I’m a pretty cynical guy in matters of the state. My low expectations of the government are rarely misplaced, and it’s not often that I find myself surprised. But this week managed to achieve that rare feat as we observe the collapse of the authority of the state in the face of disparate, small groups of radical activists wantonly breaking the law across the country. This callow dereliction of duty on the part of the state – from ground level police officers all the way to the Prime Minister’s Office – in a crisis which should have been easily resolved within a day or two is galling..The Coastal Gaslink Pipeline project did everything right. They consulted with and got agreements from all 20 of the First Nations along the route of the pipeline. They jumped through every regulatory hoop, did every study, and got every license in a process that took years. The pipeline is supported by 85 per cent of the effected First Nations population, and even 8 out of 13 of the often intransigent hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en band. Hundreds of local indigenous peoples are looking forward to gainful employment on the project. This pipeline should have been a slam dunk yet here we are with the state crippled in abject fear due to a handful of extreme protesters scattered throughout the nation..It needs to be noted that B.C. Premier John Horgan is reaping what he’s sown right now. In opposition and in government, Horgan declared that the hereditary chiefs had an effective veto over the TransMountain pipeline expansion. Those same chiefs – now endowed by Horgan’s legitimization – are invoking the same veto over a project that he supports. More so than any other leader over the last week, Horgan’s freedom of action has been utterly paralyzed..Thousands of jobs are threatened while countless millions of dollars are lost while criminal activists block rail lines throughout the country. I say “criminal” because it has been a week at the time of this writing since injunctions were issued to remove the blockades from railways. Free expression does not extend to illegally blocking the movement of people and goods through rail infrastructure. We shouldn’t even need to seek injunctions in order to clarify that. Still, the authorities remain paralyzed and the illegal blockades remain..Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took some time out from his galavanting around the globe in the pursuit of a vanity seat on the U.N. Security Council to address the issue. He offered a personal letter to protesters along with a promise to have government cabinet ministers personally meet with them. Unsurprisingly, the illegal blockades remain unmoved..The fear of these blockaders is inexplicable. Most of the blockades have little more than a dozen people at them sitting around on lawn chairs while burning pallets. When questioned, it becomes clear that these blockaders don’t often know what the issue is. They often don’t know that it is not oil that will be transported through the pipeline in question (it’s natural gas), and could more-often-than-not, could not even point out the impacted region on a map. They are simply chronic malcontents who are taking advantage of an issue in order to vent. They are little better than hockey rioters. As easy as it would appear to enforce the law and clear these people out, the illegal blockades remain..There is a subculture of people who are discontent in life and who will gleefully set up protest camps at the drop of a hat. We saw this with the “Occupy” and “Idle No More” protests several years ago. These people don’t have anything better to do. They gain a personal sense of purpose from these protests, and sitting around a blockade is much easier to do than seeking gainful employment. These miscreants can’t be reasoned with. They will not leave until they are removed by force, and authorities know this from experience. It will only get worse for waiting. By the time politicians and police get serious about moving them out, they will consider themselves legitimate squatters..These protesters can best be compared to children having a temper tantrum. When parents indulge a child having a fit through lavishing attention and heaping bribes upon them, what happens? The protesters are only becoming emboldened as a cowardly state pleads with them to step aside. These children need a time out, rather than a reward and that can only be done if and when the law is enforced..The precedent being set as the state cowers is nothing less than disastrous. The uprising over this simple pipeline is merely a taste of what we are going to see if and when shovels ever actually hit the ground in British Columbia on the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project. Professional activists are gleefully giggling over this national paralysis in the face of protesters as they know that they will be able to take the nation hostage with impunity..The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is different from the Coastal Gaslink project in many ways. The Trans Mountain line will carry liquids rather than gas, and it will be passing near some populated areas which are loaded with activists who are eager to try and stop it. Protests are going to be fierce and large and it is clear that only a strong show of force on the part of the government will keep this project going. It is hard to believe that the state has the will to follow through on that today..A nation is nothing if it refuses to protect the interests of its citizens through the enforcement of laws. A nation has to ensure that the ability to move people and goods is protected. A nation has to enforce its own laws in order to allow elected officials to govern. The criminals blocking MLAs and MPS from entering government buildings should be arrest on the spot..As we continue to be held hostage by a small number of extremists who are acting illegally with impunity, one can only conclude one thing. Canada is broken..Cory Morgan is a columnist for the Western Standard
