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Chaos: the Trucker Convoy + the American Empire (Marchi)

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February 1, 2022

Chaos: the Trucker Convoy + the American Empire (Marchi)

By Hon. Sergio Marchi

From Ottawa Magazine

Two columns:
1. The truckers roll into town rudderless
2. Is the American empire sunsetting?

The truckers roll into town rudderless

As the nation’s capital, the city of Ottawa and its citizens are accustomed to their share of protests. As the seat of our federal government, stakeholders are continuously in town to address and bring publicity to their causes. So much so, that local residents are almost indifferent. Not that they don’t care, but they have grown numb because the parades are endless.

But the caravan of truckers who descended upon Ottawa over the weekend, was different.

Not only did the locals notice, but most were offended by the troubling actions of some of the protesters. These outliers were disowned by the Canadian Trucking Alliance even before they started their engines. And then, as a result of unruly actions, they quickly lost the confidence and respect of most Ottawa residents, as well as Canadians across the country.

The behaviour led many people to take to social media platforms, asking, “What has happened to some Canadians?” Good question. The same question surfaced during the last federal election when groups of anti-vaxxers intimidated and verbally abused health care workers and patients on hospital property.

Why did some of the truck protesters have to turn ugly?

What was to be gained?

In other words, what compelled them to:

Urinate and dance on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Insist on being fed by a homeless shelter and in the process, verbally abuse the employees with racist remarks
Desecrate our flag
Violate the Terry Fox statue
Fly Nazi and Confederate flags
Force the Rideau Centre to close its doors, owing to the fact that the protesters swarmed the premises without face masks
Intimidate local residents and create such a sense of insecurity that Ottawa Center MP, Yasir Naqvi, took to LinkedIn and felt compelled to post a response from the Minister of Public Safety, complemented by Municipal Councillors echoing similar sentiments
Obstruct emergency vehicles
Prevent some children from going to school on Monday and,
Force businesses in the downtown core to be shuttered
Individually and collectively, their conduct was irresponsible and disrespectful. It was unnecessary to the mission statement and way over the top. And now, the movement deservedly lacks public credibility.

Even the mission statement was and remains dubious;

Why should some truckers be exempted from being fully vaccinated, when over 90% of Canadian truckers and Canadians at large, have their shots?
Why are they not also protesting in Washington, since the US does not allow the entry of unvaccinated drivers?
Why the hate-on for Trudeau, when the vaccine mandates are primarily under provincial jurisdiction?
Accordingly, have they whined against Premier Ford at Queens Park or Premier Legault in Quebec City?
And why did they not comply with the #GoFundMe campaign protocol, which has resulted in the freezing of some $8 million contributed by Canadians?
The initiative was misguided and disorganized from the outset. Moreover, the organizers sold the visit to Ottawa as a ‘truckers convoy’, and later transformed it into a ‘freedom convoy’. Really? They are the furthest thing from being freedom fighters!

That honour and distinction belongs to the brave young soldiers who actually fought and gave their lives in protecting and preserving our freedoms and democracy. That belongs to the unknown soldier. That belongs to Terry Fox and other such heroes. That belongs to the numerous people and institutions who help build our sense of community.

In other words, the very people, monuments, and institutions that, over the weekend, some of the protesters desecrated and sought to tear down.

Barry McLoughlin is an experienced, savvy, and well-regarded communications professional in Ottawa. Over the weekend, he posted on LinkedIn an impressive and insightful analysis on what went wrong with the truckers. He stated that the movement was overwhelmed by what he called the “5 Rules of Crowds”.

First, poor planning will guarantee failure every time. Second, have a coherent purpose. Third, all crowds descent to their lowest common denominator, unless strong action is undertaken. Fourth, don’t attack the media. Finally, your ‘friends’ can do more harm to your protest that your ‘enemies’.

Barry nailed it.

As he outlined, the organizers had not built the necessary infrastructure that any serious protest requires. As thousands of people poured into the capital, there was no shelter, no food, no porta-potties, no speaker platform, no audio equipment, no coherent message, and no control of extremists.

In other words, the caravan was completely leaderless. Rudderless.

To add insult to injury, they are costing Canadians huge dollars. The Ottawa Police have estimated that it costs $800,000 a day to police the protest.

The organizers were exposed as the amateurs they are. Not only did they miserably fail the leadership test, but they also tolerated and took a hands-off approach to the extremists and bigots within their midst.

In boasting that they were serving the public interest, they instead created a public relations disaster. They badly blew their tires.

It’s now time that they clear the streets and move on.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Is the American empire sunsetting?

Last week, President Biden gave what most commentators said was a “historic speech”, on the anniversary of the January 6th attack on the US Capital. It was a powerful address aimed at reinforcing their increasingly endangered democracy; a democracy that continues to take daily body blows from an aggressive right-wing mob. It may have been his finest moment in the Presidency thus far.

But the malaise started long before last January. We all live in imperfect glass homes, but it has become painfully obvious that US politics and democracy are seriously broken. Indeed, the American family portrait is increasingly angry and mutinous.

When fighting the odds over its storied history, America has always been able to impressively renew itself and overcome its obstacles, and thus sustain its global leadership. During those troubling times, US presidents would regularly caution political leaders to not “bet against America”. And for so long, very few did.

But today’s predicament seems different. The demons run deep, and the US is struggling to navigate this precarious stretch in its national journey.

Too exaggerated, you say? Let’s consider some of the alarm bells that are ringing across the US :

An increasingly bitter, divided, and polarized country
A political culture that is becoming more extreme, nasty, and gridlocked
Institutions constantly under attack
The corrosiveness of unlimited big money interests.
Contested election results, and voter suppression
An inability to put difficult policy issues (ie. abortion, guns, capital punishment, etc.) behind them
A country still badly torn by race.
A nation turning away more and more immigrants and refugees, contradicting one of the very cornerstones of the “American Dream”
People being constantly gunned down in their communities by the easy access to the hundreds of millions of guns — and worse, after every shooting, nothing changes
A deadly disconnection between the police and African Americans
An economic gap between the ultra-rich and everyone else which is staggering and frightening.
And a country, where a healthy slice of the electorate, is prepared to yet again support the second coming of Trump
Frankly, US democracy faces a steep climb.

Moreover, it is hemorrhaging respect around the world. People and nations are no longer assuming on the help, goodwill, and strength of America. Many are reassessing their policies and strategies. American leadership and exceptionalism are on the line.

And that is frightening, because if America is unable to be the world’s locomotive, the so-called leader of the free world, then who?

In his speech, Biden declared that “we’re in a battle for the soul of America”. He’s right, and it’s a battle that can still be won, but only if the forces of democracy mobilize and concretely push back. Nice words alone won’t cut it.

However, this battle is not only about America. The fallout will also severely impact the world, and none more so than Canada. Make no mistake — if the US was to falter, the Canadian “soul” would be threatened. After all, we are the closest to them — physically, socially, culturally, and commercially. As close friends and allies, continued tremors across US society could shake our foundations, if we are unable to adapt.

This great superpower has served as our protector when the world got nasty. For generations, it has been an ingenious society, teeming with industrial, technological, medical, scientific, and cultural breakthroughs, from which we have benefited immensely. A country, that despite its moments of foreign policy hypocrisy, could be counted on defending the causes of liberty and justice around the world. Not perfect, by any means. But indispensable, as they would readily tell us.

That is why it is incumbent on our national government and parliament, to systemically contemplate the far-reaching consequences on Canada, of an American Empire whose sunset may soon be at hand. There has been a recent flurry of thoughtful opinion pieces which have argued for the same. They all have been troubled by what they see and feel. I modestly add my name to that growing list.

In short, our national government must find an appropriate governance vehicle that will not be cumbersome or partisan, that will be inclusive of all federal political parties, that will engage all provinces, and that will include leading experts, not just government officials, from a relevant number of disciplines.

The work of this group must be ongoing and long-term and transcend national election results. And its findings should inform future government actions and policies, so that we are well prepared to defend and promote our national prosperity, regardless of what transpires with our friends to the south.

Again, the US is still capable of winning its battle. But, at the same time, history has taught us that all empires have an expiry date.

Yes, it will be extremely delicate to have the discourse that I and others are proposing, when our US friends will be watching and listening. I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for that.

But I also know we run a far greater risk if we remain indifferent to the seismic forces and changes blowing across America.

Photo: iStock

Mr. Marchi is a founding Board Member of the Pearson Centre. He was a senior federal minister and ambassador to the WTO.