Canadian COVID part-2

[Montanan]

Unvaccinated truckers, a very small minority of Canadians, disrupting the nation's supply chain, transport and commute routes.

Percentage of the population vaccinated in Canada 79%, Boosted: 42.2%

Percentage of eligible population vaccinated [over age 5] 83.1%, Boosted: 44.4%.

The coastal provinces having higher vaccination percentages than the inner provinces.

[Greg K]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Globe & Mail: Trucker convoy demonstrations spread across Canada as counter-protests call for an end to disruptions

"Protests that started in Ottawa last week have spread to major cities across Canada this weekend, as demonstrators call for an end to pandemic restrictions and say they’re ready to continue blocking streets for weeks or even months until their demands are met."

That's excellent news! I support them wholeheartedly. Thanks for sharing, Mike.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Globe & Mail: Trucker convoy demonstrations spread across Canada as counter-protests call for an end to disruptions

And for a broader discussion (The Conversation):
Majority of Canadians disagree with ‘freedom convoy’ on vaccine mandates and lockdowns

I think this is the more potent story:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/convo...ship-1.6339582

People are severing friendships over convoy protest, with some saying it shows 'true colours'

I'm not sure why that is, but it's true for me as well. While I might try engage in discourse with someone I disagree with over Covid in general, this convoy thing is just not discussable. I will keep my opinions to myself and hope it resolves itself sooner rather than later. And I really really hope it doesn't turn into a whole border thing because that won't do the upcoming cruising season much good.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

...And I really really hope it doesn't turn into a whole border thing because that won't do the upcoming cruising season much good.

I too am beginning to worry that this undemocratic, authoritarian response by the few are going to disrupt the coming cruising season as well.

[boatman61]

Pot Kettle Black

[TrentePieds]

Personally I can think of about a dozen offenses against the Motor Vehicle Act of the sundry provinces that the truckers are breaking, as well as a number of municipal statutes :-)

Each mayor, being chairman of an agency equivalent to the Vancouver Police Board, could simply instruct his police force to issue tickets under the appropriate provincial an municipal acts. There is no dispute that the offenses have been committed! Those offenses are NOT a federal matter at all!

Obviously it wouldn't take long before a hot-headed trucker would then assault a peace officer. And THEN we'd have him with knobs and handles :-)! THAT would be a federal matter under the Criminal code.

Does anyone want a rerun of the Regina Riots in 1935 or of "Bloody Sunday" in Vancouver in 1937?

Nah - didn't think so :-)! But there might be merit in reviewing what we remember about the "On-to-Ottawa" trek and the causes of it.

TP

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Personally I can think of about a dozen offenses against the Motor Vehicle Act of the sundry provinces that the truckers are breaking, as well as a number of municipal statutes :-)

Indeed, there have now been nearly 800 tickets issued, with 60 active criminal investigations, include a dozen hate crime accusations.

Globe&Mail: Ottawa mayor declares state of emergency over trucker convoy protests

In a late-afternoon release, the city said Mayor Jim Watson’s decision reflected the “serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents” from protesters encamped through much of the downtown core.

[Lake-Effect]

Protesting against Canadian COVID restrictions NOW, is like calling for an end to darkness about 10 min before the sunrise.

Regardless, the hospitalization trends are still down, and if that continues, this is what will allow us to relax the restrictions.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Protesting against Canadian COVID restrictions NOW, is like calling for an end to darkness about 10 min before the sunrise.

Regardless, the hospitalization trends are still down, and if that continues, this is what will allow us to relax the restrictions.

Yes indeed, hospital rates rose steeply and now seem to be coming down just as fast. Nearly all provinces have been moving towards easing Omicron restrictions. They've been doing this long before these protests, and as far as I can tell, have not changed their timelines ... which are coming fast.

This gives me hope that I'll be sailing, or at least working on my boat, this summer. The only thing that might derail this (outside the rise of a new, nastier variant) are these protests.

It's pretty clear these protests are not about Covid restrictions, but more likely about building a political movement. The organizers are just using Covid-19 as the trigger to tap into a lot of disparate anger (and the money that brings).

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/coronavirustracker/

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

In terms of what to expect, an article in today's NYT discussed the subject. Here's a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/o...demic-end.html. It is an opinion piece.

A difference no one seems to comment on, but which I think changes things is that we are inundated with information these days, we share it, and we are far more aware of how this pandemic is affecting people all over our world. Fwiw, my sense is that this increases fears, generally. And one affect of that is that some people delay needed medical procedures, especially if the procedure is distasteful in some way. This is not a staffing problem, it is from too much fear around, and that many are not able to self-soothe the same ways as they were used to.

Ann

Covid arrived at the peak of social media frenzy , trumpian mis information and infected a generation of people who felt the “ state “ should fix every problem.

Then once you left ( largely ill informed ) public health officials take political decisions everything is the “ precautionary principle “.

But we don’t live life on the precautionary principle , we evaluate risk ( consciously or unconsciously ) every minute of the day

As was joked here , put public health in charge of road safety , deaths would be zero in a year , it’s just there would be no cars .

[Mike OReilly]

CBC: Court grants injunction to silence honking in downtown Ottawa for 10 days

An Ottawa judge has granted an interim injunction seeking to silence the honking horns that have plagued residents of downtown Ottawa for the past 11 days.

"Tooting a horn is not an expression of any great thought I'm aware of," said Justice Hugh McLean during a court hearing in Ottawa Monday.

This will come as a great relief to the people who live anywhere near downtown Ottawa. I'm currently a few dozen blocks away, and I can still hear it at times. I can't imagine living anywhere nearby. It must be torture.

[Macblaze]

This was posted without attribution by someone from CTV but...
(https://twitter.com/KevinCTV/status/1490743614942720002)

The future looks good for you Mike... almost 96%!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

This was posted without attribution by someone from CTV but...
(https://twitter.com/KevinCTV/status/1490743614942720002)

The future looks good for you Mike... almost 96%!

Yes indeed. Newfoundland is leading the way, but the whole country -- even Alberta if you can believe it -- is amazingly good.

Here's the actual source:
https://health-infobase.canada.ca/co...tion-coverage/

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Yes indeed. Newfoundland is leading the way, but the whole country -- even Alberta if you can believe it -- is amazingly good.

Here's the actual source:
https://health-infobase.canada.ca/co...tion-coverage/

96% in Newfoundland: Amazing!

[JoetheCobbler]

This just in

https://babylonbee.com/news/trudeau-...with-truckers/