The Escalation of the De-escalation Continues

Trudeau has returned safe and sound to the House of Commons to whimper about the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. 

Standing in the House, he stated that the protesters are 'trying to blockade our economy, our democracy and our fellow citizens' daily lives' and that '[i]t has to stop'.

The claims of a 'blockaded democracy' sounds bizarre at first, and it requires a few twists and turns before one can grasp what Trudeau and others mean. 

In short, Trudeau and his ilk are trying to characterise these protests as 'anti-democratic' because the protesters are anti-vaccine mandates and, apparently, the 2020 election was about vaccine mandates. So, since Canadians voted for parties that proposed/supported vaccine-mandates - though all parties except the People's Party of Canada (PPC) supported vaccine mandates in some fashion - and these protesters are anti-vax mandates, then the protesters are anti-democracy. In making this claim, Trudeau is trying to fashion the Freedom Convoy into his own coveted January 6th protest. 

This argument is ridiculous on its face.

 

First, political activism - of whatever stripe - isn't held captive by election results. After all, the election is a competition between competing political kinships with different views on matters of statecraft, provision, and ethics. Those differences precede the election as well as succeed it. Elections settle no such issues; they only conclude a formality. 

Second, Trudeau's claim that the 2021 election gave a green light to vaccine mandates is murkier than he'd like to admit. 

The top four concerns are the cost of living (13.5%), increasing funding for health care (11.5%), post-pandemic economic recovery (10.9%), and managing the pandemic (10.1%). Of those four issues, the top three are economic and fiscal. 

Additionally, election results do not provide a clear window into the national soul. People can vote strategically, compromise, take a lesser-of-two-evils approach, etc., and so there is never a truly transparent revelation of the minds of the electorate on any deep issue. 

Given that Trudeau only received 33% of the vote, there is hardly evidence that he and his approach to COVID management and vaccine mandates is beyond reproach.

So, no one in the Freedom Convoy protest is blockading democracy. In fact, if anyone has been guilty of 'blockading democracy' it'd be Trudeau back in 2015 when he ran on platform with an emphasis on electoral reform, only to strap the promise entirely once in power because his party benefits from the current electoral system.

Despite these humbling facts, and despite praising the importance of dialogue, Trudeau has stood strong in his refusal to engage with the convoy outside of condemnation. 

Not to be outdone, NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, has stated that 'the protest is no longer peaceful' and '[t]he situation has reached a crisis point. And in times of crisis, it is important for federal leaders to show leadership, to urge de-escalation and to work together to find solutions'.

Here is a solution, you smarty-pants: talk to the protesters.

But we know why the left politicians won't speak to the protesters: i) the government has been backed into a corner regarding their COVID orthodoxy, and ii) the protesters are white (both is the laymen's sense of having been descended from Europeans, and the technical critical race theory sense of being beneficiaries of system of social oppression that got its start in 17th century Anglo-American colonies).

To (i): the government must save face and will not allow its narrative to be challenged - that'd create an obvious crisis of legitimacy. 

To (ii): the government and media have already painted the convoy as 'fringe' and 'unacceptable' for holing 'white supremacist views'. So, to engage with the convoy in any substantive sense would be to give in to white supremacy. 

Both of these issues, however, could backfire. For (i): refusal to engage will cause people to get more entrenched, thus increasing the already existing crisis of legitimacy. If protesters are removed by force, that display will also signal a crisis of legitimacy. The government is in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't scenario that they've created. For (ii): the claims of 'white supremacy' are false and overblown. People can see this and the lies create dissonance. 

The dishonesty runs deep.

What we're seeing is a gradual unfurling of the contradictions of Justin Trudeau's government and ideals, and as he gets pushed more he reacts more - this dynamic extends to the state, at large.

These convoy protesters have gone from being a fringe group with unacceptable views to a hostile occupying force that is threatening Canada's democracy. Such claims are to be taken advantage of and as the policing responses begin to intensify - whether they be municipal or corporate - I reckon that the tools developed and methods used will be threats to democracy as well as the dignity and autonomy of Canadians. 

Currently in Ottawa, the police of starving the protesters of fuel and arresting people who are donating fuel and food to the protesters. They're reasoning being that such donations are abetting unlawful activity. Additionally, the Ottawa mayor has admitted to intervening in the protest's donation campaign to have it shut down: this could have Charter violation concerns. 

It is likely that segregation will be created, and not just for the unvaccinated. If you have non-liberal politics; if you are sufficiently right-wing, or if you happen to agree with some group that does, then you'll be denied access to financial systems, websites, physical spaces, and even charities. 

Recent revelations discovered that the Canadian government has been spying on 33 million Canadian mobile devices in order to gauge the effectiveness of public lockdown measures. The Canadian military has also engaged in propaganda and public dis-information campaigns during the COVID pandemic, and also gathering information on Canadian online activity - all without formal approval, apparently. 

These are all parts of the escalating de-escalation: the attempts to keep the public manageable. 

We could be going down a dark path, indeed.