The Ottawa Freedom Convoy 2022 against the Covid-19 “Vaccine” Mandates: Was the Emergencies Act Justifiable? Was Media Accurate?
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“Crime was down significantly. The streets had never been cleaner. The homeless have never been better fed – well fed. And the support and love of fellow Canadians and anyone that came, regardless of religion, background, culture, beliefs…we were all there under the umbrella of freedom and that’s all that mattered. I’ve never felt more community and connection in my life!” – Kristen Nagle, Frontline National nurse, participant in the Freedom Convoy. Action against Attorney General of Canada (See Below)
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Two years ago this week, the Truckers Freedom Convoy descended on the nation of Canada’s capital city. [1]
People ruled over by mask mandates, lock-downs, and other restrictions in life, followed now by the threat of losing your job without paid leave if you didn’t consent to a vaccine you didn’t trust can all be major impositions on some individuals.
The Freedom Convoy directed all the built-up pressure cooking in a closed and sealed pot for almost two years and then released it in a peaceful protest movement in the city of Ottawa. [2]
This was not not a collection of “far-right white supremacist and hate groups” as depicted in media and in government statements. [3]
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Nevertheless, on February 14, 2022, Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in history.
This law authorized the temporary suspension of the rights of individuals as defined under the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, allegedly to ensure safety and security during a national emergency. The Canadian government authorized law enforcement to remove the trucks, arrest key individuals, and freeze the bank funds of several more.[4][5]
While it was a peaceful protest, according to a poll, at the time, two third of Canadians supported Trudeau’s use of the Act “to help authorities clear out Freedom Convoy blockades.”[6]
This all led to the decision on the 14th of February to invoke a measure known as the Emergencies Act – a law passed in 1988 which authorized the temporary suspension of the rights of individuals as defined under the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, all so as to ensure safety and security during a national emergency. The Canadian government authorized law enforcement to remove the trucks, arrest key individuals, and freeze the bank funds of several more. [4][5]
Two years later, a Federal Court judge just ruled that the Trudeau government’s invocation of the Act was an unreasonable move and was not justified by any national emergency.
The truckers and their supporters saw the ruling as a victory for them.
For many Ottawa dwellers, the torment of the “Trucker-Fest 2022” still haunts them to this very day. [6][7]
According to media reports, there was no significant protest movement by Ottawa dwellers (see Global and Mail Report):
Counter-protesters blocking Elgin Street at Argyle. #ottnews pic.twitter.com/GPFam6Hbvo
— Josh Pringle (@PringleJosh) February 13, 2022
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On this episode of the Global Research News Hour, we devote most of our time to hearing representatives from two sides of the dispute over whether the truckers implanting themselves in the streets for weeks over-reached the patience and the tolerance of good folks of Ottawa.
This is followed by the presentations of a few other people who played roles in dealing with complaints, and a short commentary about the possible role of media in the affair.
Brenda Knight is a Board member of the Centretown Community Centre in the heart of downtown. She is also a resident living in a condo opposite the Convoy, and is co-Chair of the Ottawa People’s Commission on the Convoy Occupation. The final reports can be found at https://www.opc-cpo.ca/#reports
Kristen Nagle was a nurse who led the group Canada Frontline Nurses and lives in London, Ontario. She participated in the Convoy gatherings pretty much from the beginning and was a named plaintiff in the Federal Court ruling on the Emergencies Act.
(Global Research News Hour Episode 420)
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Notes:
- https://globalnews.ca/news/8579463/protest-convoy-arrives-ottawa-multi-day-demonstration/
- https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/analysis-majority-of-canadians-disagree-with-freedom-convoy-on-vaccine-mandates-and-lockdowns/
- https://www.globalresearch.ca/video-ottawa-freedom-convoy-protesters-honest-respectful-citizens-not-justin-trudeau-says/5769697
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-premiers-cabinet-1.6350734
- https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-4.5/page-1.html
- https://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/Content/assets/pdf/base/2024-01-23-News-Bulletin-Public-Order-Emergency.pdf
- https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/emergencies-act-ruling-reopens-emotional-debate-two-years-after-huge-protests-1.6740473
