Canada’s trucker convoy may be over, but the problems are hardly over for the truckers – and for the rest of us
From David Solway of Canada:
The partial triumph of the truckers turns out to be a Pyrrhic victory, for it is the truckers who have suffered most.
Our blue-collar benefactors now face the consequences of the scorched-earth policies adopted by the anointed class. Many have lost their rigs. Operating licenses have been revoked. Criminal charges have been laid. Bans on trucker commerce have proliferated. Bankruptcy looms for many. Livelihoods have been demolished. Families have been obliterated. Marriages are bound to collapse. And I suspect that suicides will mount as desperation sees no escape from ruination. In effect, Justin Trudeau declared war on those who kept the goods and services flowing through the ersatz pandemic and who enabled the populace to weather the government-induced travesty…
The truckers who protested the draconian and useless vaccine mandates have been crushed and their lives ruined. And the majority of Canadians do not care. Some believe the truckers got what they deserved, gloating over the misfortune of their betters. Others do not give them a second thought. The feeble-minded claim to be suffering from “phantom honking.” Some hover over the top like a helicopter pilot surveying rush hour traffic and move on: nothing very significant to see here. Their sympathies go out to the Ukrainian victims of Russian aggression. The victims of government oppression in their own country are an afterthought.
My sympathies go out to both. The domestic tyranny in Canada and in this country has been a focus of mine for years and continues to be an enormous concern. What’s happening in Ukraine is also a concern. But the two are actually related in a strange way – or maybe not so strange – because I believe that the timing and scope of Putin’s attack is a direct result of his evaluation of the fallen nature of the west, including its moral weakness and its abandonment of its own bedrock principles.
One could hope the clueless Canadians start to feel the loss of truckers. Living in an extreme climate should support common sense but, given the lunacy in Minneapolis, it may have the opposite effect.
Sent this letter to my bank’s CEO yesterday:
(CEO name)
(company address)
(CEO name here),
I have been banking with (bank name deleted) for more than 30 years, and I have been pleased with the services you offer, and the compassionate way your bank treated me when I was unemployed for nearly a year back in the 90’s.
I am writing to you now because we find ourselves in unprecedented times. My $6,000 in my savings account earned me all of a nickel in interest last month. This, while inflation is officially at 5.2%, and, in reality, much higher since the official inflation figures don’t contain such “volatile” expenses as food and gasoline. If I were to pull my money out of your bank and stuff it under my mattress, I would not miss the pocket change in interest that it earns me in a year.
That means that, aside from implicit safety, there is no upside to my keeping my money in your bank. What has gone on in Canada however means there is a serious potential downside to the safety of leaving my money in your bank. As I’m sure you’re aware, the Canadian Prime Minister declared a state of emergency and “asked” the banks to freeze all the assets of thousands of citizens that had either participated in or supported the trucker’s protest in that country. And the banks, from all reports, complied meekly, if not enthusiastically, with nary a whimper of protest. Now he’s asked them to unfreeze the accounts, and there is a significant run on Canadian banks for customers to get their money out before it’s seized again.
If President Biden were to declare such a situation and ask or order your bank to freeze the assets of anyone who organized or supported the January 6th event, or a new Republican president were to order the same for anyone who contributed to Black Lives Matter or any organization that he deemed supportive of those who took to the streets over the George Floyd matter, would (name deleted) comply like the Canadian banks without taking the issue to court before taking such an action?
What the Prime Minister has done has irreparably damaged the banking industry in Canada. For your own industry’s sake, I ask you to come out now publicly and state categorically that this will not happen in the United States. That at the very least, any such mass freezing of assets without individual, legitimate court orders will not happen until the matter has been litigated to the highest court in the land. Even if that is what you would do, if you do not state it publicly now, it will be too late once the attempt is announced.
I well know that most people would not consider such drastic action as taking their money from institutions such as yours, but if 10% of your customers decided to do that, how would that affect your bottom line? That number is not farfetched, as you can well see by the number of people in this country who have refused the COVID vaccines despite having to leave their jobs to do so. Ten percent may seem a small number to take such drastic action, but can you afford to lose 10% of the assets invested in your bank, and the panic that would follow such a step?
If you firmly believe such actions as have occurred in Canada will not and cannot happen here, you owe it to your customers to publicly say so in the firmest terms to prevent any future government from contemplating such an action. As a leading institution in your industry, I think it will redound to you and your company’s benefit to take the leadership on this issue.
Sincerely,
(my signature)
(my name and address)
Today Giulio Tremonti, who was minister of Economy in Italy several times, has sarcastic words for the western world: in an interview he says that the final communiqué of both the recent G7 and G20 had a few lines about Russia and China and “whole pages about gender equality, and the world palingenesis expected from their ecological, social and digital policies”.
No doubt, Putin and Xi Jinping can see the same mounting stupidification of our ruling class.
The majority of adult Canadians who do not care what Trudeau has done to the protesting, peaceful truckers now deserve what Trudeau has planned for them.
Frank,
That’s a fine letter, please let us know if you get a response and of what it might consist.
@Mike K:One could hope the clueless Canadians start to feel the loss of truckers.
I think the truckers who protested are too small a share of the total number of Canadian truckers for this to happen.
Great letter, Frank!
The media needs to tell these truckers stories! That is their role in society; a voice for the voiceless.
Where are the news stories about business owners who lost their lives’ work in the pandemic? The stories of people who died alone in convalescent homes? The stories of High School and College students who lost a year or more of their lives, academic careers, athletic careers?
Surely there are still some news outlets left who will tell these peoples’ stories?
Rufus T. Firefly,
According to Jordan Peterson very few even occasionally report objectively. Ezra Levant and Truth North are the only reliable ones that I know of who regularly report anything contrary to the narrative. Reporting on the devastation is not supportive of the narrative.
Besides the majority of Canadians don’t care.
DeSantis should offer relocation loans to Canadian truckers to come South.
Re Canadian media (specifically the CBC):
“Tara Henley: Why I quit the CBC;
“‘To work at the CBC in the current climate is to embrace cognitive dissonance and to abandon journalistic integrity'”—
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/tara-henley-why-i-quit-the-cbc
Key graf:
“…When I started at the national public broadcaster in 2013, the network produced some of the best journalism in the country. By the time I resigned last month, it embodied some of the worst trends in mainstream media. In a short period of time, the CBC went from being a trusted source of news to churning out clickbait that reads like a parody of the student press….”
– – – – – – –
Frank, great letter.
I’m not sure, though, why one would assume that if the bank assured you they would never ever do what those Canadian banks did, that they should be believed, given the power of the government under “emergency” (so-called) regulations.
I doubt that Frank will put much faith in the substance of any response. I suspect he is challenging the bank to take a position, and I also suspect it won’t. Sure it may send a bafflegab response, but it will be of little meaning and even less consequence.
My wife is talking about taking some of her money out of the financial institution where she has money. I certainly understand, but I am not there yet. But do know it could happen here.
Geoffrey and Ray, If I receive a reply, I’ll post it. I sent it snail mail with only my address for reply because email is too easily to discard or ignore. Of course, since I’m a customer, the CEO could easily look up my email and phone number, but I expect to hear nothing. Still I say these things in the hope of setting something gnawing at the back of the brains of people who don’t consider the whole perspective. “I don’t believe that no one wants to know,” as the song says.
Ray van Dune,
“Bafflegab?!” Just looked it up. That’s wonderful! Can’t wait to use it!
I’m not sure about Canada, but in Australia we have a concept called “Work to Rule” which Unions would call in lieu of a strike. Basically it was an acknowledgement that following ALL the rules (especially in Union awards) was impractical as it led to such extreme slowdowns that the effect wasn’t much short of a strike.
Watching the Canadian Truckers drama unfold from afar, I couldn’t help but wonder if in pushing the demonstrators too far, the Government isn’t inviting a work-to-rule style slowdown, or I suppose just a general slowdown. Stuff like requiring a legal opinion for deliveries to Ottawa to ensure no rules are being broken and the delivery driver can’t arrested, their rig confiscated etc for parking or honking their horn. Requiring every regulation “t” to be crossed and “i” dotted to ensure the delay cannot be labelled illegal. Or getting lost, or maximisation of driver break times for fatigue reasons, or bad/dangerous weather conditions (many safety issues could be exploited) ….. all the while innocently proclaiming “we are doing our best”.
A classic passive aggressive response to legal authority. No need to stop the flow of goods, just slow it enough that the shortages are felt. It would be interesting to see if something along those lines occurs.
In re Frank’s magnificent letter – my only editing would be to shorten it a bit, as the attention span of most people these days is the length of a Sesame Street quip or the ad on a cereal box.
“Still I say these things in the hope of setting something gnawing at the back of the brains of people who don’t consider the whole perspective.”
I applaud you whole-heartedly, but predict the primary result will be to put your name on the list to be frozen first when the Brandon Administration gives the word.
@ Shirehome > “My wife is talking about taking some of her money out of the financial institution where she has money.”
Well, as Frank said, your mattress gives as good a return as the bank, it’s just a bit more cumbersome.
We have one major account in a bank I have some hope will maintain its sanity (USAA chartered in Texas); and minor amounts in 2 credit unions and a local bank, all of which I am beefing up; and the retirement money in 2 separate investment institutions, one local and one national but conservative.
I also have more cash in the house than I’ve ever “stocked” in my life, and just added a stash in the car for emergencies.
The enthusiastic followers of the Brandon Bunch frighten me more than anything I can remember.
@ Barry in re Tara Henley’s manifesto – I read that on her Substack when she left CBC in January, and will quote from there so others will have the link to her articles.
The whole thing is a masterful indictment of the press as is exists today.
IIRC, she was not the only anchor to walk off the set (or out the door, for print media) in the last few years, for the same reasons.
https://tarahenley.substack.com/p/speaking-freely?utm_source=url
Cue Ronald Reagan’s “…the Democratic party left me.”
We see that bolded sentiment a lot these days, in addition to the people who have had an actual change in ideological point of view.
Here’s a very recent one; see her personal comments beginning 2:32.
https://www.prageru.com/video/how-to-end-systemic-racism
5-Minute Video by Amala Ekpunobi on February 28, 2022
She was on the woke side until a few years ago, and even got a BLM tattoo.
Then she actually started looking at the facts.
@ Richard > “I’m not sure about Canada, but in Australia we have a concept called “Work to Rule” which Unions would call in lieu of a strike.”
Same thing in America, and it gets used.
A big worry about the Trucker Convoy heading for DC for the SOTU tomorrow is when Biden will do the same thing to them, even if the protests aren’t full of provocateurs itching to trigger an analog to the Canadian Emergency Powers Act, and we have plenty of statutes that will serve.
(You may have seen the FBI Team meme with the big rigs)
https://i0.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2022/02/download-5-3.jpg?w=900&ssl=1
https://townhall.com/columnists/markdavis/2022/02/21/americas-freedom-convoy-makes-headlines-before-it-even-starts-n2603566?utm_campaign=rightrailsticky3
I don’t necessarily agree with Bonchie here, but he makes some good points.
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2022/02/27/the-american-trucker-convoy-is-a-really-bad-idea-n529100
But on the gripping hand:
https://redstate.com/tladuke/2022/02/28/the-american-trucker-convoy-is-a-really-good-idea-n529710
The worry for the drivers, and supporters, is not about the media spin per se, but about how that spin augments and abets the judicial tyranny that has been unleashed against conservatives, including the IRS targeting Tea Party supporters going forward to the DOJ running its J6 Gulag.
I do like Duke’s conclusion, though:
Andrew Breitbart RIP – it’s somehow fitting that the Brandon SOTU will be on the anniversary of his death.
https://media.babylonbee.com/articles/article-10595-1.jpg
Remarks in his honor last week.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/25/cpac-tribute-andrew-breitbart-knew-fake-news-well-before-it-became-catchphrase/
No warranty implied, but whereas in 2012 I would have dismissed this not-very-professionally-written post as a tin-foil-hat screed, I am no longer confident that is the case.
https://www.truthandaction.org/ex-cia-agent-obama-killed-breitbart-clancy/
And Epstein didn’t kill himself.
I think Mr. Solway is giving more weight to the threats made against the truckers than is probably deserved.
Based on the legal analysis I’ve seen, the withdrawal of the EA will result in their accounts and property being returned unless there’s a proper adjudication of specific criminal charges found to justify their seizure.
That goes for the 39 business and truck license suspensions as well. Those are ostensibly to preserve potential evidence in anticipation of future police investigations. But it’s not clear that the police intend to investigate those parties nor why an entire business operation needs to be shut-down to preserve some undeclared evidence.
And I’m not sure why he believes the truckers are ‘crushed’ – I’m not in Canada but the Canadian sources I read don’t convey that. I wonder if he’s relying on ‘mainstream’ sources that are presenting the movement as crushed and demoralized.
If anything, it’s apparent that a lot of Canadians have awoken to the fact that the Trudeau government are deeply corrupt and dishonest.
I disagree that Canadian liberals don’t care about the truckers and their repression by the government. They do care. They enjoy the repression. They celebrate it.
Canadian liberals are just as evil as American liberals. They hate and they hate deeply.
It’s a blue collar protest movement. They are undervalued and looked down upon by the laptop class, but are the ones who get the stuff to the stores that their betters could have delivered to them during the pandemic, keeping their sorry asses safe from the pandemic. And then their betters declared that the truckers, spending their days self quarantining in their big rigs, had to accept jabs of dangerous experimental gene therapy vaccines to remain employed as truckers.
But it is much more than merely a trucker protest. That is just the ostensible justification. These convoys are, in the end, generalized working class protests, against their self assigned betters. Progressive elitists imposed idiotic draconian restrictions on the populaces of democracies around the world in the name of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly just to show that they could. And these protests are saying just the opposite, that they can’t.
The protests are for moral legitimacy. The protesters are pushing the other side to overreact and give up moral legitimacy, and that is exactly what is happening. When protesters arrived in DC in early January last year, to protest the stolen election, the leftists in power had them arrested, and held without bail, in deplorable conditions, contrary to our Constitution, because they could. Another 1/6 protester killed himself the other day, adding another martyrdom to the cause.
Does this sort of protest work. Sometimes. Though we no longer remember the names of the miners and their families machine gunned by company police, near Pueblo, CO, a bit over a century ago, it was the beginning of the end of company police who could put property rights over individual rights, and murder those who challenged their power. Without those protests, and those willing to sacrifice, the union movement throughout the 20th century may well have been very different. The big companies utilizing these techniques went beyond the pale, and society ultimately rejected them. And that is what happened with the 1/6 protesters, and seems to be happening with these truck convoy protests – the autocrats and despots on the left are ripping off their own masks, and showing their true faces. They are showing, to the world, that they are brutal despots, only conforming to societal norms, and our Rule of Law, when convenient.
The next liberal that chimes in with “we’re all in this together” is going to get a beating so severe that I cannot advocate it on Facebook.
The trucker protest was extremely effective for people who get their information from other than the MSM. In that regard, they were preaching to the choir. Frankly, I’m more than a little surprised that there wasn’t more false flag mischief. I guess Canada hasn’t caught up to the U.S. government in that regard.
I can’t even imagine what the effects of the loss of confidence in Canadian banking would be, or how many people are capable of seeing them for what they are: organizations that are more than willing to violate morality (and probably the law) when a politician says so. Is there anyone you can trust now?
On my walk with my wife last night I mentioned that it turns out Dr. House was right all along: Everyone lies.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about our government here in the States is that I used to think the government was extremely incompetent and mostly corrupt. Now I believe that they are far more corrupt than incompetent, and that anything they are doing that seems stupid or bad is almost certainly bad on purpose. As cynical as I already was, I lost a lot of faith in human institutions the last two years.
I suspected, and probably mentioned here as well as other places the Truckers were going to get Jan6th just as our January 6 ralliers have been scooped up and tossed in jails. My heart goes out to them, and their troubles are most likely barely started.
A couple of Old Americans perspective on what happened in Canada last week:
https://rumble.com/vw07bd-episode-9b-the-biggest-story-in-the-world-last-week-its-not-what-you-think-.html