As another sign of how strongly Canadian authorities have reacted to the Canadian trucker's "Freedom Convoy," Ron Gillies reported for the Associated Press that "Ottawa declares state of emergency over COVID-19 protests."
When it comes to the state of emergency, Gillies reported that "Mayor Jim Watson said the declaration highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders."
While the article is about Ottawa's Mayor Jim Watson declaring a state of emergency, as the headline suggests, that's not all. There are more freakouts from elitist Canadians to report on, in the form of tweets mentioned in Gillies' piece.
There's Gerald Butts, a former senior adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who tweeted a response to Ken Paxton, among a whole host of other things.
For some senior American politicians, patriotism means renting a mob to put a G7 capital under siege. #GoHome pic.twitter.com/00wf20M2wh
— Gerald Butts (@gmbutts) February 6, 2022
Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador under President Barack Obama, also felt very strongly about weighing in, enough so to pin one of his many tweets.
Under no circumstances should any group in the USA fund disruptive activities in Canada. Period. Full stop.
— Bruce A. Heyman (@BruceAHeyman) February 6, 2022
Canada US relations used to be mainly about solving technical issues. Today Canada is unfortunately experiencing radical US politicians involving themselves in Canadian domestic issues. Trump and his followers are a threat not just to the US but to all democracies.
— Bruce A. Heyman (@BruceAHeyman) February 6, 2022
Former President Donald Trump had issued a statement on Friday that began by warning "Facebook and Big Tech are seeking to destroy the Freedom Convoy of Truckers." It also had notably strong words about Trudeau. "The Freedom Convoy is peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates."
When it comes to Trudeau, Gillies' reporting mentions that Trudeau's government "is responsible for few of the measures, most of which were put in place by provincial governments." Gillies, however, does not mention that Trudeau has denigrated the truckers by accusing them of furthering "hate, abuse, and racism," and has claimed they were "a small fringe minority," who hold unacceptable values" and "does not represent the views of Canadians following the science and stepping up to protect each other."
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms on Sunday challenged the state of emergency, with a press release noting that "Mayor Watson has not divulged publicly what facts he might rely on to justify his assessment of truckers as posing 'a danger of major proportions,' in light of their law-abiding behaviour since arriving in Ottawa more than one week ago."
"This is a truly disturbing overreach and misuse of emergency powers," stated lawyer Nicholas Wansbutter.
The press release also included statements from local residents who shared that they witnessed the truckers to be peaceful and not an impediment to their daily activities:
One of the witnesses in the court action has stated under oath that truckers and their supporters "are feeding the homeless on Wellington Street and filling their backpacks with food. Truckers have taken a whole trailer full of food to the homeless shelter. Truckers are maintaining the cleanliness of city streets, including picking up discarded masks on the ground, centralized garbage collection, shoveling snow at the War Memorial and the Terry Fox statue, and decorating and providing security for the War Memorial and Terry Fox statue."
Another witness, an Ottawa resident, swears that "the truckers I have interacted with have, at all times, been friendly, courteous, humble, considerate and peaceful. I have not observed any aggressive or inappropriate behaviours." He says the truckers are diverse, including Sikhs, Blacks, Aboriginals and others. He has "observed truckers decorating the tomb of the unknown soldier with flowers and guarding it" and has "not seen any violent or threatening behaviour." He notes that "the truckers do not honk their horns at night. My everyday life has not been disrupted by any noise related to the Freedom Convoy during the day." He asserts: "My ability to park and to travel in downtown Ottawa, or to and from Parliament Hill has not been impeded by the presence of the truckers."
Another Ottawa resident, who works for Statistics Canada, describes reality on the ground as follows: "The protesters were peaceful and respectful, I saw no violence or harassment. I was not impeded in any way, and could walk about freely and safely. I did not see any hateful symbols, in fact, I saw an abundance of Canada flags and Quebec flags as well as countless signs calling for freedom and the end of Covid related mandates. I did see some anti-Trudeau flags using harsh language. However, I would describe the scene as a peaceful, pro-freedom demonstration. My everyday life has not been disrupted by any noise related to the downtown demonstrations."
Other news from Sunday night looks to be further emboldening those in the United States to offer assistance though, at least when it comes to speaking out against Canadian authorities.
Horrific. Authoritarians LITERALLY want the people to shut up or freeze. https://t.co/czUDmxyOb1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 7, 2022
Is it illegal to carry fuel in your truck in Canada? Not sure what the legal basis is for this confiscation of basic winter supplies
— Truckistan Amb. Poso ?? (@JackPosobiec) February 7, 2022
??FASCIST REGIME ??
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 7, 2022
Without a warrant or cause the Canadian Gestapo are seizing ALL FUEL (private property) from the trucker convoy in the dark of night and dead of winter.
They want their countrymen to die.
Trudeau is a fascist dictator.pic.twitter.com/yIpyjtugXw
How can we get them more gasoline? Come arrest me for material support. Material support for freedom… https://t.co/6LOcZPQQdV
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) February 7, 2022
As one can see from tweeted footage, Ottawa police are removing fuel from the Canadian truckers. The truckers and their supporters don't seem to be backing down, though.
— Kris Eriksen ???? (@KrisEriksen77) February 6, 2022
When your government has to steal your things to silence you
— CHARGE BACK GOFUNDME ???????? (@ElijahSchaffer) February 7, 2022
Tries to make you go hungry by making it illegal to share food
Tries to kill you by keeping fuel from your family & young kids
Their true colors are showing. Canada, what you are doing is working
Don’t give up ????
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