Elementary, My Dear Watson

Ottawa's panicked mayor needs to place the blame squarely where it belongs: on the federal government

Why has Jim Watson, the mayor of Ottawa, twisted himself out of shape over the Truckers’ Freedom Convoy?

Today, February 6, he declared the city to be in a state of emergency. What’s the emergency? No crimes have been committed. Nobody has been murdered or harmed. Nobody has even been making threats—except for Ottawa’s police chief, who has bizarrely threatened that anyone bringing fuel, food or other assistance to the truckers will be charged. 

Charged with what? Since when has giving someone assistance been a crime? 

Are the mayor and police chief completely unaware of the Canadian Bill of Rights?  Here are some excerpts: 

1 It is hereby recognized and declared that in Canada there have existed and shall continue to exist…the following human rights and fundamental freedoms, namely,

(a) the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law…

(d) freedom of speech;

(e) freedom of assembly and association; and

(f) freedom of the press.

2 Every law of Canada shall, unless it is expressly declared by an Act of the Parliament of Canada that it shall operate notwithstanding the Canadian Bill of Rights, be so construed and applied as not to abrogate, abridge or infringe or to authorize the abrogation, abridgment or infringement of any of the rights or freedoms herein recognized and declared, and in particular, no law of Canada shall be construed or applied so as to:

(a) authorize or effect the arbitrary detention, imprisonment or exile of any person…

Mr. Mayor, it really IS elementary. The Criminal Code must be construed and applied in a way that does not abridge freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

And if you don’t care much for the Bill of Rights, these rights are repeated for good measure in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The truckers are there in your city ONLY because the Prime Minister has imposed upon them an utterly unnecessary requirement of getting a series of injections, the safety of which is highly suspect. They’ll leave as soon as the Prime Minister recognizes the error of his ways and reverses the mandate.

The border restrictions between Canada and the US are utterly irrational. An unvaccinated Canadian trucker can drive from the Newfoundland to British Columbia without hindrance, and without needing a “vaccine passport”. An unvaccinated US trucker can likewise drive from coast to coast within his own country, without a “vaccine passport”. What earthly difference can it make if either of them crosses the border to drive from coast to coast on the other side? 

There’s no evidence that truckers have ever been responsible for spreading COVID from one country to another. They spend most of their time alone in their trucks. If they were such dangerous carriers of illness, why would they be allowed to go anywhere within their own countries? These restrictions make no sense, as far as health is concerned. They make sense ONLY if you consider them part of a larger scheme to impose tyranny on the citizens of this formerly free country. 

It really IS elementary, Mr. Watson. Instead of pestering the truckers, you should turn around and get to the root of the problem—the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. That’s why the truckers are there, to show you and the people of Ottawa the reality of the situation and who is really to blame. 

The truckers aren’t to blame for the city of Ottawa’s problems. The federal government is to blame. Please place the blame squarely where it belongs. Persuade the federal government to reverse its mandates, and all will be quiet in Ottawa once again.