The single action Freedom Convoy 2022 waged by trailer drivers in Canada and which set a world record for the number of cars in a convoy, is one of the most important class battles in North America today.
Therefore, we requested coverage of the campaign by the newspaper with the proud name Class struggle. The campaign started on January 15 and arrived in Ottawa on January 29, so we had plenty of time to talk about it. But there’s not much to find in Class struggles Columns.
This changed on February 8, 2022. After about three weeks of silence, the newspaper published this article:
And not least angles in the class diary which is interesting. Avisa got her hands not on a trucker, but rather on a political scientist, Marc Lanteigne, to characterize the great labor action. We reproduce some quotes:
– So far, Canada hasn’t experienced the kind of right-wing populism that the United States and Europe have, he says, pointing out that the far-right People’s Party of Canada hasn’t won a only seat in the legislative elections last September.
– Now we see that people in Canada are also vulnerable to misinformation and fake news, he says and points out that the obligation to vaccinate drivers who have to cross the border only affects a few.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, which distances itself from the protests, estimates that 85% of truckers have been vaccinated.
Nonetheless, this was used to garner support for the “enough is enough” slogan and created a cascade where different groups threw themselves into each other. The extreme right, the anti-government forces, even the separatists who want an independent Quebec. It has nothing to do with the pandemic, but they use it as an argument that the Canadian state is not working and that they have to have their own state, says Lanteigne.
He thinks the whole thing is “a chilling example of a chain reaction” in which all sorts of questionable forces are thrown into.
The class struggle adds
It is also reported that much of the money collected comes from abroad and from anonymous sources.
People in downtown Ottawa are in despair over the disruption to daily life and noise from the protests.
A lawyer has taken the case to court and claims the trucks honk with warning horns 24 hours a day at a volume of between 105 and 125 decibels.
And the political scientist manages to conclude
Authorities in Ottawa report that they have used all their police officers, that there is an influx of reports and that they need the support of other authorities. Trudeau warned that it was irrelevant to use the military.
– It is probably difficult to move these big trucks by force. The large number of people can also make it more difficult for the police, Lanteigne points out, but points out that indigenous peoples have criticized the fact that the police practice a double standard, in the sense that indigenous protests against pipelines have been welcomed. tougher measures than what is happening now.
So there is class journal finally put the cupboard in place.
