On Sunday morning Anthony Furey of Postmedia tweeted something that was very simplistic, yet powerful and true.

“There are so many people talking about possible solutions to the situation in Ottawa who leave out the easiest, quickest, and most peaceful option: End the mandates. It’s a moderate and simple request that public health officials would clearly greenlight, as would public opinion.”

As the convoy and protest in Ottawa enters its second week, it’s already been effective as far as ousting a horrible leader of the opposition Conservative Party of Canada. It’s revealed to everyone that Canada is not governed by anybody. We have figureheads in charge who either don’t know how to govern or, simply, don’t want to. And, they are unopposed as far as the other political Parties are concerned. The efforts have also spread across the country to include protests of significance in nine Canadian cities. That civil disobedience has resulted in Alberta Premier Jason Kenney making a statement about dropping vaccine passports, perhaps, as soon as this week and people in Saskatchewan are feeling optimistic Scott Moe’s government will do the same although Moe has been coy about setting an actual date and one has to wonder if the convoy is broken up will Moe actually ‘forget’ (as he has many times over the last two years) he has made tough statements about ending restrictions in the near future.

Canadians, myself included, were largely in agreement back in March 2020 when authorities suggested we needed to lock down for two weeks to slow the spread but when two weeks became two months and then in the Fall when two weeks became indefinitely it was very clear to many that politicians and health tyrants had fallen in love with newfound power and weren’t about to give it up voluntarily. Any person paying attention to what ‘crazy’ people like me were saying are aware of claims that when freedom is given up through the voting process, quite often that freedom is only restored through violence. Many scoffed at such a thing, all the while putting faith in politicians and health leaders across the country that all of this was out of necessity and that as soon as it would be safe to do so, we’d all go back to pre-Covid life.

That has not happened and it’s very clear pre-Covid life is never coming back. No matter what happens in the days and weeks ahead; even if we find ourselves in a situation where vaccine passports and masks go away the reality is simply this: governments in this country will find a way to maintain a form of control that they didn’t have in February 2020. You can bank on that. Nevertheless, any amount of ‘freedom’ that is gained back will come from this opposition generated by the convoy to Ottawa and my hope is that it doesn’t escalate but the longer it draws out, the greater the chances of violence. Which is why Furey’s tweet resonates with me. Protesters are simply asking for life back. Why is that considered such a crazy demand? Look around. Canada may be the most restricted ‘free’ country on the planet. There is no need for it to be as such.

I am thankful that, as of today, there has been no violence of note at any of the national protests. Winnipeg did have a situation where a person, who is unable to stay in his house unless the government tells him to, drove his SUV over a number of ‘freedom demonstrators’ but that is really the only incident that can be verified. Most of the other claims made in mainstream media and by radical left wing politicians are unfounded and have little to no evidence to back them up.

When left wing protests hit the United States in the summer of 2020, entire downtowns of major cities were burned. This included Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland to name a few. In Canada, we’ve seen churches burned to the ground and Liberal officials declaring that it’s ‘understandable’ as to why this would take place and nobody has been apprehended or charged. It was just accepted as something that was necessary to deal with the injustices of the past. Yet, having your freedom taken away isn’t something that causes politicians to be ‘understanding’ when it comes to the peak level of frustration? The Terry Fox statue, which has been the subject of ‘desecration’ during the convoy because it was draped with a Canadian flag and a freedom sign was also ‘desecrated’ earlier in the pandemic when someone placed a mask over his face, which was a symbol to promote people to wear their face coverings. The media never said the statue was ‘desecrated’ but rather it was ‘adorned’ with a mask. I ask you, what’s the difference?

Canada has been very lucky so far. Protesters are making their point. They are seeing change. Public opinion is on their side. There has been no violence. The demands are reasonable. We want our life back. Life is, basically, normal in the United States and numerous nations around the world are now returning to the way things should be. Evidence is also mounting and is greater than ever about the death and damage restrictions caused. Even if these punitive rules ‘help’ curb virus spread, the collateral damage is far worse.

A free country doesn’t mean scared people need to go out. A free country means those people can continue to stay home and they can do as much or as little as they please. Nobody is being forced to do anything. If your argument is that you feel coerced to leave the house then think about what those who opposed vaccination are feeling like today. I recognize some of you are a lost cause on this comparison so I’ll leave it at that.

It’s a simple end - give back what never should have been taken in the first place. This simple decree would result in everyone dispersing and, maybe, it would also produce the single, largest national party Canada has ever seen. And you know what? We need it.

I know I’m getting ahead of myself here, but once restrictions are lifted, we need to take steps to ensure this never, ever, ever happens again.

Stackhouse Soapbox

SIMPLE SOLUTION