“Perceptions,” by Gerry Warner

Op-Ed Commentary

“Not with a bang, but with a whimper.”

That’s how T.S. Eliot described the end of the world in his famous poem, “The Hollow Men,” And looking towards Ottawa now, who could deny that Canada has become a political wasteland?

Like the formerly great empire to the south of us, Canada has become a country totally bereft of political leadership. A country where a gang of cockamamie political radicals – acting with their children for God’s sake – as well as assorted extremists, wackos and fools can take over the streets to Parliament Hill, and for three weeks pretend to be the Lord of the Manor and tell the rest of us what to do.

As you well know, I’m not making this up. I’m sure most of you watched transfixed as I did this bizarre drama unfolding on your screens this weekend. With the National War Memorial standing grimly in the background, they waved their upside-down flags screaming “freedom” as they blocked the entrance to the one building in this country that guarantees the very freedom they were screeching about while they endlessly honked their incessant horns.

Freedom? Those alleged protestors wouldn’t recognize freedom if it walked up and kicked them in the butt. They’re the ones taking away our freedom: our freedom to walk down the street. Our freedom to enjoy peace and quiet. Our freedom to gather in the town square and discuss whatever we want and our freedom to walk into that great, granite edifice on Parliament Hill and make the laws that govern us.

That’s “freedom” in the true sense of the word, but those nitwits cavorting in front of the great Peace Tower overlooking Parliament just don’t get it.

And if all of this wasn’t bad enough, the police, the supposed guardians of our precious freedoms, stood there for almost three weeks and did basically nothing. Hell, they even helped them at times in their encampment, making sure the jacuzzi was in the right spot and the bouncy castle was available for the children. Once again, I have to say I’m not making this up. This surreal nightmare happened right in front of our bewildered eyes. Oh Canada! What has become of you?

But what bothers and puzzles me the most was the behaviour of the Ottawa police chief who said shortly after this horror show began something to the effect that the “thin blue line” couldn’t handle the situation.

“The longer this goes on,” former Chief Peter Sloly said during the first week of the occupation, “the more I am convinced there may not be a police solution.” But if the police had enforced the law during the early days of the protest this whole ugly charade would have collapsed out of its own incongruity and we would all be getting on with our lives now instead of trying to clean up the mess in downtown Ottawa.

Don’t you think?

Sad to say, the fact that this nastiness lasted for more than three weeks is some sort of a victory for the protestors who did have some justified complaints about the government’s handling of the pandemic, but went way over the top in terms of their protest.

As for the politicians, I say all of them from every party should be forced to apologize to the Canadian people for the debacle they allowed to happen, especially the Conservatives and the Liberals.

The Conservatives for initially cozying up to the protestors and helping them to score cheap political points and the Liberals for sitting on their butts and doing nothing and then using emergency powers that weren’t needed.

As for the Prime Minister, who spent most of the time during the demonstrations hiding in his summer cottage in Harrington, there is only one logical recourse.

He should be forced to resign for his blatant abdication of leadership during this unfortunate crisis.

– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist, who is just as aghast at these events as you probably are.

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