As Ambassador Bridge Liberated on Second Attempt, Ottawa Residents Fight Back

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After a second attempt, police have finally liberated the Ambassador Bridge. Meanwhile, Ottawa residents are fighting back against the terrorists.

As we go into the third week of the terrorist occupation, it seems that developments are coming in fast. Yesterday, we reported on the injunction that was granted to clear the Ambassador Bridge. It seemed that while police won’t enforce the rule of law, an injunction backed by big auto and the Biden administration would finally get police to act. After all, there is such thing as “contempt of course”.

Yesterday, police did move in, giving plenty of warning that the terrorists would be arrested if they continue to hold the bridge hostage. Police did say that they did get multiple vehicles towed, though some reports suggest that one was removed because of mechanical issues rather than the massive number of laws the vehicles owner was breaking at the time. When it seemed like it was all over, the police mysteriously pulled back and the bridge remained in the hands of terrorists. Police were asked why the bridge was still in the hands of terrorists and the response was that people were on foot still and that police don’t have resources to deal with that. Apparently, handcuffs and vocal cords were in short supply.

Today, it seemed that police were basically ordered back onto the scene to finish the job. The police now say that about a dozen people were arrested and the bridge has finally been liberated from the terrorists. From CBC:

Twelve people were arrested when officers from multiple police forces advanced on Sunday morning to clear out the remaining protesters and break up a days-long occupation near the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont.

“Of those 12 arrests, there was no violence from the protesters and the officers did not have to use use of force,” said Windsor police Sgt. Steve Betteridge.

He said about seven to 10 vehicles were towed and that police hoped to have the roads open and traffic moving later this afternoon. He did not know when the bridge would reopen.

Most of those who were arrested were charged with mischief, and some had been inside their vehicles, Betteridge said.

Now, obviously, this does not solve everything. There is still a lot of problems that still need to be addressed. For one, what is there to prevent the terrorists from re-capturing the Ambassador Bridge? It’s hard to say at this point. The terrorists have already become emboldened to believe that court orders can be defied in some instances, so it wouldn’t be that surprising that some will push for hijacking the bridge again.

Another problem is that the Ottawa occupation is still ongoing. There is that sense that the terrorists are basically invulnerable and that the rule of law does not apply to them. This is largely thanks to the police largely not taking action against the occupiers and partly thanks to government who seem to not treat the capture of capital of Canada as not that big of a deal.

Ottawa Residents Take a Stand and Fight Against the Occupation

A long running theme throughout this is that Ottawa residents have basically been abandoned throughout this. With 1 week of disruption at the Ambassador Bridge, some estimates of the economic damage the terrorists inflicted on Canada can be pegged at $2.8 billion. That is, of course, assuming that $400 million worth of trade flows through that bridge every day which is a very frequently cited figure. Unfortunately, paralyzing the seat of democracy doesn’t have as big of an economic impact. Some figure that every day the city has been hijacked, it costs Canada a mere $40 million per day. Suffice to say, the odds that people will get their lives back is not looking good.

What’s more is that the residents have been basically abandoned. The police not only ignore their pleas for help, but some have been filmed actively helping the terrorists instead. What’s more is that there have been plenty of games going on between municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government in the area. We’ve been seeing that residents are reaching a boiling point with being held hostage in their own city. Counter protests are now flooding the streets and they are greatly outnumbering the occupiers. Here’s one video:

So, a whole street completely filled with people demanding that they can finally get their lives back. No big rigs were required to pretend that the movement is big. It is big without needing to find ways of inflating the footprint. The residents had to resort to taking matters into their own hands because if they won’t defend their city, no one will. It’s despicable that it had to come to this point in time, but there was no other option at that point. No amount of reporting bylaw offences, verbal abuse, and assaults are going to get authorities to even enforce the rule of law or court injunctions.

Whether this is a wakeup call for police to finally clean up the city of Ottawa remains to be seen. Judging by past action, it probably won’t. Still, it shows that Canadian’s are united against these terrorists no matter how many times the troll farms say otherwise. The terrorists have few supporters in Canada. Even the MAGA hat wearing Conservative party is realizing that supporting the convoy is a mistake. From Global:

Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen is offering a message for the trucker convoy that has been encamped in Ottawa for 14 days, as well as those joining splinter blockades across the country.

“I want to speak directly to Canadians who are demonstrating here in Ottawa and across the country. Your protests began with truckers and you have grown into an international phenomenon,” Bergen said in the House of Commons on Thursday morning.

“To all of you who are taking part in the protests, I believe the time has come to take down the barricades, stop the disruptive action, and come together. The economy you want to see reopened is hurting.

“I believe this is not what you want to do.”

Bergen, of course, initially expressed full vocal support for the terrorists and openly decided to play petty politics and try to blame Trudeau for the actions of the terrorists. Canadian’s, of course, didn’t buy that because they are not blind. As the party rallied behind their interim leader to push the terrorists agenda, moderate Conservative supporters began rethinking their allegiances. Many of them didn’t support the terrorists because their actions was having a huge impact on the Canadian economy. As such, some were feeling like they were actively contributing to the harm on the economy and felt they could no longer support the party.

Between the party risking being ripped in two and big business lobbying behind the scenes, it seems that the leader finally cracked and admitted that it may be time for the blockades to come down. While a huge flip flop in an effort to save face, the damage was already done to the party.

It is worth noting that very few in politics are coming out ahead in all of this. Ontario premier, Doug Ford, has been taking heat for going to his cottage and going snowmobiling while is province is under siege. While he adamantly repeated his famous talking point of being on the phones 24/7, he was not able to really explain why he was off snowmobiling and being so absent throughout all of this.

Media Companies Removing Logo’s for Personal Safety Reasons

The effects of the occupation are, of course, still being felt. Media outlets have already begun removing the decals from their vehicles out of fear for their personal safety:

This is a sad day for me. @ctvedmonton has made the decision to remove the branding from our vehicles for safety. I am proud of the excellent and vital work we do, perhaps more important now than ever. I’m proud to represent that in public, but it’s just not safe right now #yeg

The images are simply striking. You might expect there to be issues with the safety of journalists in third world dictator run countries, but this is Canada we are talking about. This, simply put, shouldn’t happen. The press should be free to report on the happenings of the day and never fear reprisals for simply doing their job. It’s one thing to disagree with some of the ways they handle reporting, but it is an entirely different matter when it comes to threatening the safety of those journalists.

This, of course, is far from an isolated incident where journalists fear for their personal safety, either. We’ve seen reports of journalists having full beer cans being thrown at their heads, being accosted during reports, and even being verbally abused. This is simply for the fact that they are trying to report on the issues happening. For the terrorist mob, they see someone as a journalist, that is all they need to know to start acting aggressively towards them. There’s no nuance or critical thinking for them, they just think “attack”.

What’s particularly striking in all of that is the fact that the journalists themselves have been very much tilting the balance of their coverage in favour of the terrorists perspective. In the first two weeks, there were constantly reports featuring what the terrorists have to say, why they are there, what they feel, and more. Yet, very little coverage was made about the people living in the area and people who don’t agree with the tactics of the terrorists. In some instances, the media was even pushing studies favouring the terrorists causes while largely ignoring data that suggests that the terrorists are not representing Canadian interests.

It wasn’t until the mobs were constantly harassing the journalists (in some cases, even assaulting them) that the coverage started shifting to at least lending an ear to the opposition to the terrorists. Essentially, the media was a soft ally to the terrorists and the terrorists put every effort to make them an enemy anyway. The major media outlets still occasionally try to get some kind of comprehensible discussion from the terrorists, but are often pushed back with nonsensical gibberish. You really get that sense in a lot of these interviews that they are trying to bring rational grown up discussion to irrational tantrum throwing children. It’s becoming a waste of time, really.

Already, doctors and other healthcare workers have been adopting a strategy of hiding their profession out of fear for personal safety as it is. Right now, it looks like the media is being forced to do the same. It’s striking that it has come to this, but at the same time, it’s not particularly surprising given the actions made by the terrorists.

NDP Leader Stands Up Against the Terrorist Occupation

The federal NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, has been doing everything possible to represent the people of Ottawa throughout this. They called for emergency debates and tried to put the pressure on the government to do something to end the siege of the country. Before the Ambassador Bridge finally getting reopened, Singh issued the following comments:

The frustration you can sense is very understandable. It’s quite unbelievable that a foreign entity has effectively seized control of parts of the country and the government is still trying to sit back and debate whether the federal government has jurisdiction of the border. There’s really very few politician’s that seem to be coming out ahead in all of this, but the NDP seems to be one party that is. They know full well what the right side of history is here and are ensuring that they are on record of being on that side from the very beginning.

Failed Hijacking of the Border in British Columbia

The effort to try and hijack the Canadian border and cause further chaos in the Canadian economy is apparently continuing. Terrorists have attempted to hijack the border in BC, but that ended in arrests. Still, disruptions in the surrounding area continue. From the Vancouver Sun:

The main route to the Pacific Highway border crossing in Surrey remained closed Sunday after four protesters opposed to vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 measures were arrested. They were part of a larger group that camped out between 8th Avenue and the border a day earlier.

RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Vanessa Munn warned of continued traffic congestion and road closures on Sunday and advised drivers and pedestrians to avoid the area.

Munn said the four people had been taken into custody for mischief.

In addition, some of the vehicles and protestors who stayed overnight Saturday have now packed up and left the area.

When you know the political landscape of British Columbia, it’s not hard to see why this attempt failed. Provincially, the political battleground is largely between the BC Liberals and the BC NDP. Currently, the NDP holds the power of the provincial government. So, it isn’t exactly the most Conservative friendly territory to begin with.

Still, police aren’t exactly sweeping out the terrorists either. In one instance, a police barricade was breached. From Surrey Now Leader:

The Pacific Highway Border Crossing into the U.S. has remained closed Sunday after a massive protest took place at the truck crossing Saturday afternoon.

DriveBC highway cameras show that police have created a vehicle barricade just before the border crossing, along Highway 15, at 9:21 a.m. The cameras also show a small gathering of vehicles on Highway 15 at 8 Avenue, however, the crowd dramatically dwindled compared to Saturday’s event.

Hundreds of protesters gathered along 176 Street southbound at 8 Avenue Saturday just a short distance from the Pacific Highway border crossing, to voice their discontent about COVID-19 rules and vaccine mandates.

On Saturday, Surrey RCMP said it will be investigating after protest vehicles breached a police barricade, driving the wrong way down 176 Street, during a “freedom convoy” at the crossing.

Drive BC camera footage from Saturday showed protesters walking freely toward the Pacific Highway border crossing after breaking through an RCMP barricade at 8 Avenue and 176 Street.

While Surrey RCMP Cpl. Vanessa Munn said protesters were “mainly peaceful, a few vehicles have breached police barricades, driving the wrong way down 176 Street.”

So, police are still fighting to restore law and order on the city streets, but at the same time, they aren’t exactly twiddling their thumbs and watching terrorists break countless laws like in Ottawa. Really, it took next to no time compared to Ottawa before arrests were being made.

White House Increases Manpower at DHS In Preparation for Terrorist Activity

South of the border, there’s been some activity regarding this same terrorist organization. With reports constantly circulating about a convoy aiming to disrupt the Super Bowl, the White House has said that they aren’t taking any chances. From MediaIte:

At a White House press briefing Friday, Ms. Psaki was asked about the traffic-blockading trucker convoy to protest vaccine mandates, as well as the possibility that a U.S. version of the protest could disrupt the Super Bowl.

Psaki once again defended the right to protest, but ripped the “huge impact” the blockade might have, and said the Department of Homeland Security is ready for the big game:

On your second question: You know, we are, of course — on reports of a similar “Freedom Convoy” — I think you’re asking about, right? — in D.C. — event in D.C. in early March, the Department of Homeland Security, obviously, put out a statement on this the other night. They’re aware of these reports. They’re taking all necessary steps to ensure that the convoy does not disrupt lawful trade and transportation or interfere with federal government and law enforcement operations.

On reports that this convoy is causing disruptions at the Super Bowl, the Department of Homeland Security — or
could, I should say — the Department of Homeland Security is surging additional staff to its incident command post. There’s strong cooperation with the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Police Department, and state and local authorities.

And the Department already has a lead field coordinator and emergency operations center in place, as would be standard protocol, given this is a large event — the Super Bowl. And they will build on that. There’s already 500 DHS personnel providing extensive air and maritime security resources.

So, we are in both close touch with our Canadian counterparts, also with local officials through our Department of Homeland Security. Our Secretary of Transportation is also deeply involved in this. And we’re working to address this on all fronts.

Republican’s Openly Welcoming the Terrorists

Republican’s are apparently seeing opportunity with the idea of terrorists seizing control of the country. Some have already begun openly welcoming the terrorists into their country. From MediaIte:

Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden said on Fox News that he would “absolutely welcome” a protest in Washington, D.C. that is “similar” to the ongoing, trucker-led anti-mandate protests in Canada and at our northern border, which have shut down the primary trade route across the Ambassador Bridge.

During his appearance on Fox News Live, Gooden talked about inflation in the United States and the impact it is having on American workers, saying that President Joe Biden‘s big price tag “Build Back Better” agenda isn’t a solution and that the administration needs to “reign in spending and get the prices down” for the average consumer.

Anchor Anita Vogel transitioned to the topic of the “Freedom Convoy” protest by relating them to the issues of the supply chain and inflation.

“So, I would absolutely welcome a similar pronouncement of protest in our nation’s capitol by truckers and anyone who wants their freedoms back,” he said, specifically answering the question. “People are fed up with these overbearing, overburdening regulations that are not based in science.”

“The science has not changed, but the polling has changed,” he said. “And we’re seeing outrage and we’re seeing people from all walks of life sick of what they’ve been dealing with for the last two years.”

It’s somewhat ironic that as Conservatives in Canada find themselves distancing themselves from the terrorists in Canada, Republican counterparts are seemingly openly embracing them before their very arrival south of the border. Of course, as we noted earlier, a majority of the funding came from US sources in the first place. So, in that sense, it’s not really a surprise that the far right is embracing the terrorists given how much money they invested in this in the first place.

Still, Republican’s are very likely going to be put in the same spot as Conservatives in Canada. On the one hand, they see a massive upswell against mandates (well, it’s actually a massive astroturfing campaign, but they don’t see it that way) and think they can capitalize on it politically. When citizens openly do not support it, they simply double down on supporting the terrorists. When big business sees their money starting to get cut off, they start approaching these politicians in a collective “WTF do you think you are doing?” While Conservatives in Canada slowly folded in this situation, it’s unclear from this vantage point what Republican’s would do.

So, it’s very easy to see history repeat itself here south of the border. The question is, would the American public exhibit the same kind of patience as Canadians? That is not something we’re not so sure about.

American’s Feeling Guilty About Canada

One of the theme’s we’ve been seeing lately is that American’s looking on in all of this are feeling bad about what is happening in Canada. Everyone knows that the money was traced to American sources and the extreme right wing ideology seen in Canada is all too familiar with American’s. The guilt comes from the idea that some of the problems they have in the political sewage is spilling over into Canada and the wonder is if they are somehow to blame for it. In some conversations seen by Freezenet, you could almost get the sense of a collective, “My God, what did we do now?” feeling.

For American’s, though, there is a lot working in their favour on this one. If there are fears that Canadian’s will collectively and angrily point the finger at American’s and say, “This is all your fault!”, then we can at least offer some comfort in that regard. If there is that groundswell among the population to accuse the US of orchestrating this, we are a heck of a long way from that.

Right now, most immediately, Canadian’s are much more focused on just getting their own city streets back. As long as Ottawa remains occupied by these terrorists, a major focus will be on finally cleaning up the city streets.

After that, the next big concern for Canadian’s is political leaders on all levels of government. For Canadian’s, all three levels of government in Ottawa oversaw this going on for weeks and seemingly decided to play a shell game of responsibility. At municipal levels, some angrily watched on as municipal leaders seemingly dismissed the terrorist occupation as not important for at least one day. From the provincial side, Canadian’s were furious that the premier was out snowmobiling while the province was under siege. At the federal level, the prime minister was simply repeatedly saying how all of this is not in his jurisdiction and simply repeated that he’ll provide resources when asked. It was a political disaster from top to bottom.

Right up there with the political realm is how authorities acted throughout. Canadian’s rightfully were furious that the police were taking a hands off approach to it all and just letting crimes happen without consequence. There’s countless video’s showing officers helping the terrorists, giving them fist bumps, being extra super nice when they “negotiate” with the terrorists, and simply doing nothing. This after their immediate response to other protests when it came to international meetings, fighting for the homeless, and wanting to end systemic racism to name a few. Further, there is that element of racism especially after a first nations woman was immediately swarmed by officers and arrested (no “negotiating”) for the crime of counter-protesting the occupation.

After that, there is the concerns with Canadian intelligence. When the terrorists were first making their presence known, Canadian intelligence noted the far right movement and decided that it did not represent a threat to Canada. This is the movement that went on to cost the Canadian economy billions, terrorize residents on the city streets, the many crimes that went on, and more. So, the immediate question is why did intelligence agencies completely fail Canadian’s on this? Did their decision to not treat this seriously came from political affiliations of the terrorists? What needs to change so intelligence agencies can take far right extremism seriously?

Indeed, many American’s have noticed how much their country was very much implicated thanks to the fringe right elements residing in their country. While that might look like an indictment on their involvement, Canadians have generally taken a different mindset then that. For Canadian’s, they largely think of the foreign involvement as representative of how these occupations do not represent their interests. So many troll farms and the extremists kept hammering the idea that this movement represents Canadian’s and Canadian’s overwhelming support this movement. The foreign funding completely erodes that talking point and paints a much more sinister picture of what the terrorists true motivations are. So, it’s a fact being used to delegitimize the terrorists much more than a stinging indictment of America.

Further, many Canadian’s are very much aware of what is going on in the political realm in the US. We are very much aware of how far right ideology has led to the terrorist attack on January 6. Canadian’s are very much aware of the right wing extremism plaguing America right now that was capitalized by Trump – the worst president in American history. What’s more, Canadian’s get that not everyone supports these far right elements in the US as well – Biden’s election proved that. What’s more, whenever Canadian’s bring up the American connection, most of the time, it is in the context of “far right extremism from the US” rather than a blanket “American influence” accusation.

So, even if there was an element among the Canadian public that says that this whole occupation is “all America’s fault”, that kind of thinking is so far down the list of priorities for Canadian’s, by the time Canadian’s get to that point, it would have been long forgotten.

Now, having said that, we can see some American’s viewing this as cold comfort and still get that feeling of guilt that some of the toxic parts of their politics spilled over into Canada. Still, at the very least, it’s probably nice knowing that most Canadian’s are not of that mind set (at least from our vantage point anyway). If anything, Canadian’s such as ourselves are seeing these efforts to bring in terrorist occupations into the US, pointing at it, and saying, “Uh, you might want to get a lid on that early and not repeat the mistakes of Ottawa. Otherwise, you guys are also going to be in a world of hurt.”

Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.

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