Trucker Protest Highlights COVID Struggles In Canada

It is apparent that the Anti-Mandate protests in Ottawa, and at numerous Canada-U.S. border crossings has swelled well beyond an anti-vaccine trucker protest. Most of the protesters seen now are people who have been adversely affected by numerous lockdown measures.

A solid two-thirds of polled Canadians are against those anti-vaccine protests that have morphed into highway and border blockades - a strong majority say the protesters are wrong. But to the lifting of Lockdown mandates issue, a growing number Canadians believe those on the protester lines might have a point. When it comes to Canada’s lockdown history over the past two years, relative to other countries, Canadian measures have been far more severe than just about anywhere else.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, better known as the CFIB, has taken an official stance against the blockades that is only worsening supply shortages. The CFIB represents nearly 100,000 small and medium-sized independent business enterprises, including about 500 in the trucking sector. But CFIB president Dan Kelly says Canadian lockdown measures have been severe, relative to other countries around the world.

“Some jurisdictions outside of Canada have been using lockdowns and other restrictions, but nowhere near to the degree that we have in this country. Restaurants, indoor dining, in the city of Toronto, will have been locked down 430 days since the pandemic started. I’ve yet to find another example of a longer lockdown anywhere in the entire world.”

Chief Public Health official, Dr. Theresa Tam, has said that in the face of numerous variants, vaccine mandates should be totally re-evaluated. And in Parliament on Tuesday interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen told Prime Minister Trudeau, point blank: end the vaccine mandates across Canada.

“Dr. Tam has said that vaccine mandates should be re-evaluated. Countries like Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Israel, the Czech Republic, UK, Spain, Denmark, they’re all removing restrictions and mandates, and they’re all countries that have a lower vaccine rate than Canada. End the mandates, end the restrictions, quickly.”

CFIB president Dan Kelly said Canada’s severe and restrictive lockdown measures have caused unprecedented levels of labor shortages for Canada’s service sector.

“The labor market is a mess right now. For those business’ that have borne the brunt of the pandemic restrictions, that’s retail, hospitality, the service sector, they have had to lay off, rehire, lay off, rehire. And its little wonder why their employees are saying ‘nuts to this, I’m going to go and look for a job in another sector.’ That’s not the fault of the business, that’s the fault of government restrictions.”

So, most Canadians are against the blockades. But those protest events may have pushed a government that many Canadians do believe has become overly addicted to lockdown mandates.

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