Ottawa, Ontario April 4, 2022
The Success of the Freedom Convoy and Lessons Learned
Trudeau proclaimed a “Public Order Emergency Declaration” under the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022 which resulted in the crushing of the lawful, peaceful protest of the Freedom Convoy 2022. Since then, the mainstream media has buried the entire episode because both the Freedom Convoy and the Public Order Emergency Declaration have raised too many embarrassing questions.
For example, why did the mainstream media behave as an obedient chorus for Trudeau’s lies and distortions about the protesters, which literally covered up the facts? Why did the media fail to disclose Trudeau’s incompetence in his handling of the incident as well as his totalitarian response to it? Why didn’t the media publicly acknowledge the large financial and political support given to the Freedom Convoy by the Canadian public? Why did the media ignore the fact that the convoy was highly successful and was a turning point in Canadian history? Instead, the media deliberately missed the significance of the entire story and the important lessons that it disclosed. These include:
1. Trudeau- a Vindictive Politician
When Trudeau was elected Prime Minister in 2015, he portrayed himself as a politician with an open, sunny disposition. In the intervening years, this cover has totally evaporated, never more so than in his reaction to the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau and his propaganda machine, the mainstream media chorus, to which he pays millions of dollars annually, continually repeated Trudeau’s lies, name calling and misrepresentation of the Freedom Convoy, which attempted to demonize the truckers.
Trudeau did not just hate the truck drivers objecting to his agenda, he also intended to destroy them and deprive them of their civil rights by way of the Emergencies Act in order to teach them and others a lesson not to oppose him in the future.
The only emergency the Freedom Convoy created, however, was the public spectacle of open dissent to Trudeau’s policies, which enraged him. In other words, there was no “public order” emergency, only a “political” emergency solely caused by Trudeau’s own arrogance and incompetence.
Trudeau, together with Emergency Preparedness Minister, Bill Blair and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, claimed that the Freedom Convoy was foreign funded, that it criminally intended to harm Canadians, to interrupt vital supply lines, and was a national security threat. This was rubbish. These allegations were firmly denied by Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), Canada’s anti-money laundering agency. There was absolutely no evidence to support these allegations. The declaration of the Emergencies Act, which suppressed civil rights was a critical sign of Trudeau’s irrational desire to destroy all who oppose him, such as he did with regards to former Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould and Liberal MP, Jane Philpott.
2. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland: a cold-blooded ideologue
Chrystia Freeland cold-bloodedly ordered the freezing, without due process and a court order, of accounts held by financial agencies including bank accounts, crowdfunding platform services, investment firms, credit donors, loan, mortgage and insurance companies, security dealers for both the personal and corporate accounts of the truckers, as well as those donating to the Freedom convoy. She did so under financial powers crafted under the proceeds from crimes (money laundering) and the Terrorist Financing Act, legislation intended to target terrorists. This order created a panic, leading to many withdrawals, i.e. a run on the banks. The CEO of the Canadian Credit Union Association, for example, stated that hundreds of thousands, and on a few occasions, millions of dollars were withdrawn from the credit unions.
On February 22, 2022, the Department of Finance disclosed that Canadian banks had frozen nearly $8 million held by the truckers. Over 206 accounts were frozen. The RCMP had provided the “watch list” to the banks.
It is important to point out that this tactic to flag dissenters from government policies can be used to bring long-term financial ruin to those affected. It makes it difficult for them to hold a job, obtain housing, or even pay for basic needs such as food, medicines, and shelter. It was a huge, unjustified overreach by a Canadian government. Such an event has never been so ruthlessly undertaken in our history. Freeland’s directives created a dangerous precedent for future protests, which will allow governments to target individuals economically because of their political beliefs and their legitimate, lawful political activities.
Trudeau and Freeland have brought Canada into a new phase of governing: it’s called tyranny.
In carrying out the policy of freezing bank accounts, Freeland was like a snake hiding in the grass, unblinkingly waiting to pounce on Canadians with economic disaster if they dissent from her views. She has shown herself to be a dangerous and ruthless politician.
3. The Mainstream Media has Become Trudeau’s Servant
The generous financial support given to the media by Trudeau paid off in spades as evidenced by the media providing an obedient background chorus to Trudeau’s lies.
This was disclosed during a webinar, held on February 23, 2022, organized by the Ottawa think tank CANADA 2020, co-founded by Thomas Pitfield, a personal friend of Trudeau. The webinar was hosted by Anna Gainey, past-president of the Liberal Party of Canada (2014 – 2018). She thanked the media for their support during the protests, which reflected Trudeau’s false description of the Freedom Convoy and was appreciated by the Liberal Party.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez also participated in the webinar, also thanking the media for their support, stating, “… look at the role the journalists played” and promised more subsidies. He also stated, “I think there are even more things we should be able to do. We’re looking into that in the context of supporting the whole ecosystem”. He then went on to promise more media subsidies to do just that.
It is noteworthy that Minister Rodriguez, in 2019, sponsored amendments to the Income Tax Act, which were duly passed by Parliament, to pay $595 million in subsidies including payroll rebates to cabinet-approved media. In his praise for unnamed reporters, he did not explain what new subsidies were being planned as a reward for their Freedom Convoy coverage.
The Toronto Star
Among guests invited to the webinar were executives from the Toronto Star which had published exactly Trudeau’s view of the Freedom Convoy by completely misrepresenting it. The Toronto Star receives $115,000 weekly in grants from the Trudeau government. On March 19, 2022, the Toronto Star published a full 3-page article on the Freedom Convoy, written by freelance journalist and homosexual activist Justin Ling, entitled “Inside the Convoy”. It portrayed the leaders as dangerous, right-wing extremists floundering in conspiracy theories, exactly the description Trudeau provided. Ling also included in his article a supposed harassment of the LGBTQ community by the truckers. Ling never lets an opportunity go to waste to support his cause. His entire story never once stated the fact that the truckers were decent, hardworking, family people, unhappy with their exclusion from the political process, and that they were a remarkably multicultural group representing Canada’s diverse society -hardly “white supremacist” as alleged by Trudeau. The Toronto Star can no longer be regarded as a respected, credible publication since it has sold itself out to the Trudeau government.
4. The Exposure of Intense Opposition to the Ruling Left-of-Centre Political Elites
The Freedom Convoy exposed the intense distrust and opposition of the general public to the ruling elites. Many thousands of Canadians greeted the truckers in their journey to Ottawa, welcoming them, encouraging them, and providing generous donations. The GoFundMe platform, shut down by authorities, raised $10 million for the truckers. The platform testified before a House of Commons Committee that 88% of the funds came from Canadians. It testified that no Russian money was involved, as asserted by Trudeau and his obedient cabinet ministers. The Freedom Convoy was no fringe organization, but a reflection of the Canadian public, which was angry with the government. It showed that many Canadians are no longer willing to be ignored and their values and beliefs ridiculed and trampled on by the governing elites. The Freedom Convoy awakened a sleeping giant whose story has only begun.
5. The Freedom Convoy Served to Remove Provincial COVID-19 Mandates
The Freedom Convoy was formed initially because the truckers objected to the federal mandates requiring them to be vaccinated before crossing the US-Canada border. The protest however, grew to include concerns about the curtailment of basic civil rights relating to the fundamental rights of peaceful assembly, mobility rights, and freedom of expression that had arisen due to the government’s extensive mandates and restrictions during the pandemic.
These concerns touched a sympathetic chord with hundreds of thousands of Canadians, but internationally as well. Similar trucker convoys followed Canada’s example and were organized in the US, UK, Germany, and France.
As a result of the protest, the Canadian provincial premiers, as well as the political leaders in other countries, removed their COVID-19 mandates to allow a return to normal in their jurisdictions.
It is significant, however, that Trudeau, who has imposed the strictest mandates in the entire world, still continues to insist that his mandates continue in regard to domestic and international travel. Transportation falls under federal jurisdiction under s. 91 of the British North America Act (Constitution Act, 1867).
The provincial mandates would have likely been removed at a future date, but not immediately, as occurred because of the concerns raised by the truckers’ Freedom Convoy and the broad-based support of the Canadian public.
6. The Freedom Convoy Changed Public Opinion
Nanos Research polling company released a survey of Canadians on March 15, 2022. The results indicated that Canadians’ concern for free speech and other freedoms was the second most common concern at 8.3%, behind the coronavirus at 13.1%, and followed by the environment at 7.3%.
Mr. Nanos said that this concern was raised unprompted during the polling. He stated that he has been polling for thirty-five years, and freedom of speech and other freedoms had never before been on the radar from a public opinion perspective. In a December 2020 poll, such concerns amounted only about 0.1%. According to Nanos, the jump to 8.3% in concerns for personal freedoms in this latest poll was due to the trucker protest. He says it looks like a noticeable proportion of Canadians, unprompted, are concerned about this and that the anger and distrust displayed by the protesters will likely have a long-term impact on Canadian politics.
Conclusion:
It is clear that Freedom Convoy 2022 has made a lasting mark on Canadian history and that the media has refused to publish a story that is changing Canada’s political landscape. The Freedom Convoy has populist roots. Despite what the political elites maintain, populism is simply the voice of ordinary citizens. They know what is best for their families, and their communities, not the self-important politicians and bureaucrats who live hundreds of miles away in isolation. Government is the servant of the people. The public is not here to serve the government. It’s the other way around.