The MOU says everything you need to know about the truckers protest

KAMOURASKA, QUE.—I was in Ottawa last week, but I got out ahead of the inappropriately named “Freedom Convoy.” While many regular readers know of my lack of love for the national capital, even I felt enormous sympathy for Ottawa and its residents this week. Most Canadians were nauseated after seeing the behaviour of these people: dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; the swastikas; parking on the Cenotaph; overrunning the Rideau Centre; stealing food from the Shepherds of Good Hope; appropriating the Terry Fox statue. And the horns—the horns and the smell of diesel. The Ottawa police are saints in my mind for being so tolerant. On my way to Kamouraska on Sunday, I saw many tractor-trailers and pickups flying the Canadian flag, returning home to Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. But the hard-core in this group, most of whom were the organizers, don’t plan to leave Ottawa. Their objective, in case you missed it, is to overthrow the Government of Canada, replace it with a group led by the Senate and the Governor General, and abolish all vaccine mandates. As a public service, I decided to analyze the “Memorandum of Understanding” document, which is the raison d’être of this movement, so you don’t have to. The six-page, 1,500-word document opens with a quote from Thomas Jefferson (“All that tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”), which should be a clue as to the source of their political philosophy. Addressed to “Canadian Citizens, Indigenous Communities, and Permanent Residents,” it declares “the key to ending the current spike in discrimination and segregation issues impacting millions of Canadians resides within this attached” MOU. Aha, a magic bullet. The MOU is between the “People of Canada, the Senate and the Governor General,” or “the highest authorities representing the Federal Government.” This is the sort of description that would get you an “F” on a Grade 10 civics exam. The right answer is, of course, the actual government, composed of the cabinet and MPs. It plunges on. If the Senate and the GG don’t sign, they must “resign immediately.” If they sign, “they agree to immediately cease and desist all unconstitutional, discriminatory and segregating actions and human rights violations.” It calls for an “immediate” instruction “to all levels of the Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal governments to not only stop, but furthermore waive” all (COVID) fines. It also calls for all people refusing to be vaccinated to be rehired. The new government would be the signatories: the Governor General, Mary Simon, the 105 members of the Senate, and James and Sandra Bauder, and Martin Brodman (right-wing QAnon adherents who have called for Justin Trudeau to be charged with treason), who are described as the “Citizens of Canada Committee.” In other words, an autocracy led by crazies. What is especially rich is that “Canada Unity” (the truckers) is offering this deal to the GG and Senate as a kind of offer they can’t refuse. Once in power, the Committee will work towards “no mandatory vaccine, no vaccine passport, no discrimination, no fine regulations/programs and no segregation initiatives et al on Private and Government bodies.” When the agreement is signed, “Operation Bear Hug” will end, and the truckers will go home. I watched constitutional law professor Errol Mendes try to answer a television reporter’s question on this document with a straight face. He began by pointing out “freedom” is not absolute, and not being vaccinated endangers the freedom of others. He noted neither the Senate nor the GG have any power, and he stated the obvious: vaccine mandates are under the direction of the provinces, not the federal government. He showed enormous restraint. The degree of ignorance shown by the leaders of the demonstration of the legitimate authority of the government, its makeup, the Constitution, federal-provincial jurisdiction, is, as one commentator put it, “breathtaking.” Someone jokingly said they wanted to invoke the “Not understanding Clause.” I am sure many of the people who came to Ottawa and left the next day came to peacefully protest and did not have overthrowing the government in mind. But their leaders did, and still do. And that makes the events of the weekend even more deplorable. Andrew Caddell is retired from Global Affairs Canada, where he was a senior policy adviser. He previously worked as an adviser to Liberal governments. He is a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a town councillor in Kamouraska, Que. He can be reached at pipson52@hotmail.com. The Hill Times

The MOU says everything you need to know about the truckers protest

I am sure many of the people who came to Ottawa and left the next day came to peacefully protest and did not have overthrowing the government in mind. But their leaders did, and still do.

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The MOU says everything you need to know about the truckers protest

I am sure many of the people who came to Ottawa and left the next day came to peacefully protest and did not have overthrowing the government in mind. But their leaders did, and still do.

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