Freedom Convoy

Before the Omicron strain was detected, I remember telling one of my coworkers that if a much deadlier variant of COVID were to emerge, or a new pandemic entirely, that I didn't think we as a society would be able to adapt as well as we did in the first wave. The hope would be that because we're more aware of how disease is transferred and are more practiced in handling such situations, we would be more prepared. However, I said that with how burned out people are from the COVID restrictions, and because of the resulting widespread distrust in government, the reality was that people would be less accepting of any new safety measures.

Then Omicron came out and before the restrictions were put in place, I said on here that I didn't think another lockdown was likely because it would cause unparalleled noncompliance. To my surprise, the government did decide to implement hard restrictions at a similar level to the lockdowns, although they avoided using the term. While people weren't happy, society kept moving along relatively normally.

So it took a few months, but we've reached the unparalleled noncompliance that I had anticipated. About three weeks ago, our government decided to implement a new policy that would require truckers to provide proof of vaccination for entry into Canada. This was the catalyst that caused the formation of a new protest movement, branded as the "Freedom Convoy".

With truckers spearheading the movement, they drove their vehicles to Ottawa and occupied the downtown area, blaring their horns night and day. Initially, the purpose of the movement was to end the specific policy that had inspired it, but it quickly became a catch-all heiring of grievances over COVID measures, and their demands for ceasing the protest became an end to all COVID mandates.

Another protest took place on the Canada-US border, attempting to block vaccinated truckers that chose to continue working. While I haven't noticed an impact to my shopping, my brother who was until very recently working in a grocery store says that this has indeed caused supply chain issues. He says that "If there's anything managers hate, it's empty shelves." The response is to stock them with things that wouldn't normally go there. He gave an example of a section of the hot deli getting stocked with romaine lettuce to avoid having it empty. At a Wal Mart, me and Lee-Anne noticed there was an absurdly disproportionate quantity of Coffee Crisps over other chocolate bars.

Aside from occupying the capital and the border barricade, a series of Freedom Convoy protests cropped up throughout Canada, including Toronto, Winnipeg, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, Quebec City, and Edmonton. Even here in Waterloo Region we've had protests sweep through under the name of the Freedom Convoy. The people protesting has expanded from just truckers to anyone who wants to stand against COVID mandates.

It's gone international, with support protests occurring in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The Canadian flag has been flown overseas as a symbol against COVID measures, and I see the Freedom Convoy being covered in American media all the time.  Very weird feeling, since we have until recently had a reputation as one of the Western countries more dedicated to eradicating the virus. We might be an example of the nations who took a harder stance on it initially, finally succumbing to the pressure. New Zealand took a very hard line against COVID when things started out and were the first Western nation to fully reopen. The common perception was that NZ was exceptionally unified in their intention, but now they have shown some of the strongest support of Canada's protests.

I won't pretend to be neutral on the subject, I'm against the Freedom Convoy. I don't think this will surprise many as I've made individual posts for each of my vaccinations. I sympathize with the mental health concerns that have been caused because of COVID measures. Suicide, substance abuse, and domestic violence have all increased since the beginning of the pandemic and helping people to cope with the mental health aspect of this unwanted reality has been most of my job since things started out.

But even if I don't implicitly trust politicians or the media, I do trust the vast majority of scientists and medical professionals who have weighed in on this topic. It's true, they may not be experts at balancing the physical versus mental health risk, but I have seen the fallout of a compromised medical system. I won't go into detail, but Lee-Anne would normally be eligible for a surgery regarding a chronic health issue, but because of COVID, it's seen as "not essential" and hasn't been an option. During the first wave, my roommate suffered from kidney failure and was supposed to have a surgery but it was indefinitely postponed. Later, he suffered another attack that perhaps would have been preventable if he were more proactive, but he wouldn't have gotten to that stage if he'd had his surgery when he initially needed it. My granddad suffered from acute dementia and we weren't able to be there for him in the way we would have liked because COVID didn't allow for visitors.

I don't think the hospitals are putting these restrictions up because of propaganda.

No one that I know well has died from the virus, but one of Lee-Anne's relatives passed from it, two people related to my old roommate, and a guy that was somehow tied to my agency's funding, who I'd met and who was close to a coworker.

If people are surviving due to access to medical care, then even if they're surviving the disease now, they won't if they're all in the hospital at once and resources are exhausted.

The high rate of burnout due to COVID has caused an increased number of medical professionals to leave the field. Will people show as much interest in the profession with the increased caregiver strain? If this disease turns out to be permanent, we'll need them more, but if we don't support them by trying to stay safe, we could have a reduction of professionals in the long run.

Even if it only effects people with comorbidities, one of those is age, which means we'll likely have a lowered overall life expectancy. That might be good for the overpopulation issue, but I find it sad that we won't be able to facilitate a long life for those that would otherwise be able to achieve it.

And I work with the immunocompromised. The mask mandates among others allow them to engage with society relatively safely. Ending all mandates would force them into hiding. It would increase the freedom for some, but reduce it for others. We would have a less inclusive society.

When the virus is eradicated, or when we are able to implement a healthcare system capable of handling our current challenges, we will be able to go back to normal. The current issue won't disappear because we're sick of it.

All this being said, I approve of the Freedom Convoy's right to protest, so long as it happens within the legal parameters that exist within our country. I also have an appreciation for how difficult it can be to organize a protest, and how people might try to misrepresent your cause. When I was in College, we were taught a bit about how to organize a protest, and how if even one person impulsively picked up a rock and threw it, the media would use that to represent your issue.

So when people attending the Freedom Convoy fly swastikas and Confederate flags, when they dress up Canadian hero Terry Fox's memorial with propaganda, and when they dance on the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, I tell myself "I might disagree with their cause, but that's not necessarily what they represent".

As an aside, Terry Fox would probably not agree with them. He ran across Canada on a prosthetic leg to raise funds for cancer research. I believe he would have sided with medical science.

The generally joyous and celebratory nature of these protestors seems a bit odd too. During the Black Lives Matters protests, for example, the overall emotions you were able to detect were along the lines of anger and desperation. These Freedom Convoy people have brought their children, set up bounce castles, and held BBQs. The BLM protesters didn't bring their kids because there was a sense of danger. The Freedom Convoy people, who claim a feeling of oppression, obviously can't conceive of their children being put in harms way because of their cause. 

This protest has breached some legal boundaries too. Their right to protest does not allow them to negatively impact the health of civilians, to create economic danger for the nation, or to accept financial support from foreign countries. By depriving Ottawa residents of sleep and by polluting the air through constantly running their engines, they have arguably put locals in harms way. By blocking Canada's trade routes, they have impacted our access to resources. They have also received funds for food and fuel through a number of sources, including bitcoin and the website gofundme, with donors being sourced to the US primarily.

I've seen a few representatives of the Freedom Convoy denouncing the trade barrier, the swastikas, and rumours about implementing a coup. Despite their claims to represent a "unified, multicultural Canada" I've yet to see a chosen representative of there's be anything other than a white male. Nothing wrong with being a white male, and it's honestly refreshing to hear them state diversity as an ideal, but I just haven't seen the support from diverse communities that they claim.

They have claimed a lot of success based on a recent reduction in COVID restrictions. Because this is happening in conjunction with the beginning of the end of our current wave, it's hard to tell if this is because of protests or because of the seasonal dip in cases. Protesting is an effective way of evoking social change, so perhaps it has impacted things.

Recently our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau evoked the Emergencies Act, which allows the government to go beyond the usual legal limits in response to a threat. This is the modified version of the War Act, which was implemented by our current PM's father, Pierre Trudeau when he was in office.

In doing this, Justin Trudeau has been able to halt the flow of foreign funds in support of the Freedom Convoy, and he has recently employed the help of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or "Mounties" as you might know them)

The situation is still escalating. Overall, my position is that I disagree with their cause, but I approve of their right to protest if it's within our legal parameters, which it isn't.