I must admit, I have never understood the rather uncritical position in vast swaths of the political left towards Justin Trudeau and Canada. Certainly, the United States is by no means perfect, but the almost self-hating adoration of Canada by some Americans is strange.
It has been Trudeau’s government who has maintained the Keystone XL pipeline, whose point is to transport tar sand oils from Alberta – contributing to vast environmental destruction. Trudeau has also pushed the building of a pipeline through indigenous territories towards the Pacific, against First Nations resistance. Native interests, it seems, do not matter at all to Canada. Neither do environmental concerns, as for instance in British Columbia – particularly with regards to deforestation.
Now, as to the current unprecedented declaration of emergency powers, I must reiterate that I do favor vaccine mandates, and I still tend to support a zero Covid strategy. But I am also in support of free speech, and what I have seen in recent days looks rather troubling.
Maybe it is healthy to see Canada become “normalized” as a country that is more than some ignorant pollyannish utopian fantasy that is simply just “not America” and therefore better. But it should not come at the price of seeing demonstrators or even their casual supporters beaten, their assets frozen, their livelihoods ruined.
The trucker protests need to stop, and a blockade of major cities like Ottawa is intolerable. But are there not some nicer ways to go about this? Certainly, it makes sense that the townspeople of Letterkenny can get a bit rough. But the police? You don’t have to be Tucker Carlson – who in his usual hyperbolic style claimed Trudeau was a dictator (has anyone checked the anchor’s state of mind recently?) – to be concerned. I would definitely appreciate better and neutral reporting about this situation.
Remember all those celebrities who routinely claim to want to move to Canada when faced with a president they can’t agree with, but who actually never do move? Maybe they have known it all along: Just because you think the grass is always greener on the other side, doesn’t mean it actually is.
Erratic Attempts 