Trudeau failed to do job
In his response to my previous letter, Bruce McGeachy says I “suggested Mr. Trudeau failed to formally engage the protestors in negotiations.” I fear that is not correct: I did not suggest that as much as state it clearly, without equivocation. Mr. McGeachy then asks how the prime minister could “negotiate with a leaderless mob,” ignoring the fact that the initial protestors had leaders who directly sought an interview with their government, and in particular Mr. Trudeau himself, to explain their grievances and seek a negotiated settlement. The proof that there was leadership is easy to find. Mister Trudeau had those leaders arrested and held without bail, so it is obvious that he knew who they were and where to find them.
Let’s be perfectly clear, then. By failing to meet with the truckers when they arrived to address their prime minister about the privation being created by his government’s actions Justin Trudeau failed to do his job. He neglected his duty as prime minister of all Canadians and chose to ignore a large number of aggrieved citizens with a valid grievance who had travelled far at their own expense to appeal for his assistance. Had he done so when they first arrived there would have been no ongoing protests for the agitators who showed up later to muddy the waters, and no need for the imposition of what amounted to martial law.
As I said before, I had no intention of speaking to the validity of the truckers’ position. My disappointment is that the prime minister and his supporters in Parliament mishandled the situation dreadfully. If, as Mr. McGeachy claims, “time dictated quick action to free the community,” the quickest action would have been to meet the protestors on arrival, hear their grievance and work out a solution. Instead, Justin Trudeau bungled the situation. I will “suggest” that this was due to arrogance and self righteous conceit rather than mere stupidity.
As for the issue of “lawlessness” Mr. McGeachy raises, I will quote the great Thomas Jefferson: “When the rich oppress the poor by law, the poor oppress the rich by violence.” The truckers and their families were, in fact, being deprived of a living and should be commended for oppressing the rich by merely plugging the streets and blowing their horns. Instead of whining about that the prime minister should be counting his blessings and applauding their restraint. I won’t hold my breath.
David Lowther
Mesachie Lake