The railway blockades have been a real test of Canada's character, a measure of its Canadian values.
With most favouring compromise and negotiation over the use of force.
While others screamed for native blood.
Includiing our monstrous Cons, who tried to use the crisis for crass political purposes.
With Andrew Scheer using it to go after Justin Trudeau, as only the Ugly American could
And Erin O'Toole posing absurdly as a homegrown Mussolini...
To make matters worse, crabby old white men all over the country also went after Trudeau.Radicals are now setting fires underneath trains and trying to derail them.— Erin O'Toole (@ErinOTooleMP) February 27, 2020
Under the criminal code, this is domestic terrorism.
It’s time we restore the rule of law and get Canada working again.
Add your name if you are with me: https://t.co/PEB79TgrHN pic.twitter.com/kSd0IGZEGb
So who could have predicted this, except everyone paying attention. When a handful of protesters was stopping the transport of everything grown, mined & manufactured in Canada, the ceremonial PM was in Africa campaigning for a worthless chair at the #UN https://t.co/W4Fp44brrD— Charles Adler (@charlesadler) March 4, 2020
With Charles Adler stripping down to his underwear and revealing his true Con colours again.
And the equally dilapidated Michael Harris pumping out this stream of toxic Trudeau hate diarrhoea.
When new blockades sprung up in places like Saskatoon and L’Isle Verte, as others were taken down in Ontario and Quebec, Trudeau simply exuded weakness.
The Wet’suwet’en and the Mohawk Warriors showed more resolve than the leader of the country, as they continued to defy the law — or from their perspective, to follow a higher one. Irresponsible, hypocritical and weak are not the stuff of which leaders are made.
Trudeau has made himself chief juggler in a circus of incompetence.
Which was yet another attempt to portray Trudeau as weak i.e. not a manly manly Con.
But only made me wonder whether Harris is going senile.
Luckily, despite all the pressure he was under from the Cons and their sleazy bought media, Trudeau refused to give in to the pressure to spill native blood.
And around 2 pm this afternoon, I was really happy to be able to share the good news."As I've said many times, I do not think it is ever appropriate to send the military against Canadian citizens," PM Justin Trudeau tells reporters at news conference in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, in response to suggestion that the army be called upon to resolve rail blockades #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/0TaN2H7DzT— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) March 4, 2020
The Kahnawake rail blockade was finally over.
Mohawk land defenders lifted the rail barricade in Kahnawake Thursday to help ease tensions in the dispute over a pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory.
Longhouse representative Joe Deom called the decision an act of good faith toward the federal government, which reached an agreement in principle with the Wet’suwet’en Sunday to end the standoff in northern British Columbia.
Nobody was hurt or killed. The Cons didn't get to swim in native blood.
The dirty old men howled like hyenas, but were made to look like idiots.
And although the road to reconciliation will be a long one.
Justin Trudeau is showing us all what it takes to be a real Canadian Prime Minister...
I wouldn't jinx it yet. From what I've seen in some of the chatter the Mohawk protesters might start blocking highways instead of railroad tracks, and there will be some long-tail effects on the economy. Also, the trajectory this may take depends on external factors as yet unforseen, particularly whether the B.C. tribe can set aside their internal squabbles long enough to ratify that tentative agreement with the feds and B.C. government.
ReplyDeleteThat agreement in particular doesn't say anything about the CGL pipeline, which the HCs are still opposed to but which still has permits for construction. But who ends up speaking for the tribe, and thus who the company has to "consult" with, is going to have a lot to do with that agreement as regards what they do with their system of governance. A lot of this mess has been hijacked by third-party interest groups whether pro or anti pipeline. Something definitely needs to be done about that.
But what I think is going to play a bigger role in the future of the blockades is coronavirus. Not only because it's something unavoidable and global the Liberals can point to as a shield when the Cons start whining that "Trudeau's weakness" on the blockades led to a slowdown in growth, but because even the dumbest of those eco-anarchists playing chicken on the railways probably doesn't want to get sick. And if they do intentionally expose themselves, well, they've just done their part to benefit climate change by decreasing overpopulation. Yes, I am that Malthusian and cynical and saturated with so much of human stupidity. The protesters didn't do themselves any favors, but MmmKay, Toolio and the hot-garbage media damn near made it a thousand times worse. Pinochet Pete in particular actually out-Mussolini'd Toolio by quoting Il Duce verbatim, saying in a fundraising email that only he could make the trains run on time. I call him Pinochet Pete because I was surprised he didn't promise to give the protesters and Trudeau a helicopter ride.
Personally I'm just glad that this hasn't turned out to be a Maple Mau Mau bloodbath (yet). Also, that even though the Liberals took a hit in (some of) the polls, it's not a fatal blow, at least one of those polls was bullshit, and for now at least, there might not even be that much damage at all. Whatever the next few weeks or months brings, all I can say is thank God(dess) for Justin Trudeau.
We don't say "tribe" here. Do they still say that in the US for Indigenous nations?
DeleteIn parts of New England where I came from, an example of this term still in use would be the "Wampanoag Tribal Council". They don't use the particular word in Canada, that's interesting?
DeleteI just read this and needed to share it. Amy is terrific. There's a LOT more to this story that nobody is going to bother digging up. She even showed how easy it is to game those bullshit Internet push polls like Oopsos and Bogus Reid that the M$M lap up as gospel. Vichy Kapelos showing her English-media bias by ignoring Léger. Spam surveys influencing the government aside, bottom line is there are a lot of people acting in bad faith in this mess, including some of the Wet'suwet'en leadership themselves (which, I'm sorry, does come across as a cult).
https://freethepresscanada.org/2020/03/05/wetsuweten-dispute-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/
Meanwhile, in his sincere effort to yet again do penance for the "sins of the father" -- this time as regards the 1969 White Paper (and the FLQ Crisis, apparently, in terms of how he handled the response despite a constant barrage of "Just Watch Me" memes coming from the Parliamentary Press Gagglers) -- Trudeau seems to have naively walked into a Rube Goldberg bear trap. Yikes!
Although I agree it's not over yet, Trudeau made the right call.
DeleteThe morons who think we should have sent in the army need to explain what would happen the day after when 100 more blockades sprout like weeds from one coast to the other.
Also to lagatta - American tribes are analogous to Canadian First Nations. It isn't an ethnic slur.
DeleteThere is a musical group here called "A tribe called Red", retaking the name. I was asking an honest question, not insinuating that Jackie was using a slur.
DeleteThe Canada is broken meme. All these false Con flags are little treason.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that they are coming down but I cant help but wonder what kind of role the Cons may have played in all of this. Given their propensity to create fake scandals is it unreasonable to think they would have Con operatives posing as environmentalists or whatever to stoke the natives into blockading critical rail lines? And how about that snake in the grass, JWR? Still seething and filled with vindictive rage at her mortal enemy JT? Guaranteed. IMO it's entirely plausible that the one, other, or both had a hand in this and even if it costs our economy billions, it would matter not to them in the least. For the Cons, no cost is to high to attain power and for JWR, the same applies in her quest to destroy Justin Trudeau.
ReplyDeleteThese aren't Canadians. They are treacherous, treasonous, self-serving opportunists who only care about those who can advance their nefarious causes and above all else, themselves.
JD
Speaking of Cons inserting themselves into colonial matters, Stephen Herpes went to a party at the Bibi fan club with Mike Pencedemic and might have got himself exposed to coronavirus. I am having very bad thoughts about "herd immunity" right now. Ha ha ha.
DeleteIts unlikely this was a conspiracy. The supreme court ruled the hereditary chiefs had jurisdiction over this land in the 1990's and recommended BC and the native representatives reach an agreement. That did not happen and to add insult to injury the BC government approved the pipeline by hiding behind the fact that there was no treaty so they were free to do what they wanted in the interim. Also the federal government had no jurisdiction in this case as BC retained jurisdiction over crown land when they joined confederation. All the feds can do is act as brokers in a peace deal. Trudeau and the Liberals deserve credit for their efforts in peacefully resolving this issue... it would have been so easy to front run the Cons by blaming the two players involved for allowing this to spill over into a national issue and come down with an iron fist. But perhaps they believe one federal party with an "I can only win if you lose" mentality is already one too many! The payoff for Canadians becomes extremely small if all major political parties adopt this strategy.
ReplyDeleteRT
Why the fuck hasn't Fife been given the Chris Matthews treatment for saying that Trump is doing a better job than Trudeau on the COVID-19 response? Has he caught the virus and it's infected his brain?
ReplyDeleteWe have a CON PM who sold Canada out with NAFTA, crushed the NEP that made Norway Rich and admitted to taking money in plain brown envelops. He is still revered today by the Cons. What more information do you need to know. When I have time I will plot every stupid con decision on a flow chart to the present, starting with the Avro Arrow and the opposition to the Canadian flag. WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
ReplyDeleteAnother good read in addition to Amy's that I want to share. From JdM columnist Josée Legault: Justin Trudeau was right.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/03/05/justin-trudeau-avait-raison
[Translated]
Justin Trudeau was right
Justin Trudeau's leadership qualities are not always obvious. That is to say the least. However, in the crisis of rail blockades, he was right from the beginning. On that, I persist and sign.
Indeed, he was right to foster a "peaceful dialogue" with the hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en nation opposed to the Coastal Gaslink pipeline project in British Columbia. Ditto the supporters of these leaders who, elsewhere in Canada, have also erected barricades as a sign of "solidarity".
In the long run, it goes without saying that no one really knows where this latest Aboriginal crisis will lead to [in] Canada's so-called First Nations reconciliation policy.
In the short to medium term, Justin Trudeau's "patience gamble" has paid off without the slightest violence.
The first fruit: an agreement in principle, still confidential, negotiated between the Wet'suwet'en hereditary leaders and the Trudeau government.
The second: most of the barricades were lifted without the use of force.
There were two left in Quebec. One in Lustuguj, Gaspésia, mounted by members of the Micmaque community. One in Kahnawake, constructed by members of the Mohawk community.
The Mohawks, in solidarity with the dissenting Wet'suwet'en, lifted their barricade this afternoon while calling for a "peaceful solution".
To be certain, the refusal of force advocated by Justin Trudeau is a teaching moment. Fifty years after the October crisis and thirty years after the Oka crisis, this is still not insignificant.
As recently as yesterday, he was repeating a sentence heavy with meaning. The same one that he had already weighed and said last week: "I am not going to send the army against Canadian citizens." It's hard to be clearer.
This time, he was doing so in response to the surprisingly irresponsible suggestion of the president of the Quebec Provincial Police Association (APPQ). [The APPQ president] asked Premier François Legault to call on the Canadian army to reinforce Quebec's police forces if it were necessary to intervene by force to dismantle the Kahnawake barricade.
Fortunately, his call was ignored.
As for Justin Trudeau's refusal to send the military against Canadian civilians, the deep political significance, in the short and long term, cannot be underestimated.
Such a statement makes it a dramatic turning point.
Last week, in my post entitled "From Pierre Elliott to Justin," I was just explaining why.
The columnist weighs in contrast PET in 1970 and Justin in 2020 and how the meaning of "just watch me" has changed in five decades. The reconciliation Pandora's box is likely to have a lot more twists and turns and even some booby traps as McPherson also pointed out. But anyone who thinks a Tienanmen in Tyendinaga is preferable, or that Trudeau is the second coming of Sir John A. because of one hiccup uprising that he handled a lot better than any other PM did or would, is a bad-faith actor with Trudeau derangement syndrome getting high on their own bullshit. The protestors didn't do themselves a whole lot of favors, but I hope they spend some time thinking about who they were fortunate to deal with and how this could have been a whole lot worse.
The Cons strategy for success is to front run emerging news stories with a version of distorted reality that benefits them. Similar to a negative first impression the damage has already been done before a more accurate form of reality eventually emerges. Like any good one trick con game it will work until people catch on. Perhaps they are hoping Pete will bring a new dimension to the game as the old one is boringly predictable.
ReplyDeleteNext on the list is Covid 19 and we should expect the usual soap.. Trudeau screwed up grand staging in parliament, he was soft on protecting 'us' from the 'others' likely via border controls and targeted screening, a random 1 in 1000 non representative example that is blown out of all proportion and becomes the poster child for the magnitude of the screw up. Perhaps the Cons will pay the price in the longer term for the needles damage they are causing but for now its business as usual.
RT
I love how the National Discracs sets up a millon strawman for JT. If JT cant stop the Covie virus he is not a leader, lets discuss all the ways he cant succed.
ReplyDeletePersonally I see him as getting tired of all this bashing already. Nothing he says or does is right in their eyes. He could cure cancer and would get blamed for putting oncologists out of work (while Kenney lays them off en masse to pump more money into a dying industry). Trump is on his way out and America will be in good hands with Biden and whoever he chooses as VP.
DeleteAfter six or seven years as our (America's) emotional support unicorn who Canada has unfortunately chosen to beat into glue, Justin probably sees an opening for a much less stressful job where he's actually appreciated. Chrystia has that Elizabeth Warren big mom energy and she's got it in for the Plutocrats. Justin is like Biden: a bridge over troubled waters. And he has been a very sturdy one in spite of all the sabotage.
I have to say though, I've never seen anything like the absolute hate and disrespect for this man as leader that comes from the garbage press and the rubes they rile up. They want the country to fail and for people to die just so they can write more trash about him in their tabloids and create chaos for TV ratings. Oh wait, I have seen this before. Barack Obama. Well, Obama was term-limited but he got tired of it too. But I do think Canada and America will do just fine under each man's respective "VP."
Hey Simon, you under quarantine? Justin and Sophie are, hope you're OK man!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing Simon is on a well deserved vacation, Jackie. As for Sophie and the Trudeau family, I wish this scare remains just that, a scare. Surely the majority of Canadians are wishing the same and if anything good has come out of this it is the fact that this disease hitting so close to home will jolt the complacent among us to take this disease as seriously as it should be taken.
DeleteJD
HI Jackie....I'm fine thank you. I had to take some time off to deal with family business, but I'm back now and ready to go. 😎
DeleteHi JD....I wish I had been on vacation. But it was just some urgent family business. My brother and his family were exposed to Covid-19!while skiing at a chalet in Switzerland, so I had to deal with some of that boring shit, by flying down to the U.S. which as you can imagine was pretty scary. But now I'm back and giving thanks that I live in Canada, and ready to take on the Cons again...
ReplyDelete