<div class="header-image"></div> <table class="table-header"> <thead> <tr> <th colspan="2"></th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>2025-02-04</td> <td style="text-align: right;"><a href="About.md" class="internal-link">About</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> # Civil Liberties, Covid, and Societal Failures  The Covid-19 Pandemic was a two year-affair. We have now been out of it for a year longer than we were in it. Most people seem to just want to forget the whole thing, and indeed, most of that time seems lost to memory. It seems strange now, that everyone wore masks in public, that we went for two years without seeing people's expressions. We forced businesses to close, kept people apart, and informed on those who were not complying with the rules of the "new normal." There was a common insanity we all shared as our personal realities became governed by social media algorithms more than anything else. We couldn't spend time with friends and family so we spent it online. We became influenced by our time there. Small, uncomfortable cellphone habits became full-on addictions. I grew up with the values of individual freedom and civil liberty. As Canadians, our right to free expression is the most dear, as everything is downhill from that. The right to work, to travel, the right to our choice of religion (or no religion), the right to question the government--all these things follow the right to free expression and are fundamental to exist in a free society. We also have the right to be left alone. Someone should have the right to proselytise on the street, for example, but I have the right to walk away and not listen. We have all these things in Canada. And I really believe that it is incumbent upon *all of us* to be proper stewards of these rights. Canadians in generations previous to ours fought and died to give us these freedoms, and if we relinquish them now, we may very well find ourselves having to do it all over again. Which is why when Covid hit, and eventually each of these freedoms were taken, it left a serious unease in the pit of my stomach. What's strange to me now is how easily we all slipped into what can only be described as authoritarian rule. Our travel was restricted. People were not allowed to work. The only people we could see inside were family members. We couldn't meet with our friends. Our gatherings were restricted to being outdoors only, [at times limited to only 5 people at most](https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/60986/ontario-implements-provincewide-emergency-brake). This is what was done in Soviet Russia to suppress any organised rebellion. In Canada, even after 90% of the population was vaccinated in 2021, we *still* went though the enforcement of limited capacities in restaurants and stores during that Christmas season. In my opinion, it was this that truly sparked the trucker convoy in Ottawa. They were protesting the enforcement of vaccinations to cross the border to the US, but it was really the "no end in sight" signalled by these restrictions that earned the support of so many people in Canada and around the world. I also think that this is why [nearly half of Canadians said they sympathised with the truckers](https://globalnews.ca/news/8610727/ipsos-poll-trucker-convoy-support-ottawa-canada/amp), even if they disagreed with their tactics. I think people were hoping this message would show politicians that the public had finally had enough. I always said, during that whole mess, that a return to normal would have to begin with public outcry, because the politicians would never do it on their own. The trucker convoy provided this outcry and indeed demonstrated to politicians just how tired and frustrated the public had become. It was a relief to finally cast aside the masks with no real consequence. Looking back, though, I can't believe such a dark period isn't being spoken about more. It was absolutely totalitarian, what happened. Our Prime Minister froze the bank accounts of the public so they couldn't contribute to a cause that hadn't even been declared illegal. He took advantage of a [criminal security breach](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10520785/GiveSendGo-founder-slams-Trudeaus-government-group-terrorists-instill-terror.html) to get names and bank account information of Canadians in order to freeze their assets because they helped fund a protest that spoke out against his policies. Downtown Ottawa was clogged with trucks, but it was also clogged during George Floyd protests. And *those* protests occurred before any vaccines had been developed. We were still supposed to be social distancing at that time, with even outdoor events limited to *less than 5 people*. And yet [Justin Trudeau and his cabinet joined the rioting crowds](https://nationalpost.com/news/trudeau-defends-decision-to-attend-protest-despite-advice-to-avoid-large-crowds-during-covid-19).   He *joined the crowds!* And yet he [froze the bank accounts](https://financialpost.com/fp-finance/banking/trudeau-gives-banks-power-to-freeze-funds-without-court-order-in-bid-to-choke-off-protest-funding) of citizens just for *contributing* to a different protest. It should also be noted that during the trucker convoy, there was no violence. People generally seemed to be happy to be there. It looked like a winter Mardi Gras.   Contrast this with the violence of BLM protests in 2020.   After ignoring their presence for days, Trudeau returned to his usual schtick of [calling everyone racist Nazis](https://www.newsweek.com/stop-calling-truckers-racist-many-black-canadians-support-them-opinion-1678372). Of course this couldn't be further from the truth. It only caused division and attempted to distract the public from the actual issue at hand.  We are now at the 3 year anniversary of the trucker convoy in Canada. This movement sparked [similar protests globally](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-trucker-convoy-protest-in-ottawa-inspires-right-wing-activists/), and instigated the end of lockdown and travel restrictions. Masks were finally tossed in the bin. If it were up to me, the anniversary of these protests should get recognition every year. They marked the final straw. In the fall of 2021, when we were all still wearing masks, and social distancing even though Canada had already crossed the 70% threshold that was supposed to initiate the lifting of Covid restrictions, I can remember saying that this would all continue indefinitely, because it was the safer move for the government to keep restrictions in place. If they were lifted and there was a spike in infections and hospitalisations, the blame would come squarely upon them. But no one was calling them out for being overly cautious. If the world was really going to get back to normal, it would *have to come from public outcry.* This was the only way it would happen. Well the outcry *did* happen, and it took the form of that trucker convoy. And governments wanting to avoid a similar situations in their own countries took note, and followed suit. The world owes the end of the draconian oppression to those truckers, and they deserve our every thanks.