An orderly and tense country – the reputation is really lackluster – Canada has rocked in recent weeks, rocked by a wave of protest like never seen before. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, disgruntled truckers paralyzed the quiet capital, Ottawa, and shut down traffic at points along the border, a crucial point for trade with the United States. Government and police froze (which is not difficult there), not knowing how to react, hoping that the confusion would be overcome by fatigue. This was not the case, and on Monday the 14th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked, for the first time since its creation fifty years ago, the Emergencies Act, which grants him exceptional powers to restrict civil liberties. “We will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue. It’s time to go home,” he said.

The trigger for the protest was a government executive order requiring all truck drivers to cross the US border to present proof of vaccination. People cringed, more because of bureaucracy than ideological delicacy. It didn’t take long for the idea of ​​a “freedom train” to hit Ottawa and press for the end of the demand to be publicized. The trucks arrived on January 28 and with them came chaos. In a short time, another dam was installed on the bridge that connects the Canadian Windsor to the American Detroit, by which 8,000 trucks pass every day. The week-long ban closed factories and assembly plants and emptied supermarket shelves, until the police decided to act: reinforced by 1,000 other officers, they broke through the barrier, arresting those resisting the order to leave and towing vehicles. After that, other smaller blockages on the border (in one of them a small armory was found) emptied. In Ottawa, however, until Thursday the 17th, the protest was still going strong.

With no barriers in sight, with a few policemen watching (the much criticized police commander Peter Sloly has resigned), the drivers parked some 400 lorries in the streets around Parliament and settled inside, with beds, the heating and other comforts. By then, the movement had already been picked up by the obscurantist right – with an increasing number of countries suspending the latest anti-coronavirus protocols and fraying one of their main flags, the gang tried to seize the chance that presented itself. presented to them to get their mouths trombone. A crowd of supporters joined the truckers, demanding an end to restrictions on Trudeau’s outright deposition, in a festive atmosphere. Gallons of fuel circulated everywhere, although stationary vehicles were banned and horns blared non-stop (another prohibited act), much to the dismay of the area’s 15,000 residents.

Among the apparent leaders of the movement, who gave press conferences in hotels, there are very few truck drivers. Several were ex-police or military, which would explain the well-oiled organizational scheme, which included food distribution, portable toilets and quickly adopted slogans. Former President Donald Trump has expressed enthusiastic support for “great Canadian truckers” who have also received incentives from billionaire Elon Musk. Leaked data from a fundraising platform for the movement revealed donations totaling $8 million, half from Canada, half from the United States.

In several countries, messages on social networks called for demonstrations in support of the “freedom train”, without much support – not least because, in many of them, restrictions have already been lifted. In Canada itself, several provinces, with the vaccinated population and declining infections, are also beginning to suspend the requirement for a mask and proof of vaccination. To dehydrate the “freedom train,” Trudeau has powers such as breaking secrecy and freezing bank transactions, banning protests, revoking the licenses of rebel truckers and barring them from entering the United States, among other actions. Police have warned they will arrest people and tow away any vehicle that disturbs the peace. As long as the protest lasts, however, the furious right will crush the pandemic to the last drop.

Published in VEJA on February 23, 2022, issue 2777