CRACKS IN WESTERN DEMOCRATIC FOUNDATIONS

Day 3 of 21 Days to Forming A Writing Habit

Cracks are forming in the foundations of Western democratic institutions, as an ever-growing chasm across the left-right political spectrum is becoming more and more hostile. This is not a problem being felt in any one country but is appearing in varying degrees across a swath of well-established democracies.

The latest appearance of democratic tremors has occurred in Canada.

On 14 February 2022, the Canadian government of Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time since the legislation replaced the War Measures Act in 1988. This was done in response to a protest convoy of semi-trucks converging in Ottawa and a handful of CAN/US border crossings being blocked.

The “Freedom Convoy” was calling for the lifting of a federal requirement that all Canadian commercial truckers be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to enter the U.S.

The trucks had travelled west and east across Canada, encountering sizeable showings of support as they passed through cities and provinces during the harshest months of Canadian winter. What started out as a single demand from truckers grew to become a broad protest movement against all vaccination-related restrictions.

As the convoy entered Ottawa they took up position in front of Parliament Hill and surrounding streets of downtown Ottawa. There has been no direct confrontation between police and what is often a jubilant atmosphere of Canada flag-waving protesters.

Support protest sprung up in many cities across Canada, though none have established themselves in a stationary position as in Ottawa. A handful of Canadian border crossings were also blocked. The most significant blockade was at the Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, and over which roughly 25% of all Canada/US trade crosses.

For three weeks and across all the protest sites there have only been a few dozen arrests, mostly for mischief. The most significant arrests were at the Coutts, Alberta border crossing where police made arrests of a group who possessed weapons and body armour with the alleged intent to cause harm to life.

As of late Tuesday, 15 February, protests at all border blockades have disbanded. The blockade at Windsor was the only one that saw the actions of police used to remove protesters in order to reopen the critical economic link. Arrests were made, but no violent confrontation occurred.

Compare this to the 06 January 2021 storming of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC where an unlawful takeover of the site of the U.S. Legislative Branch required Representatives and Senators, including the Vice President, to hurriedly be escorted to safety by armed security officials. Protesters were attempting to nullify the certification of the US Presidential election results. This event witnessed five deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The two events are hardly comparable in severity, yet the Canadian government felt justified to invoke the “law of last resort” against a population largely tired of two years living under some of the harshest COVID restrictions in the world.

Are these democratic cracks being formed by the democratic institutions themselves?

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