Since I never tweet, perhaps I can pop up here to get out ahead of some of the outrage this piece is generating in The Other Place. This poor reader...
... is upset about this sentence: "Watson must know there are people who would be close to gleeful at the thought of pursed-lipped Laurentians put off their diet of crumpets by a few thousand unfussy visitors from the world of honest work."
The reader deems this sentence "truly offensive."
For. The. Love. Of. God. For greater clarity: No, I don't actually think Ottawans purse their lips. I don't actually think there's much crumpet-eating going on in this city. No, I don't actually think only the convoy participants are from the world of honest work.
This newsletter is an outrage-free zone. Everybody please take a valium.
“Watson must know there are people who would be close to gleeful at the thought of pursed-lipped Laurentians being put off their diet of crumpets by a few thousand unfussy visitors from the world of honest work.”
Great observation embedded in a very informative column.
The whole Freedom Convoy adventure was a class war, and riled up in a political blender by Justin Trudeau. People are fascinated (or horrified) by the amount of money raised in the initial GoFund Me campaign. Money that was donated while the Convoy was assembling in the hinterlands of Canada heading toward Ottawa. The Prime Minister, with his “unacceptable views” comments and vaccine mandates unwittingly motivated grass roots working Canadians to get behind the Convoy with financial support.
If I was Mayor Watson, I would be peeved by having residential areas overrun by protesters too. But the quotes from his testimony in this article hint at a general disdain for the working class that kept stores stocked and open for business and assembly lines running. All the while, many citizens of Ottawa were working from home, sheltered from the Covid scourge that the working class couldn’t avoid. In the Convoy class wars, everyone showed their true colours with little empathy for the other side.
I always appreciate your level-headed coverage, Paul. I went up the first weekend with my video camera and some warm mittens to talk to these truckers (and others who joined them there). The truckers graciously offered me hot packets to put in my mittens to stay warm. I went back to my hotel room those first two nights and felt physically disgusted by the disparity between the reality I saw on the ground, and how it was covered by reporters, many of whom were not even there, and who were clearly disappointed they could not press send on a pre-written, "This our January 6th moment." Talk about Canadian insecurity in the face of American exceptionalism. What I saw happen in the media was downright ugly, classist, and mirrored what I experienced in the university program I recently graduated from - an educated class teaching students to hate farmers, oil workers, rural people, conservatives, anyone who didn't think like them. Anyway, Watson reminds me of some those professors I had. I'm glad people are getting to see the true colours of Watson and others in Ottawa, much like they got to see how some journalists became entrenched. They became so arrogantly certain that they could no longer back down from their claims/personal beliefs (not journalism), claims like the truckers had attempted to burn down an apartment building (they didn't), and, frankly, the soup kitchen walked back their claims. Not only was it was never actually proven that a trucker caused an altercation there, the whole report of the altercation changed. Anyone who knows Ottawa, knows that's a very rough area of town, and it was that way long before the truckers arrived. Every survey of Canadian support for the convoy was then affected by daily misinformation, disinformation, and frankly, prejudice dished out by most outlets. Anyway, thank you again for your measured reasonable takes. (Note to self: Do not write comments from your phone in the future. Wait for a desktop)!
Sigh. I keep waiting for obvious comments to be made by the media. And waiting. (This is why I have this problem doing column-replies.)
It is ALWAYS the goal of protesters to elicit the most ugly, draconian response possible. Inherently, protesters are the "bad guys" to any locals, disrupting traffic and quiet. You want the cops to become the bad guys (and in the smug-brutal-cop land of the USA, that's easier).
Everybody asks if the authorities COULD have broken up 400 trucks. Well, obviously they had the physical power: they had guns. But if they'd pulled them out, what would have happened? Much, much worse. They had to be pushed out without a blow being struck, if possible.
That only happened with the final push, where many had left because of Emergencies fear for their bank accounts, and there were few enough to slowly, carefully push with horses.
The Emergencies Act is being seen as some extreme measure, by people who live comfortable lives, get anxiety over bank accounts. It's a very, very, very gentle measure compared to, say, Iran just now.
They used the gentle measure rather than pulling out their guns. And that's why a stream of tractors instantly abandoned Coutts when the RCMP showed off that the OTHER side DID have guns, because those farmers are Canadians.
As for going to the locals before OPP, the OPP before the RCMP, well, again, not only is that how it's supposed to work, but to face off against the Biggest Bad possible - the Feds, run by the hate-figure leader - is what the protesters wanted. They wanted the Feds as their enemies.
The most disarming thing that could have been done was the "only Nixon could go to China" move of the beloved, somewhat-Trumpy Doug Ford playing the heavy, speaking roughly about them, and sending all possible OPP from a Conservative. He could have served his country and taken a hit with (some of) his base, and Ford failed; did the least he could get away with, left it to the RCMP, gave the protesters a propaganda win.
Thank you for your take on this and filling in the blanks. However, no clarity that includes most of what was said about the truckers was false. They didn’t take food from the homeless etc etc etc. in fact, Ottawa was cleaner, more well fed, with much happier people than was usual, reported hundreds of times by people who recorded this “event”, many who lived there. But you had to get away from MSM to see this.
My take. I live in BC. The truckers originated in BC, not the always maligned Alberta. Many of those trucks are worth more than the houses in Ottawa. So hardly the down and out. But what struck me the most was the over the top nauseating arrogance seen daily by those like Watson.
I propose a nationwide referendum to move the seat of power to central Canada, perhaps Manitoba. I suspect after watching this most of Canada would agree. That would leave Ottawa residents in peace permanently.
My favourite phrase “arrogance always comes before the fall”. There has never been more arrogance witnessed anywhere, including from the top dog. As the world watches, trust me, Ottawa et al have not impressed anyone outside the bubble.
"An enduring mystery of this commission is why Rouleau hasn’t invited the testimony of any Ontario government minister. Or if he has sought it, why he can’t secure it."
It seems to me so obvious that the real rationale for the Emergencies Act was the pressing need to show to the US and to the whole world that government was in control of its streets and especially our borders. Shutting down the Ambassador Bridge and the threat to the auto industry was putting the entire Ontario economy at very high risk. Why am I wrong?
"..the prime minister of Canada finally consents to kick the file upstairs to where decisions are made. “OK, listen obviously there are all sorts of different needs, but I will pass along all the concerns.”
Worth the price of admission on its own...
(It would be fun as well if someone were to ask him who he passed along those concerns to...)
Please stay on this one and walk us through it, as in this fine piece, till it fully plays out. And if they won't call Ford, why don't you give him a shout?
Another great read. You hit home the impact on the citizens of downtown Ottawa, as well how politicians are always looking out for number one, as evidenced in the PM's conversation with Mayor Watson.
It is very clear that from the very beginning the Ottawa Police Services and Ottawa's civic leaders were ill-prepared for what was coming. Oddly enough in the weeks leading up to the convoy's arrival the news media kept to a minimum its coverage of the approaching convoy and their supporters lining the highways. It was only when the rigs finally descended upon downtown Ottawa that city officials and the Ottawa Police appreciated the convoy's overwhelming magnitude and the media outlets in turn felt the protest warranted their attention. Perhaps the City was not prepared because the protesters had constantly been dismissed as a "fringe" group? Stay tuned, and learn more?
"But the people who were suffering most were the people of Ottawa. Not the people of the West Coast or the East Coast." - Ottawa Mayor Watson
Suffering is subjective and hearing the cases of "suffering" listed, almost seems like a parody. How mentally unstable are the so-called "Laurentian Elite"?
Regardless, the the Trucker Convoy was isolated in Ottawa. It wasn't a national crisis or anything near it.
I have sympathy for how everyone suffered from the lockdowns and pandemic. I suggest many on substack really need to still heal.
What other slippery slope will the so-called "Laurentian Elite" lead us down next? Your frenemies in the hinterland expect better. We can't move forward till you admit your mistakes. Paul Wells included.
Good summary. Keep up the good work. We need clarity on this event. Too much is in the dark. A summary of what was really going on would be useful. The angel- devil version I am seeing on the left and right is not helping.
Thanks Paul. Facts are more interesting than opinion. Especially about the need to use the EMA in this situation. I don't need the inquiry to tell me that there was no other option. I know am not alone in thinking that.
Here is the question I want answered: Where were the cops? Let's just keep asking that question.
Mayor Jim asks, “How would you like to have 40 18-wheelers outside your window for weeks?… How would you like that in Winnipeg” or Edmonton or a hundred other communities?“ That is actually a terrifically good question from him. Of course, my response and his are quite different.
I would be annoyed, damned annoyed. But, protest is legal, until it isn't. If it kept up, I would consider applying for an injunction to prevent certain of the most annoying aspects. Hmmmm..... The City of Ottawa obviously never thought of that and it took a lone woman who lived in the area to apply for and receive an injunction which resulted in a cessation of the horns honking at night, etc. So, legal until it isn't. Apply for the injunction and then it is illegal and, in this case, the truckers complied.
Enquiring minds (mine!) would like to know if additional injunctions could have been sought and various of the inconveniences ameliorated at least in part.
So, inconvenience is a feature of a protest; that is the point of the protest. A completely legal feature.
To put another way of thinking about it, it is legal for workers to strike; it is also legal for those strikers to have picket lines and to slow considerably (i.e. inconvenience) those who want to cross the picket lines to access the premises being struck. All legal.
I have a thought that I simply haven't seen raised elsewhere so I will raise it here. Various folks had their bank accounts seized [yeah, I know frozen, not seized - see below] because "I" [not really, because I wasn't fast enough to send the bucks] contributed to the convoy. "I" contributed one day - say, yesterday - and then later - say, today - the government declared the Emergency Act and "seized" their bank accounts. The government declared the EA today and then said that what "I" did yesterday which was completely legal yesterday is now declared illegal, not from today forward but retroactively. Not really kosher, this retroactive change in law, no?
Oh, yeah, seizure vs. frozen. if you cannot use your bank account to buy groceries or to pay your bills with the result that you starve and have your various services (car insurance? life insurance? utilities? and so forth) terminated and penalties incurred for non-payment then effectively your monies have been seized, have they not? And, what were the procedures to unfreeze those accounts? How long did they take? Have all accounts unfrozen or are some still frozen? As the saying goes, just asking.
Since I never tweet, perhaps I can pop up here to get out ahead of some of the outrage this piece is generating in The Other Place. This poor reader...
https://twitter.com/suebaker07/status/1582740635034927104
... is upset about this sentence: "Watson must know there are people who would be close to gleeful at the thought of pursed-lipped Laurentians put off their diet of crumpets by a few thousand unfussy visitors from the world of honest work."
The reader deems this sentence "truly offensive."
For. The. Love. Of. God. For greater clarity: No, I don't actually think Ottawans purse their lips. I don't actually think there's much crumpet-eating going on in this city. No, I don't actually think only the convoy participants are from the world of honest work.
This newsletter is an outrage-free zone. Everybody please take a valium.
“Watson must know there are people who would be close to gleeful at the thought of pursed-lipped Laurentians being put off their diet of crumpets by a few thousand unfussy visitors from the world of honest work.”
Great observation embedded in a very informative column.
The whole Freedom Convoy adventure was a class war, and riled up in a political blender by Justin Trudeau. People are fascinated (or horrified) by the amount of money raised in the initial GoFund Me campaign. Money that was donated while the Convoy was assembling in the hinterlands of Canada heading toward Ottawa. The Prime Minister, with his “unacceptable views” comments and vaccine mandates unwittingly motivated grass roots working Canadians to get behind the Convoy with financial support.
If I was Mayor Watson, I would be peeved by having residential areas overrun by protesters too. But the quotes from his testimony in this article hint at a general disdain for the working class that kept stores stocked and open for business and assembly lines running. All the while, many citizens of Ottawa were working from home, sheltered from the Covid scourge that the working class couldn’t avoid. In the Convoy class wars, everyone showed their true colours with little empathy for the other side.
I always appreciate your level-headed coverage, Paul. I went up the first weekend with my video camera and some warm mittens to talk to these truckers (and others who joined them there). The truckers graciously offered me hot packets to put in my mittens to stay warm. I went back to my hotel room those first two nights and felt physically disgusted by the disparity between the reality I saw on the ground, and how it was covered by reporters, many of whom were not even there, and who were clearly disappointed they could not press send on a pre-written, "This our January 6th moment." Talk about Canadian insecurity in the face of American exceptionalism. What I saw happen in the media was downright ugly, classist, and mirrored what I experienced in the university program I recently graduated from - an educated class teaching students to hate farmers, oil workers, rural people, conservatives, anyone who didn't think like them. Anyway, Watson reminds me of some those professors I had. I'm glad people are getting to see the true colours of Watson and others in Ottawa, much like they got to see how some journalists became entrenched. They became so arrogantly certain that they could no longer back down from their claims/personal beliefs (not journalism), claims like the truckers had attempted to burn down an apartment building (they didn't), and, frankly, the soup kitchen walked back their claims. Not only was it was never actually proven that a trucker caused an altercation there, the whole report of the altercation changed. Anyone who knows Ottawa, knows that's a very rough area of town, and it was that way long before the truckers arrived. Every survey of Canadian support for the convoy was then affected by daily misinformation, disinformation, and frankly, prejudice dished out by most outlets. Anyway, thank you again for your measured reasonable takes. (Note to self: Do not write comments from your phone in the future. Wait for a desktop)!
Sigh. I keep waiting for obvious comments to be made by the media. And waiting. (This is why I have this problem doing column-replies.)
It is ALWAYS the goal of protesters to elicit the most ugly, draconian response possible. Inherently, protesters are the "bad guys" to any locals, disrupting traffic and quiet. You want the cops to become the bad guys (and in the smug-brutal-cop land of the USA, that's easier).
Everybody asks if the authorities COULD have broken up 400 trucks. Well, obviously they had the physical power: they had guns. But if they'd pulled them out, what would have happened? Much, much worse. They had to be pushed out without a blow being struck, if possible.
That only happened with the final push, where many had left because of Emergencies fear for their bank accounts, and there were few enough to slowly, carefully push with horses.
The Emergencies Act is being seen as some extreme measure, by people who live comfortable lives, get anxiety over bank accounts. It's a very, very, very gentle measure compared to, say, Iran just now.
They used the gentle measure rather than pulling out their guns. And that's why a stream of tractors instantly abandoned Coutts when the RCMP showed off that the OTHER side DID have guns, because those farmers are Canadians.
As for going to the locals before OPP, the OPP before the RCMP, well, again, not only is that how it's supposed to work, but to face off against the Biggest Bad possible - the Feds, run by the hate-figure leader - is what the protesters wanted. They wanted the Feds as their enemies.
The most disarming thing that could have been done was the "only Nixon could go to China" move of the beloved, somewhat-Trumpy Doug Ford playing the heavy, speaking roughly about them, and sending all possible OPP from a Conservative. He could have served his country and taken a hit with (some of) his base, and Ford failed; did the least he could get away with, left it to the RCMP, gave the protesters a propaganda win.
Thank you for your take on this and filling in the blanks. However, no clarity that includes most of what was said about the truckers was false. They didn’t take food from the homeless etc etc etc. in fact, Ottawa was cleaner, more well fed, with much happier people than was usual, reported hundreds of times by people who recorded this “event”, many who lived there. But you had to get away from MSM to see this.
My take. I live in BC. The truckers originated in BC, not the always maligned Alberta. Many of those trucks are worth more than the houses in Ottawa. So hardly the down and out. But what struck me the most was the over the top nauseating arrogance seen daily by those like Watson.
I propose a nationwide referendum to move the seat of power to central Canada, perhaps Manitoba. I suspect after watching this most of Canada would agree. That would leave Ottawa residents in peace permanently.
My favourite phrase “arrogance always comes before the fall”. There has never been more arrogance witnessed anywhere, including from the top dog. As the world watches, trust me, Ottawa et al have not impressed anyone outside the bubble.
It's really weird the way, when fulminating about the trucker convoy, Mayor Watson sounds so much like Andrew Coyne.
"An enduring mystery of this commission is why Rouleau hasn’t invited the testimony of any Ontario government minister. Or if he has sought it, why he can’t secure it."
Enduring mystery, or dereliction of duty?
It seems to me so obvious that the real rationale for the Emergencies Act was the pressing need to show to the US and to the whole world that government was in control of its streets and especially our borders. Shutting down the Ambassador Bridge and the threat to the auto industry was putting the entire Ontario economy at very high risk. Why am I wrong?
"..the prime minister of Canada finally consents to kick the file upstairs to where decisions are made. “OK, listen obviously there are all sorts of different needs, but I will pass along all the concerns.”
Worth the price of admission on its own...
(It would be fun as well if someone were to ask him who he passed along those concerns to...)
Please stay on this one and walk us through it, as in this fine piece, till it fully plays out. And if they won't call Ford, why don't you give him a shout?
Good morning, Paul.
Another great read. You hit home the impact on the citizens of downtown Ottawa, as well how politicians are always looking out for number one, as evidenced in the PM's conversation with Mayor Watson.
It is very clear that from the very beginning the Ottawa Police Services and Ottawa's civic leaders were ill-prepared for what was coming. Oddly enough in the weeks leading up to the convoy's arrival the news media kept to a minimum its coverage of the approaching convoy and their supporters lining the highways. It was only when the rigs finally descended upon downtown Ottawa that city officials and the Ottawa Police appreciated the convoy's overwhelming magnitude and the media outlets in turn felt the protest warranted their attention. Perhaps the City was not prepared because the protesters had constantly been dismissed as a "fringe" group? Stay tuned, and learn more?
"But the people who were suffering most were the people of Ottawa. Not the people of the West Coast or the East Coast." - Ottawa Mayor Watson
Suffering is subjective and hearing the cases of "suffering" listed, almost seems like a parody. How mentally unstable are the so-called "Laurentian Elite"?
Regardless, the the Trucker Convoy was isolated in Ottawa. It wasn't a national crisis or anything near it.
I have sympathy for how everyone suffered from the lockdowns and pandemic. I suggest many on substack really need to still heal.
What other slippery slope will the so-called "Laurentian Elite" lead us down next? Your frenemies in the hinterland expect better. We can't move forward till you admit your mistakes. Paul Wells included.
Good summary. Keep up the good work. We need clarity on this event. Too much is in the dark. A summary of what was really going on would be useful. The angel- devil version I am seeing on the left and right is not helping.
Thanks Paul. Facts are more interesting than opinion. Especially about the need to use the EMA in this situation. I don't need the inquiry to tell me that there was no other option. I know am not alone in thinking that.
Here is the question I want answered: Where were the cops? Let's just keep asking that question.
Mayor Jim asks, “How would you like to have 40 18-wheelers outside your window for weeks?… How would you like that in Winnipeg” or Edmonton or a hundred other communities?“ That is actually a terrifically good question from him. Of course, my response and his are quite different.
I would be annoyed, damned annoyed. But, protest is legal, until it isn't. If it kept up, I would consider applying for an injunction to prevent certain of the most annoying aspects. Hmmmm..... The City of Ottawa obviously never thought of that and it took a lone woman who lived in the area to apply for and receive an injunction which resulted in a cessation of the horns honking at night, etc. So, legal until it isn't. Apply for the injunction and then it is illegal and, in this case, the truckers complied.
Enquiring minds (mine!) would like to know if additional injunctions could have been sought and various of the inconveniences ameliorated at least in part.
So, inconvenience is a feature of a protest; that is the point of the protest. A completely legal feature.
To put another way of thinking about it, it is legal for workers to strike; it is also legal for those strikers to have picket lines and to slow considerably (i.e. inconvenience) those who want to cross the picket lines to access the premises being struck. All legal.
I have a thought that I simply haven't seen raised elsewhere so I will raise it here. Various folks had their bank accounts seized [yeah, I know frozen, not seized - see below] because "I" [not really, because I wasn't fast enough to send the bucks] contributed to the convoy. "I" contributed one day - say, yesterday - and then later - say, today - the government declared the Emergency Act and "seized" their bank accounts. The government declared the EA today and then said that what "I" did yesterday which was completely legal yesterday is now declared illegal, not from today forward but retroactively. Not really kosher, this retroactive change in law, no?
Oh, yeah, seizure vs. frozen. if you cannot use your bank account to buy groceries or to pay your bills with the result that you starve and have your various services (car insurance? life insurance? utilities? and so forth) terminated and penalties incurred for non-payment then effectively your monies have been seized, have they not? And, what were the procedures to unfreeze those accounts? How long did they take? Have all accounts unfrozen or are some still frozen? As the saying goes, just asking.
Paul, I'm disappointed you didn't bring up the time Watson went against Guns and Roses.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/sherring-how-the-ottawa-mayor-and-guns-n-roses-go-way-way-back
Nothing new when it comes to pearl clutching with him.