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe.' But somehow they weren’t sufficient as recently as Monday afternoon when he insisted the plot to end Canada was so real it could only be thwarted by bringing into force the most restrictive law on Canada’s books? Then about 46 hours later: Oh, well. Never mind. Carry on, citizens. Nothing to see here. Only a conniving, dissembling, insincere political plotter without a stitch of modesty could pull that off with a straight face.
"Which explains Trudeau’s lack of shame, but not Singh’s. Somehow, Singh thought it was more important to spare the Liberals another election (for which his party is unready) than strike a blow for Canadians’ civil liberties. I’m guessing at least Singh feels some shame over his role, though.
"But while being disgusted with the Liberals and NDP, Canadians should also be grateful to the Senate. It is widely believed Parliament’s often-maligned upper chamber was about to defeat the Commons bill giving the Trudeau government authority to invoke the Emergencies Act. While the act specifically permits the Senate to defeat any single invoking of emergency powers without forcing the government to call an election, it still would have been a huge embarrassment for the Liberals to have been rebuked.
"And Liberal insiders claim they have devasting internal polls showing the party’s unfavourability rating has shot up and up after its use of the Emergencies Act. Now it’s up to voters to hold a grudge long enough to finally punish the Liberals at the polls next time."
February 20, 2022 - "For the first time in over three weeks, downtown Ottawa on Sunday was largely deserted, with the heavy-duty trucks and thousands of protesters demanding an end to Covid-19 vaccine mandates replaced by police vehicles, officers, and crews trying to clean up after a 23-day demonstration. Officials in the capital and across Canada remained on high alert. While police in Ottawa cleared out Freedom Convoy protesters there, authorities in some of Canada’s biggest cities, such as Toronto and Vancouver, dealt Saturday with either the threat of a trucker-led demonstration or protesters that disrupted traffic.
"'It’s still clear that while police have made significant progress, the job is not yet done,' Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief and Canada’s emergency-preparedness minister, told CTV News on Sunday. 'The threat, the risks, the reasons we had to invoke emergency powers, they still exist'.... In the West Coast province of British Columbia, a convoy of vehicles on Saturday blocked a U.S.-Canada border crossing connecting Washington state with suburban Vancouver. Demonstrators were calling for an end to Covid-19 measures. The border crossing reopened late Saturday. Mr. Blair, Canada’s emergency minister, said the Vancouver-area protest was evidence that the government’s emergency measures were necessary.
"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked extraordinary powers nearly a week ago under the country’s Emergencies Act that deemed the Ottawa protest and copycat demonstrations that blocked U.S.-Canada traffic as a threat to public order.... The powers allowed police to create no-go zones, such as downtown Ottawa, and compel tow-truck drivers to remove trucks.... Police in Ottawa on Sunday cordoned off the immediate area surrounding the country’s parliamentary district, with the help of 10-foot fences and concrete barriers, and limited vehicular and pedestrian traffic into the area....
"'This is not the normal state of our city,' said Ottawa police interim chief Steve Bell, of the need for fencing downtown. 'Despite the successes of the past few days, we require these measures to prevent unlawful protesters from returning.' Interim chief Bell said he couldn't provide a timeline as to when traffic flow in the Ottawa core would return to normal.... Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said Sunday the capital would continue to see a beefed up police presence for the immediate future, to ensure protesters don’t return and citizens’ safety can be secured." Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/freedom-convoy-leaves-town-and-quiet-returns-to-ottawa-11645385184
February 21, 2022 - "Pressed hard for an Emergencies Act justification with the protests gone, border blockades down and convoy leaders in custody, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached deep into his leadership vacuum for rationalizations. The emergency demanding the unprecedented use of the Act was . . . hesitant tow truck drivers, the prime minister declared. Without a broad range of new federal powers, he argued in defending this mostly obsolete crisis intervention, truckers would not be towed without the Act and thus the occupation would still fill the streets around Parliament Hill....
"Only in Canada could this most-powerful of Acts be aimed at forcing reluctant tow truck drivers, who usually hover like price-gouging vultures over high-accident locations and snow-clearing routes, to drop the hook for a big-ticket rig removal.... This is clearly an Emergencies Act in search of an emergency after being introduced two weeks too late and approved on Monday night by a vote of 185 to 151, two days after the inspiration for the Act had left the city.
"Of course, there are no winners in this stew of parliamentary toxicity, flailing leadership, police hesitancy, city council division and insurrection insanity. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who sided with the government to approve the Act, has decided the nuclear option is needed for a protest which, while nasty, noisy and unsettling, was far from violent.... The Conservatives, too many of whom have canoodled with the convoy, ... [have] gone from legitimate government-in-waiting to fighting against People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier at the bottom of the nut barrel.
"And, of course, there’s Trudeau, the convoy instigator who washed his hands of all responsibility for a problem he created that no longer exists but needs a law-enforcement sledgehammer now that the clean-up crews have arrived.... He imposed a vaccine restriction on truckers without a medical reason to justify it. He dismissed the many who are fed up with restrictions and vaccine mandates as a “fringe.” He acted to clear a key border crossing only when scolded by the U.S. president. He went invisible and silent as the protests escalated and he failed to cajole premiers into a coherent unified Canada-wide response. For all these flaws and faults framed by his moistly delivered repetitive geyser of rhetorical babble, his reputation has taken a hard hit....
"In the end, somehow, police will emerge as the best among the losers, finally doing their jobs without inciting widely predicted violence. After missing the rig-rolling-in threat and engaging in painfully slow and too-friendly enforcement, they got the cop numbers they needed and steadily pushed back. While I’ll bow to the view of police chiefs who say the Emergencies Act was at play during the breakups, it sure looked like basic police on parade using their everyday powers to corral and disperse a mostly-peaceful crowd....
February 14, 2022 - "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has just taken the biggest risk of his political life. He’s gone all in, deciding to invoke the Emergencies Act — the first such use in Canada’s history — to put an end to the paralyzing truckers’ convoy. It’s a big bet for a third-term prime minister already facing criticism for politicizing the pandemic.... Invoking the Emergencies Act is a measure of last resort. It gives the federal government enormous powers to quell the disturbances, shut down crowdfunding and freeze the bank accounts of anyone assessed to be aiding the demonstrators.
"Trudeau sounded a measure of both willfulness and desperation in a somber late afternoon press conference with Cabinet members. He made clear his conviction that the protests were no longer 'non-violent,' but also assured listeners that his government didn’t intend to use military force to put an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation that is now entering its third week on Parliament Hill and encampments around the city.... He said the act doesn’t mean fundamental rights are suspended nor are Charter rights overridden. 'We are not limiting people’s freedom of speech,” he continued. “We are not limiting freedom of peaceful assembly. We are not preventing people from exercising their right to protest legally'....
"Criticism over the prime minister’s historic announcement came flying from all sides and levels of government.... New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh said Trudeau’s decision to invoke the act ... is evidence of a failure of leadership. 'The reason why we got to this point is because the prime minister let the siege in Ottawa go on for weeks and weeks without actually doing anything about it,' Singh told reporters.... Trudeau’s bid to protect democracy in Canada was slapped down by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an overreach. The association said the federal government hasn’t met the necessary threshold to enact emergency legislation, and cautioned against its repeated use. 'It threatens our democracy and our civil liberties,' the CCLA tweeted.
"Premiers, Canada’s provincial governors, are concerned Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Act could further inflame political entrenchment. 'We really need not to put oil on the fire,' said Quebec Premier François Legault ahead of Trudeau’s official announcement. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he respects citizens’ rights to protest.... Kenney called federal mandates, particularly those just being brought in as provinces and other countries are lifting measures, irresponsible public health policy that’s unsuitable 'particularly at a combustible time like this'....
"Trudeau made his historic announcement only an hour after MPs voted narrowly 185-151 against a Conservative motion proposing the government present a plan to lift federal vaccine mandates by the end of the month.... Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen backed the convoy protest from the onset.... 'The prime minister had an opportunity to talk and to listen to people who he disagreed with, and he refused to do so,' Bergen said. Invoking the Emergencies Act is a 'ham-fisted approach' that will likely have the opposite effect, she said, pointing the finger at the PM for escalating and inflaming the situation by using labels to deride people’s concerns and pandemic anxieties....
"Leadership hopeful Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre is another member of Bergen’s team who has been vocal with his support of the convoy. He blamed Trudeau for causing a political emergency. 'The solution is staring him in the face,' Poilievre said. 'All he has to do is listen to the experts, do what other countries are doing — and that is to eliminate these mandates and restrictions — to let the protesters including the truckers go back to their jobs and their lives'.... Conservatives’ and protesters’ demands to lift all Covid-19 mandates comes at a time where restrictions are easing across Canada, a country considered one of the most highly vaccinated in the world....
"'There will be time later to reflect on all the lessons that can be learned from this situation,' Trudeau told reporters Monday afternoon.... Under law, a public inquiry must be launched within 60 days of the expiration or revocation of the act investigating the circumstances that led up to its declaration. The inquiry also has a reporting obligation: It must produce a report to be tabled in Parliament within 360 days after the act has expired or revoked — making the issue one the Liberal government will have to revisit next year."
February 1, 2022 - "Forty-eight hours after an impromptu rave party erupted at the the biggest truckers' protest the world has ever seen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed me and my fellow Road Warriors from a secret location he had been spirited away to, out of a fear that our peaceful protest against vaccine mandates would turn into Canada's January 6.
I have attended protests and rallies in the past, when I agreed with the goals, when I supported the people expressing their concerns and their issues [our prime minister said]. 'Black Lives Matter is an example of that. But I have also chosen not to go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric, violence towards fellow citizens, and a disrespect, not just of science, but of the frontline health workers, and quite frankly, the 90 percent of truckers who have been doing the right thing to put food on our tables.
"Like the hysteria that preceded Trudeau's flight, his comments were pure propaganda; Ottawa Police reported no incidents and not a single arrest — at a protest topping 100,000 souls; indeed, the mood was absolutely festive. The peaceful protest included flags and signs in both of Canada's official languages and with more than a few four-letter words.
"Of course, ... there was hateful rhetoric, too. Everyone has seen the photos, because like Trudeau, the media chose to focus on it. They found the single Confederate flag, and the single swastika flag, and they made their stories [not] about 100,000 people peacefully protesting [but] about the two.... These flags and the sentiments they represent are ugly and reprehensible, and many of my fellow truckers suspect these two people were plants. But even if they weren't, tarring a demonstration that drew in excess of 100,000 people as racist and full of fringe extremists based on the actions of two people is quite a reach, proof of nothing so much as the fact that the media is clutching at straws to smear us .... [stress in original]
"The Freedom Convoy was originally envisioned by Albertans Tamara Lich and B.J. Dichter as a smallish group of truckers, farmers, their families and supporters, who planned to head to Ottawa and express their discontent with lockdowns and vaccine mandates.... But what was supposed to be a small protest soon ballooned, thanks to social media.... Within a few days, many more truckers were pledging to join the convoy, and the GoFundMe attracted thousands of small donations from regular Canadians, often in amounts of only $20 or $50; many of those same contributors wound up on the side of the road, waving flags and showing support to the convoy once they began to make way for Ottawa from all corners of the country. Videos of these roadside support rallies only increased donations, and further increased the number of Canadians turning up to bid the convoys well.... The Freedom Convoy might be one of the largest truly grassroots movements we've ever seen, and it's taken on a life of its own, exceeding the expectations of the organizers and touching something deep in the collective psyche of Canada....
"The media, bless them, and many of the rest of those in their class — unions and other labor organizations, various government entities, and Canada's political parties — had nothing to do with this movement, and they have no control over it. They were left out. They are viewed with disdain by the public, because they lost touch with the fact that people have had enough of this.... And now that this Freedom Convoy has reached the capital and set a fire across the world, all of these managers, these elitists, this media and email-job class who hid at home while the working class continued to keep society functioning, are clutching at straws to cast aspersions on those of us who want to move forward....
"But they should tread carefully; over and above the peril to already frayed and fragile supply chains, the working class of Canada have been inspired to action, and it is ever more obvious that we have no need for the assistance or approval of the classes who think they are so far above us."
January 25, 2022 - "A cross-Canada freedom convoy in opposition of a federal vaccine mandate for truckers arrived in Winnipeg to a large and boisterous crowd of hundreds of people.... People and long lines of vehicles gathered on both shoulders of Highway 1 in Headingley, just west of Winnipeg to show support. An RCMP officer on scene said police along with convoy organizers both decided it was unsafe for the group to stop because there were so many people along the road and there was no room for the trucks to stop in the Flying J truck stop which was supposed to serve as a pit stop for the rally.
"'It’s just simply for safety,' said RCMP Sgt. Mark Hume, who was one of several officers on scene directing traffic on the highway near the truck stop. 'There’s too many people gathered in there, too many vehicles,' Hume said.... 'We had every intention of not stopping them but there’s too many people'.... RCMP officers were on scene throughout the rally and said in an email the convoy was 20 km long....
"The convoy has gained notoriety in the wake of the federal government’s vaccine mandate for truckers but an organizer of the pit stop to greet the travellers acknowledged the concern goes beyond just that one issue. 'We’re fighting for our human rights that our forefathers fought for and we want to make sure that we still have our freedoms and rights,' said Trevor Gatchell, who helped organize the pit stop at the Flying J.... 'They’re not anti-vax, they’re not pro-vax it’s just about freedom of choice, freedom of rights that we’ve had'.... The convoy is on its way to Ottawa to oppose the mandate....
January 25, 2022 - "In Kenora, where the temperature was expected to drop to -27C on Tuesday night, a host of volunteers were preparing to welcome a massive convoy of truckers. About two dozen people could be seen gathered at a community hub downtown, packing boxes of snacks and making sandwiches, in a video livestreamed to Facebook by a supporter of the “Freedom Rally” — a convoy of truckers and their supporters that has been making its way this week from British Columbia to Ottawa in a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.... Kenora was scheduled to be the first Ontario stop for the controversial convoy.
"The organizer who posted the video told the Star she was 'so beyond stoked' that the truckers were coming to the town of about 15,000 people, where according to Statistics Canada data about nine per cent of residents work in the trucking industry themselves. That organizer then stated that she and everyone supporting the convoy have been told not to speak to the media.... A second organizer confirmed that the Kenora supporters had been asked by convoy organizers not to speak to media....
"Kelli Saunders, meanwhile, had found a parking spot with her husband close to the Trans-Canada Highway, where the truckers would be rolling by. She said they were ready, with homemade signs and five layers of clothing, to go outside and cheer. 'Kenora is located right on the Trans-Canada, between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay. We’re a main thoroughfare,” she said.... 'This has been a hard two years for everyone. It’s been extremely mentally draining,' she said. 'I’m really proud of this group of truckers and the way Canada has come together along the route to support them'....
"En route to Ottawa and expected to arrive Saturday, the convoy has been sparked by government measures to stop unvaccinated truckers from crossing the Canada-U.S. border — and has grown into a conservative movement opposing other COVID-19 restrictions put in place by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. Conservative politicians and Canadian volunteers opposed to vaccine mandates are throwing their support behind the growing group of vehicles, which was reported to be 20 kilometres long as it worked its way through Saskatchewan and Manitoba on Tuesday." Read more: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/01/25/freedom-rally-truckers-convoy-hits-ontario-picking-up-conservative-political-support-as-it-rolls.html
January 25, 2022 - "Truckers from Atlantic Canada will soon join a national 'freedom convoy' headed for Ottawa. On Thursday, truckers from the four provinces will meet in Moncton, N.B., before departing for the nation’s capital. This Saturday, they will rally with other truckers arriving from all over Canada. 'The goal is that the entire trucking network and convoy will wrap itself right around Ottawa and give it a great big bear hug,' says Leanne Carter, the Maritime coordinator for the Canada Unity freedom convoy.
"Truckers remain upset about the federal vaccine mandate that requires drivers in the industry to be fully vaccinated to enter the country without being required to self-isolate. Carter believes there is a significant lack of dialogue between the public and the federal government, which is why they seek a conversation with elected officials.... Carter encouraged Canadians to decorate their cars with Canada flags and travel alongside the truckers for as long as possible." Read more: https://www.1015thehawk.com/2022/01/25/atlantic-canadian-truckers-join-freedom-convoy-on-thursday/
January 26, 2022 - "The so-called 'freedom convoy' is expected to make its way through the Greater Toronto Area on Thursday.... Truckers are heading to Ottawa from east and west parts of the country, as well as from southern Ontario where routes are departing from several locations including Windsor, Sarnia, Niagara and Toronto on Thursday, according to the website. The website indicates that the convoys will be passing through the Toronto area in the late morning hours, into the afternoon. The Toronto convoy is scheduled to leave from Vaughan Mills at noon. The groups are then scheduled to arrive in Kingston Thursday evening and begin heading to Ottawa on Friday, the website says.
"Organizers of the protest describe the Canadian government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers to avoid quarantine as an example of political overreach resulting in economic harm, arguing the policy hurts small businesses and denies some workers the means to survive." Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/8539843/greater-toronto-area-freedom-convoy/
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