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Hockey is a handy analogy for anything Canadian, including the ‘Freedom Convoy’ face-off in Ottawa and the various border crossings blocked by their right-wing relations.
Some protesters and supporters of the anti-mandate movement actually hung their Maple Leaf and other flags from hockey sticks and played road games in front of parliament. Our so-called national game provides a great reference point when speaking about Canada’s COVID-19 efforts to control viral spread.
There are cherry-pickers, enforcers, referees, animated coaches, and the peanut gallery all battling to score points for a victory. And it seems like half of each side is drooling for a bench-clearing brawl to settle the differences the old-fashioned way.
I thought of this on the weekend as someone explained their frustrations with the mandates and Liberal government, specifically Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The conversation, like many I’ve had over the past couple of weeks, also touched on distrust of mainstream media. He wanted me to go to Ottawa and see first-hand how peaceful and united the protest was compared to what is being reported.
I know him as a hockey guy, a former player, and coach, who leans right of centre politically regardless of the situation. I assumed he was reacting to my column last week because a dozen others before him shared similar viewpoints and assertions with me.
Call me a sucker but I’ve been engaging with more than a few people online who are fervent in their opinion that all mandates must stop now. I’ve followed their points down the rabbit holes and offered a few alternative perspectives, some even laced with facts and context. I tried to share my experience and understanding of politics, protests, and public health initiatives as well as the vagaries of media coverage and the need for critical thinking skills.
It’s been exhausting, to be honest, because some of the concepts that form the foundation of my perspectives about social justice, democracy, and fair play don’t count in this arena. Three decades spent covering elections, demonstrations, and community conflict resolution matter not in a deeply-emotional discussion. I’m either with them or against them, in the end.
One person argued that the demonstration in Ottawa is akin to teachers striking for contract demands, nothing more or less. The facts surrounding the legality of collective bargaining and strike action were waved away. He saw no difference in illegal occupation of public land, disturbing the peace and the freedom of others, and blocking border traffic.
Another acquaintance claimed Canada was no longer a democracy (even though they didn’t bother voting in the federal election). When I say the vast majority have rolled up their sleeves and wear masks when required, they claim most of them were forced to comply to keep their jobs and travel, or are just communist-loving weak-kneed sheep.
It surprised me how so many people think it’s OK that organizers of the occupation and border blockages have extreme political agendas and threaten worse if they don’t get their way. They felt love and unity waving the Canadian flag while singing the national anthem and that’s all that counts after two years spent dealing with restrictions. Besides, that’s just the media and government trying to spin the narrative.
Don’t even bother pointing out the irony of so-called law and order right-wingers saluting the occupiers and the contrast of how police handle protests by left-leaning or Indigenous groups. I sarcastically suggested in a tweet that the protest organizers should make a donation to the Idle No More campaign. I thought the double entendre of trucks spewing exhaust was the next thing to brilliant, especially when the Indigenous movement rose up during Stephen Harper’s tyrannical heyday. It’s safe to say many of the same people occupying Ottawa and blocking border traffic bristled and howled when it was done to them.
Of course, I’m guilty of feeling some pleasure in pointing out that the mandates people dislike the most, like the QR Code vaccine passport, capacity limits, business closures, and the like are provincial jurisdiction. I giggled telling them to write a letter to Premier Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party, which most of the anti-everything voted for in 2018 and will likely do so again on June 2.
Regular readers of my columns will know I haven’t supported every decision made by politicians or public health officials during the pandemic. It’s been sloppy, uncoordinated, and often counterintuitive. The collection and communication of data were flawed and contentious. And Big Pharma and the corporate elite have proven not to be trustworthy in the past, so everything they do must be taken with a grain of salt (along with vitamins D, C, and Zinc). I have shared in a fairly articulate fashion my doubts and criticisms but I was also trying to be a team player and go along with the game plan. I took the vaccine because it made the people I associate with feel a degree safer. I also risked adverse effects to demonstrate to others it wasn’t what the conspiracy fear mongers are selling. Of course, I also didn’t want to go into the corners with the first few variants, my health is stronger than some but you never know what a virus can trigger once it gets entrenched.
Everything noted above and more, I’m sure, commenters can add fuel to the anti-mandate, anti-vax, and anti-mask sentiment. And with the passage of time and the latest prevalent variant called Omicron, many of the decisions made six and 12 months ago clearly don’t make sense today. Some say they never did make sense (some think there never was a pandemic, which is a different level of cognitive dissonance). But that’s an easy hindsight call, something that will be argued by arm-chair refs for a decade or more.
In the end, most arguments and discussions end with the desire to have a choice in all matters, with the freedom to decide, paramount.
It’s an interesting position to take when that doesn’t work in any collective effort. You certainly wouldn’t let each individual on a hockey team pick and choose what to practice and how to play.
I challenged one person, who is as entrenched in the ‘freedom’ stance as any I've encountered so far how exactly he would handle the next pandemic knowing all that was learned this time. What would you do if the best science in the world was telling you an unknown virus was spreading like wildfire and the outcome could be devastating? It won’t be easy for a country as large and diverse as Canada, and doing different things in each region is a mug's game. I sure hope there’s a commission struck to get prepared.
I haven’t been a fan of Trudeau, I hope the Liberals replace him soon. But if he gives one inch to the right-wing extremist organizers of this protest, we’re in deeper trouble than can be imagined.
Anybody who says it’s smart to just let everybody do whatever they want isn’t someone who should be leading a province or country — or coaching a team.
There is a lot we can do better next time, but anarchy — or freedom absent of responsibilities — isn’t the answer.
Dave Dale is a veteran journalist and columnist who has covered the North Bay area for more than 30 years. Reader responses meant as Letters to the Editor can be sent to [email protected]. To contact the writer directly, email: [email protected] or check out his website www.smalltowntimes.ca
