Freedom convoy and foreign-made Canadian flags

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Since the arrival of the ‘freedom convoy’ in Ottawa, and the chaos surrounding a protest at the Parliament buildings there, there have been smaller but very determined trucker convoys in cities and border crossings right across Canada. The original protest was against the vaccine mandate on truckers crossing the border, instigated by the governments of Canada and United States in January.

It seemed unnecessary and unfair after truckers had done such a wonderful job keeping supply chains open during the pandemic, and were never seen as a high risk of spreading the virus. However, the Ottawa protest has morphed into something quite different, with voices from different quarters raised against policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; simply put, many people are pandemic-fatigued, fed-up and impatient. There are vociferous calls for his ouster, and he has responded by issuing ultimatums to the protesters, and using derogatory terminology against them. Obviously this is the completely wrong tactic, resulting in an escalation of border blockades, bringing threats to the livelihoods and well-being of so many workers and consumers on both sides of the border.

Looking at the television pictures on every newscast, it seems that the only Canadians with the least hint of a smile on their faces these days would be those who sell all those flags. The PM emphasises that he will never surrender to those who fly flags bearing swastikas and Confederate symbols, but they are a minuscule minority. The overwhelming thousands of flags on display being the Canadian Maple Leaf, although one protester at a border crossing flew a Jamaican flag with the head of Bob Marley superimposed, presumably because of his timeless protest songs.

There are supporting protests with some Canadian flags displayed in Australia and New Zealand, and on truck convoys travelling to the European Union Parliament in Belgium. There’s even talk of a truck convoy at the Super Bowl in Los Angeles, so look out for even more flags there.

I’m hoping our PM will eventually stop playing the White Knight and dismount from his high horse to mediate an end to this situation. However, an unanswered question will be how much money was made selling all those flags, and were the majority of Canadian flags made in China?

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada