After his denigrating words and actions against the Canadian truckers making up the "Freedom Convoy" and their supporters, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday quietly revoked the Emergencies Act which he had announced last Monday, 9 days before.
Today, after careful consideration, we’re ending the use of the Emergencies Act. Existing laws and local law enforcement authorities can keep people safe, and we’ll continue being there to support provincial and local authorities to protect Canadians.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 24, 2022
Since then, there have been no more tweets from his account about the "Freedom Convoy." It's mostly been about how Canada is reacting to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While the truckers may be gone, reminders of their honking still haunt residents of Ottawa, apparently. This is according to a CBC News report from Nicole Williams, who laments that "The trucks have left Ottawa, but 'phantom honking' lingers for many downtown."
She profiles people living in the major city, and their complaints:
Kevin uses one word to describe the first days of the protests in downtown Ottawa: torture.
"Literally there was trucks right underneath me," said Kevin, who did not want to provide CBC a last name for fear of reprisal. "It was one thing for me, but I've got animals. I've got three cats, two dogs. So yeah, it was torture."
That "torture" is the reason behind an ongoing class-action lawsuit, which sought an injunction prohibiting any participants in the convoy protest from using vehicle horns in the vicinity of downtown Ottawa.
"When you hear that noise, it's like, 'Oh, are they back? Is there a road convoy coming back, right?'" said Sean Flynn, who lives about three kilometres from downtown but could still hear the horns inside his home during the protests.
"'I felt I was constantly doing these sort of double takes ... it almost feels a bit re-traumatizing."
Flynn isn't alone. Downtown resident Zakir Virani said he hears phantom honking, too, usually at night, which keeps him awake.
"It's hard to explain because I think with any post-traumatic stress-induced thinking, it's not very rational. You're not actually hearing honking," he said, adding he experiences "constant on-edgeness" and "fear" any time he steps outside since the protests.
"It's not good for anyone to feel that way."
As our friends at Twitchy pointed out, people were quick to go after the article.
They can't be serious here.
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) February 26, 2022
I mean, really?
Car horns in the city, my God! https://t.co/cln6aA7beR
stay inside, put a pillow over your head and await instructions from @JustinTrudeau when it's safe to resume living. pic.twitter.com/DXVQroruFK
— Tony FJB Bruno (@TonyBrunoShow) February 26, 2022
Why does Putin and Xi think the West is ready to fall? https://t.co/A0zJn7upA5
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 26, 2022
your realized compared to what is happening to the people of Kyiv this seems a tad,,, uhmm shallow? silly? buy some scented candles and listen to some Smooth Jazz you will survive just fine without the drama
— Cory Jankoski (@Coryjankoski) February 26, 2022
If you believe honking has caused you psychological trauma, call my helpline at 1-800-279-2229 to get in touch with someone to talk about your feelings. That's 1-800-CRY-BABY. https://t.co/6Poi2Wey1i
— PotatoRustler (@PotatoRustler) February 26, 2022
Phantom honking? I swear @CBCNews journalists get bonuses based on just how moronic they can be. #DefundCBC https://t.co/Den1Ng0qib
— T Lee Humphrey (@tleehumphrey) February 26, 2022
We can all see what’s happening in Ukraine and don’t want to hear about your made-up problems k thx https://t.co/DVyq5Eemcx
— Jon ?? (@JonnyMicro) February 26, 2022
Sure enough, the tweet from CBC Ottawa has been ratioed. There's close to 4,300 replies. Of the 1,966 retweets, 1,617 are quote tweets, many of them mocking the article.
Truckers were subject to frozen bank accounts, arrests, and their prime minister calling them "a fringe minority," among other things. But it's people living in a major city who are triggered by phantom sounds of honking who are being profiled by a major media outlet. As I covered last weekend, protesters were literally being trampled by police horses. Reports later confirmed that they survived their injuries.
Ezra Levant, the publisher of Rebel News, has referred to CBC News as "Trudeau's CBC state broadcaster."
And, while the Emergencies Act may have been lifted, the Ottawa Police, which has gotten considerable attention on Twitter for some tyrannical takes about the protests, is still reportedly bothering journalists. This is according to Levant.
Hearing reports that the thugs at @OttawaPolice are harassing our journalists, as if Trudeau’s Emergencies Act is still in place. Be warned, you goons: we will sue you in civil court and take you to the SIU as necessary.
— Ezra Levant ???? (@ezralevant) February 26, 2022
Journalists with Rebel News have been caught up before in the protests.
All credit goes to our brave staff, who endure violence from Trudeau's regime for their work -- just this past week, @guillaum3roy was pepper-sprayed and @ThevoiceAlexa was beaten and shot by police: https://t.co/hh5yPCJSAS. I thank our staff deeply.
— Ezra Levant ???? (@ezralevant) February 23, 2022
And, while there may be a class-action lawsuit against the honking, there is also a lawsuit against the Canadian government as well. On Friday, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announced they had filed a constitutional challenge over the abuse of the Emergencies Act.
As the release mentions in part:
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has filed a constitutional challenge on behalf of four Canadians, including two decorated military veterans and a retired police officer, to the Trudeau Government invocation of the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022. Two of the applicants represented by the Justice Centre had their bank accounts frozen and seized, without judicial authorization or a review process, using laws that normally only apply to terrorists and enemy nations. The Justice Centre’s legal action will argue that the use of the Emergencies Act was unconstitutional and an excessive use of Executive Power, not authorized by the law in the circumstances.
Trudeau is the first prime minister to have invoked the Emergencies Act.
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