Sadness rules the day as Ottawa protest comes to an end
Posted on February 22, 2022 in Governance Debates
Source: TheStar.com — Authors: Althia Raj
TheStar.com – Politics/Opinion
Feb. 18, 2022. By Althia Raj, National Columnist
It was hard to watch what happened in Ottawa on Friday and not feel a huge sense of sadness.
It was sad to see hundreds of police officers, some in riot gear, others on horseback, face off against the “Freedom Convoy” demonstrators. Sad that this is now the image of Canada abroad.
It was sad to see the protesters taunt the police.
It was heartbreaking to see so many, ill-informed and hurting, fight for a cause they believe they are defending.
From the woman who screamed she “cannot leave the country that I was born in,” to another who cried out “The coronavirus is the common cold. I learned this in biology class!” to the man who said he just wanted to peacefully fly his flag and show his children he was making a difference.
It was sad to see parents bring young children to an illegal protest site that police had warned them not to enter.
For the past 22 days, the demonstrators expressed disbelief at the idea that police would eventually come for them, either because they thought they wouldn’t be arrested, or because they thought they couldn’t be arrested.
Perhaps that was because police and bylaw officers stood by for weeks, bearing witness to illegal behaviour yet hardly ever issuing a ticket.
Perhaps it was because they were repeatedly lied to. Hours before livestreaming his arrest Friday on Facebook, convoy organizer Patrick King told everyone to head up to Parliament Hill. He said they wouldn’t be arrested. “Under the Constitutional Act, you can be up there and still protest,” he claimed. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms does guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly, but the federal measures enacted Monday under the Emergencies Act made it illegal to participate in the public assembly blockading downtown Ottawa.
King also told his fellow protesters that if they flew a white flag, the police would not arrest them. “That is international law,” he said. (He recommended using white underwear or T-shirts.)
The threats of violence that King and others made toward tow-truck companies that were complying with government orders were also sad.
As were the doxxing and death threats targeting members of Parliaments, public servants such as chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly, and convoy supporters who donated to the cause.
It was sad to see another protest organizer, Tamara Lich, fight back tears as she prepared to be arrested, reminding her supporters “that Justin Trudeau has three beautiful children…just like me.”
It was sad that some people felt the only way they could make their point was to drive to Ottawa and live in their truck.
It was sad to see so much hate on display, from swastikas to Confederate flags.
It was sad that demonstrators had so little consideration for the residents of downtown Ottawa. Many people could not sleep through the noise; some with special needs were unable to access the care they required; others were afraid leave their homes.
It was sad that many employees and business owners were prevented from going to work — that hundreds of low-wage workers went without pay for more than two weeks, because protesters were aggressive and refused to wear masks.
It was sad that some thought ending COVID-19 vaccination mandates could be accomplished by overthrowing a recently re-elected government that campaigned on imposing them.
It was sad that the Ottawa police allowed the protesters to move in and failed to get them to leave. It was sad the cops showed they will treat some protesters differently. It was sad the residents of Ottawa felt the police couldn’t be trusted to enforce the law. It was sad that they resorted to blocking trucks with their own bodies and organizing street patrols.
It was sad that residents felt the only way they could silence the horns and end the occupation was to seek court injunctions.
It was sad that the crisis led to the resignation of the city’s Black police chief. It was sad that Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson used the opportunity to oust a political foe from the chair of the police services board.
It was sad that Ontario stood on the sidelines of the crisis for so long, sad that the federal government decided to use the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the blockades.
It was sad that misinformation fuelled this movement. Sad that mainstream media is no longer trusted. Sad that we can no longer agree on what are facts.
It was sad that prominent voices chose to make things worse rather than to make them better — former Conservative cabinet minister Stockwell Day falsely accused Trudeau of shutting down debate and compared the end of the blockade to Tiananmen Square, further contributing to misinformation and a polarizing of views.
It was sad that federal and provincial governments felt the only way they could encourage more people to get vaccinated was to impose mandates.
It was sad that some people quit their jobs rather than be vaccinated. It was sad that people had their liberties curtailed. It was sad that lives have been upended.
It was sad we’ve put so much stress on our medical professionals. It was sad that more than 35,000 Canadians have died of COVID-19. And sad that more die every day.
It is all very sad.
Althia Raj is an Ottawa-based national politics columnist for the Star.
https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2022/02/18/sadness-rules-the-day-as-ottawa-protest-comes-to-an-end.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a03&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=0C810E7AE4E7C3CEB3816076F6F9881B&utm_campaign=reco_107895
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