So, Ottawa police can let the horses rest in the stables, keep the pepper spray and riot gear in storage, and stand down..Meticulous planning for a potential 2023 convoy protest in Ottawa was all for naught. Now Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs can sic his troops on real criminals, which is what police officers sign up to do. Trampling peaceful protesters while on horseback wasn’t in their training manuals..Why, it was just on December 19 Stubbs briefed Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe on his efforts to thwart a repeat of Freedom Convoy 2022 peaceful protests in the capital..That included gathering intelligence, developing an operational plan; lining up tow trucks to haul vehicles away; coordinating with the OPP, RCMP, and Ontario Association of Police; and a “communications” plan to tell obliging cryin’ Karens in the legacy media what to report about those really very awful truckers. Then on December 25, World Unity Convoy 2023 announced it won’t roll into Ottawa as initially planned..Instead, it’s Winnipeg Manitoba-bound. From February 17-21 it will celebrate Freedom Convoy 2022’s achievements..Support is flowing in from across the world. More than 400 groups have signed on..Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must be wailing between belting out bad karaoke lyrics beside a piano he found, and possibly belting back fine rum while Christmas holidaying in Jamaica..Where did he go wrong in his failure to crush Canadians on Parliament Hill last February?.Freezing them out of work and bank accounts, leveling hefty fines, arresting them, trying to label them a terrorist group, and leaving a stain on Canadian history by invoking the Emergencies [War Measures] Act for no good reason, didn’t drive them into submission. After all that plotting, how can this be happening again?.In true Canadian spirit — that Trudeau and his cabal flanked by the Jagmeet Singh’s NDP despise —the injustice only drove them to gather again..Now this presents a quandary for Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative Premier Heather Stefanson..Manitoba’s provincial election is next October 3. All polls lead to the same bad conclusion — Stefanson’s popularity ranks last among provincial party leaders..Why? It goes beyond the overwhelmed intensive care units, long hospital wait times, and diagnostic and surgical delays Manitobans suffered during the pandemic..Manitobans are bitter Stefanson marched in lockstep with Trudeau and Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam by implementing some of the harshest, prolonged mandates in Canada. An improving economy and spending aren’t moving Stefanson’s popularity needle up..A December Research.Co. poll found 75% of Canadians believe the worst of the pandemic is behind us..Last week Tam, who likely sees her grip on the Canadian psyche slipping away, said the government must pump more money into combatting misinformation about vaccines and pandemic measures. Just not the misinformation she spews..What will Stefanson do when the convoy rolls in? Will she hide like Trudeau and former premier Jason Kenney did? We know Kenney was ousted largely for his extreme COVID-19 measures. She knows that too..Will she have the courage — and respect — to address the Unity Convoy? If Stefanson isn’t out there with a ‘Friendly Manitoba’ welcome mat, she might as well start cleaning out her desk. NDP leader Wab Kinew will be the next premier..In a Facebook post Thursday, Ron Clark, a Unity Convoy participant — not an organizer, just a man “trying to protect my family” — said politicians are invited to attend..Voters would be wise to record attendance of politicians who did — or didn’t — show up in Winnipeg to support Canadians fighting for freedom..Tam’s plea for more money is a foreboding sign the federal government has no plan to relent. And Trudeau is a petulant one with contempt for Canadians who dare stand up to him..There’s nothing more he’d like to see — based on his leadership track record — than Canadians divided..Clark stressed unity in the convoy. And that all decisions are group decisions. There’s no single leader..“We are working with the Winnipeg police. We've reached out to them. We are going to be transparent. We will not hide anything.”.The disenchanted must quit whining about the convoy not going to Ottawa. Meeting in Winnipeg is “to make it affordable for both ends of our country to meet in the middle.”.“You're more than welcome to go to Ottawa and see what happens. You won't be able to get any vehicles in there. Nobody's going to come out and listen to you. The police are just going to pick you off one by one,” said Clark..The Freedom Convoy gave Canadians and the world hope. It was instrumental in moving the federal and provincial governments to lift crippling mandates..Canadians paid dearly for the unwarranted tyranny inflicted on them..Clark read a sobering summary, written by his wife Amanda Clark, of all that Canadians lost — and why the fight against oppression isn’t over..“The World Unity Convoy 2023 is a multi-culture grassroots movement. We are a collaboration of people around the world made-up of all ages, religions, colours, cultures, genders, professions and skills. We may all be different but share common aspirations. We all matter, are valued, deserved to be treated fairly, and informed truthfully. And our lives matter,” she wrote..“What have we lost, they say. Our rights to privacy as we are monitored, divided, fact, checked, watched, and separated, all while our information is given to corporations around the world.”.“Our right to teach or make decisions for our children. You risk facing criminal charges.”.“In many cases our rights to bodily autonomy are being pressured into complying so we can keep our jobs.”.“Our right to help others legally only to be treated criminally. Are assets restricted or taken away based on your compliance?” Debt our children's children will be left to pay.”.“Our governments have failed us because they have not been following a transparent, fair, and honest democracy.”.“Our elders have been locked up, mistreated, not given a choice as many died alone.”.Government decided what arms “you can or cannot carry” with “no regard to the First Nations or the hunting traditions.”.She noted climate change policies phasing out necessary oil and gas resources, with tax going “to nourishing other foreign economies.”.“The list goes on and continues to grow daily on what we've lost or continued to lose.”.The Unity Convoy logo on flags will be flown across the world..Said Ron Clark: “There are countries that are standing with us on the same day.… They want to be a part of it.”.It’s possible this convoy might be bigger than the last..“I'm sure there's a lot more people right now feeling the effect. Their grocery bills, their electric bills, gas bills, the gas pump. Everybody is feeling it right now.”.Clark promised more info to come.
