Conservatives have a go at hating the cops and defending civil disobedience
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Well, nobody died. Even in Canada, whenever large bodies of police are called upon to disperse a group of intransigent protesters, it often has a penchant to result in tragedy, just ask the Winnipeg General Strike, the Oka Crisis or the Regina Riots, among others. As the last Freedom Convoy rigs are towed or driven away voluntarily out of downtown Ottawa, everybody who entered the city to protest COVID mandates will ultimately be going home (despite what you may have heard on Fox News about a woman getting trampled to death by a police horse).
Depending on who’s side you’re on, the singular lack of any body count attached to Freedom Convoy is due to one of two factors:
Some New York Times reporters on the scene did find it weird to see groups of heavily armed Mounties searching empty RVs at gunpoint. However, after a small arsenal of firearms and body armour was seized from a Freedom Convoy blockade at Coutts, Alta. last week, it’s not completely beyond the pale for police to be paranoid.
Politically, basically nobody really comes out of this looking good.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has gotten pilloried on both ends of this national saga. He’s been criticized for taking a hands-off (and some would say inflammatory) approach during the protest’s first two weeks. And then he’s been really criticized for ultimately responding with a bunch of crisis measures that would be illegal under normal circumstance (and doing so only after the Americans told him to).
More than any other party, the NDP caucus is filled with MPs whose first taste of politics involved a bullhorn, a cardboard sign and maybe even a blocked street or two. Which is why some of them are openly questioning Jagmeet Singh’s decision to provide the deciding votes on the Liberals’ invocation of the Emergencies Act. “We have opened Pandora’s box here,” Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus told the National Post.
The last few days have also provided plenty of Conservatives with their first-ever opportunity to defend civil disobedience and decry “police brutality” – even if they’ve come down on the exact opposite side of that argument on basically every prior occasion. Here’s a couple examples …
Just as the first columns of police moved in on the Freedom Convoy “occupation” of Ottawa, shocking news emerged that a paramilitary-style attack had struck a Coastal GasLink camp in the B.C. interior. RCMP and Coastal Gaslink sources said about 20 attackers with axes did several million dollars in damage to equipment.
Coastal GasLink, of course, was the project that spurred the aforementioned railroad blockades in early 2020. Although often framed as a case of a First Nation resisting development of their traditional lands, the situation is much more complicated. The elected Wet’suwet’en First Nation actually supports the Coastal GasLink project, but a faction of hereditary chiefs within the community do not (and some Wet’suwet’en would even dispute their hereditary status altogether). Anyways, it’s that faction which is usually portrayed by outside media (and environmental activists) as being the community’s only legitimate leadership.
And if you’re wondering how some droogs with axes can do several million dollars worth of damage in a smash-and-go attack, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time that anti-pipeline militants have allegedly commandeered heavy equipment. That’s what happened just three months ago when anti-pipeline protesters cut off road access to a Coastal GasLink camp at the height of the B.C. floods.
As for who did it, all the usual suspects are denying responsibility, including many who supported the 2020 rail blockades and the recent November barricades.
The word “impotence” has been thrown around often regarding the events of the last three weeks. Ottawa, a city that is normally johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to policing threats such as children’s lemonade stands or a man playing soccer with his autistic son, basically responded to a prolonged occupation of its downtown by standing around and waiting until the federal government told them what to do. National Post columnist Chris Selley highlighted a particularly glaring example of Ottawa’s civic inaction: The Feb. 7 court injunction that was largely successful in compelling Freedom Convoyers to stop constantly honking wasn’t obtained by the City of Ottawa, but by a 21-year-old Ottawan who simply wanted some sleep.
Freedom Convoy’s organizers, of course, were hoping that this whole thing would end with them getting an audience with the Governor General where they would then team up to decree an eternal end to Canadian vaccine mandates. Anyways, right before many of them were arrested, Freedom Convoy organizers issued a final Road Map to Freedom detailing the terms under which they would fold up their tent voluntarily. In addition to wanting an immediate end to all COVID mandates, they had also some vaguer demands such as “grant access to parents that lost access to their kids.”
Awkwardly, Parliament has still not approved usage of the Emergencies Act. While the legislation has already been used to declare a “no-go” zone in the Ottawa core and freeze the bank accounts of Freedom Convoy organizers, the Emergencies Act does come with a built-in check wherein its usage has to be given a greenlight by the House of Commons. That vote is still expected to come Monday.
A new Mainstreet Research poll finds that Canadians are particularly divided on the use of the Emergencies Act. Thirty nine per cent of respondents said they strongly oppose it, while 38 per cent said they strongly support it.
This newsletter has previously pointed out that there’s not really anything authorized by the Emergencies Act that couldn’t have been done using existing laws (blocking a roadway has always been an arrestable offence, for one). On Thursday, a citizen’s group successfully obtained a court order to seize the bank accounts of convoy organizers. Given that this was accomplished with normal processes, it would would seem to cast doubt on why the feds needed the Emergencies Act to do the same thing.
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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax
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