Canada has employed strict restrictions in its efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. But unlike in the United States, such measures have received very little pushback or politicization — until recently.
Truckers protesting a vaccine mandate have occupied the nation’s capital, Ottawa, for three weeks, leading Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to declare a state of national emergency.
We ask how Canada got to this point, and hear what the protest is like on the ground.
Guest: Catherine Porter, the Toronto bureau chief for The New York Times.
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Before the work messages begin to pour in. Let's give ourselves a good morning a good morning as a moment to pause and ease into the day. It's a moment to run and chased the sunrise or its edge,
Let settle into your routine a good more
at a moment to be present, to find clarity and be grounded for the day had good days start with good mornings and good mornings start with Yogi T Yogi T tease me to do more than
tastes good
we're entering. Third, we of illegal blockades
wrapped in the lives of too many Canadians.
The federal government is invoked. The emergencies act to supplement provincial territorial capacity to address the blockades and occupations
Invoking the emergencies act is never the first thing that government should do nor even the second the act is to be used
worryingly and as a last resort. I know that everyone is tired of this pandemic. Hearing your frustration with cold
and even with the temporary measures we had to put forward to keep people safe. I know people are frustrated. I hear it. You have a right to express their.
Frustration and even your anger with the government or government policies
it's something will always defend in this free and democratic country, but blockading streets, critical infrastructure,
and depriving your neighbors of their freedoms is a totally different thing. It has to stop.
From the New York Times
I'm likeable Barney. This is a daily for nearly three weeks. Now we begin the programming, Canada, where I stand off between truckers in that country's government of covert restrictions shows no sign of hanging. Hundreds of truckers in their supporters have occupied Canada's Capital City of Ottawa. The truckers are protesting
it s mandate the requires them to be fully vaccinated against scoville or to quarantine in an unprecedented act of protest that his shocked, the country's government
yesterday, for the first time in half a century cannon
Prime minister, just intruder declared a nest,
emergency granting.
Enormous powers to intervene. Today I spoke with my colleague, Toronto Bureau Chiefs, Catherine Porter,
about a surprisingly american seeming see unfolding in Canada,
it's Wednesday February 16th
Good morning, Catherine Morning, I call nice to see you can you look surprisingly rested and fresh for someone who has been out covering protests for a week. I am not rest dead, but I am fresh and I'm excited to talk to you.
retail, so cavern. Let's talk about how we got to this point where the Prime Minister of Canada.
Is now invoking emergency powers to end this stand off with protesters in a country's capital. Well,
this started about a month ago,
there was a new law put in place that required truckers who cross the border into the United States to be vaccinated in order to come back
across the border before then, that rule had not been something they face in. This is gonna.
Some of them who had not been vaccinated threaten their livelihood. Even so, this all begins with
what seen as an overly restrictive policy requiring the truckers get of action in order to cross the international border and come back into Canada yeah overly restrictive. Well, some of these truckers obvious
he felt so, but I think the reaction in a lot of Canada was kind of a shrug, because canvas reaction to the pandemic, particularly as opposed to Americans reaction, was to follow science, to lock everything down
and to give acts as quickly as possible were now eighty five percent of the population, five and others
then double backs were one of the most vaccinated countries in the West were also one of the strictest countries. When it comes to us
actions, and I was only recently that Canada, or at least the part that I'm talking to you from which is the biggest province here aloud
and or dining again,
you know, since the beginning a pandemic, it's only been a matter of months that they have allowed indoor dining. It's almost entirely been either outside
Canada, imagine
check out, this cold is cold, most of the most of the least half the ears very cold and my kids. I have two kids, and
they have spent the majority the last two years on a screen. Learning, in fact the local papers repeat here then,
kids. Ontario have spent the least amount of time in classes.
Ass rooms in anywhere in North America. My little caught him exactly so is the country's Bennett and under an extreme locked down, but at the same time a really haven't seen that pushed back use
in the United States. Pooling has shown that concern
instantly people support these type of strict public.
measures to limit the spread of the virus is
anything. People here tend to criticise the government for not doing enough,
not for what they're doing boat and whether or not doing.
And so it span a story of a largely compliant country where the national sentiment has been. Let's take care of one another, and that-
something we're all gonna do were in this together to using ahead of this protest, not
only were Canadians quite used to these kinds of policies are restrictions. They had been quite accepting of them yet
Finally, in Canada, the pandemic has not been politicized like it's in the states. It's not something is pitted the political left versus
political right, even in the more conservative parts of the country, with conservative local govern
and even there they have mostly followed the science, followed public health experts and put
fairly stringent rules,
and you know in cases where politicians have broken, the rules like, for instance, gone on vacation over Christmas when there was a lockdown and place. The repercussions from the alert
for it have been severe and they ve lost cabinet positions over it.
So we should not understand this to be a story
of more conservative working class,
Canadians opposing this mandate on political grounds. Well, you know
we could look at it through that lends now, but before this I don't think that was the case at all, and I want to be clear around ninety percent of truckers and Canada are vaccinated according to the canadian truckers alliance, so this is a small percentage of them burn
that group. They say that their livelihood is at stake and they wanted to bring their beef to the capital and let it be known.
So
in January group truckers and other organizers,
began what they called the freedom com boy driving across the countries, starting in the very far west towards the capital of Ottawa.
Along the way they get bigger and bigger, and you know interesting Lee, I'm talking to you right now from trauma which is the biggest city in Canada,
People were in outlining the bridges late. They normally do when the bodies of soldiers, comeback people line and register way flags.
the convoy of purses, historically
He bore lining the bridges with canadian flag.
Mostly with Canada flags
cheering them on
leave and vaccinations are not anti back their bad enough is enough.
Hence my son he's decided and all these talks about as he wants his childhood back, he's sick of wearing and ask at school. He cries, but he loves, though you know I won't. I Canada back. I want
These weren't two huge crowds of people, but the work process, people so there was evidence,
the way that they had tapped into something you it wasn't just about the truckers. It wasn't just about their jobs. They had tapped into an undercurrent and Canada of frustration.
So what happens
for an when this freedom convoy arrives in the capital in Ottawa,
So first, you need to know Ottawa is this sleepy capital of Canada?
Its generally small city, full of bureaucrats and politicians who fly in for business, one thing that its use to, though, is protest. There's lots of protests just like in Washington, so
The fact that these guys comment doesn't take anyone by surprise. They they roar into the city and they end up on the street, really in the political heart of the country right in front of the legislature. Beside the Prime minister's office, all of the elected
presented its offices, the Supreme Court, and they line up their trucks along the south
and on too many of the side streets, and they begin to protest. What I think surprised people was that I do know from local politicians that they had been brief by the police
and they thought. Okay, these guys are going to come. They're gonna make a lot of noise soon be a typical boisterous protests, they'll, be here for a day or two probably for the weekend and come on.
They will rule out a town in the same way they roared and having made their point and what
on Monday this day and they kept
and they are allowed to stay. For some reason here I mean, I think, I'm a big debate went on is still continuing to go on as to why the police did not try and move them, but I think the biggest innovation of this protest that thing that took everyone by surprises. You can move a bunch of protesters who are on foot but moving a thirty thousand pound tractor trailer. Take something quite different, so he's guys had moved in with these brilliant
protests machines because their super heavy, you know they're really hard to move. I talk to tow truck operators who told me that it takes an hour just a hook. One of these things up
let alone move that they come with. Really big no is making machines that are like meant to tell the moose and
ever else is on the highway together the way so that this huge protein
sound machines, builtin they have beds and heaters. I mean it's like very cold in ottawa- is one of the coldest capitals in the world and they come equipped
with heaters to see you can stay for as long as you want, and one of these
acts, so you know
They allowed to stay. I think, there's obviously gonna be a post mortem. The plea who say that that they kept telling them to leave, but they couldn't and did not
make them leave Sohkon. How does this progress, as these truckers really started, digging
well pretty quickly. There are a lot of questions of what's really going on here. I was behind this.
auto or residence for complaining about feeling terrorized by some of the protesters that their being followed,
being chased, there's an attempted arson that they believe was by a protester and there's this really threatening aspect that they at least four
to this, and then there are some signs of a more extremist, all right presence that people are wondering. What, where did this come from? There were these reports of a number of flags from all right
groups leg the sons of Odin, but also flags with nazi symbols like the swastika on them and confederate flags and this old canadian flag from the time before our countries, immigration policy-
had opened up beyond Europe, Australia and New Zealand like, in other words, largely way. Countries and lots of the local reporting in Canada also started reveal that many of the people who were declaring themselves leaders of this protest where
actually truckers, in fact, very few were somewhere or police officer
There's some were army veterans,
had direct ties to far right groups
and they appeared to be helping to organise and to fund rays and finery
You mean for this protest on behalf of the truckers in Ottawa, yeah to fund rates for their protest and keep it going Islam,
possible, and so you know I was like what is this what's happening here
whatever it is. It's not something I have seen in Canada before so.
You know I packed my bags and ahead of the airport to get Ottawa as quickly as it could to make sense of it.
I'll right back.
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I read this article in the New York Times about she, NATO corner that completely shattered. My previously held believes this is the kind of journalism I just didn't expect a really see talking about John culturing, one of my heroes and
Stable said I d, you know one of the most iconic rock stars in Latin America. I listen to this episode of the daily and I thought it was doing a good job trying to it
Lane of the french pointer view, its made me a lot more thoughtful can trying to look at different perspectives. My father, we don't agree, but I often takes them articles and will discuss it later. The NEO
times is my doorway. It's my connection to the world market.
Jordan, their Victoire I've been a subscriber, the New York Times or six years, twenty one years
from the time I was a child, the New York Times for me. As about the joy of uncovering something new in the World Fund,
The New York Times can fit into your life and why times, dot, com, flashlight.
ok, given what are you find once you get to Ottawa? I find a seeing that is like nothing like I've ever seen in the canadian city before lunch
Saturday, night, very well below raising below fire and people around dancing to
yet I have one giant already deal. It really is
in the main street they run through the power corridor of the country.
Has been converted into this huge tailgate party filled with trucks
the sentence is complete positive dissidents that you can't believe you're standing in front of the country's legislature, and so you know there's his real feeling of it. There's also just a sense, I think, like
people enjoying each other's company, like we ve all been in our homes for two years and not meeting,
strangers, you see all these strangers
hugging one another like? I really felt it myself as rapporteur. My job. Normally, you know,
to be out in the world and understanding what's going on, but I've basically been stuck to my house.
Reporting from an office for the last two years. No, it was odd, but even reporting on the story just felt so good to be outside and among people, and that was really present in the atmosphere, but at the same time there was some unexpected.
That seemed unusual, or at least on Canadian, to me of that amazed by the amount of work
there are people drink,
in canadian flags and in America
flags and dont tread on me, legs and flags. Tell Trudeau where to go in fact like
There are signs over telling Trudeau in a very politically like
Ruth, I sank in Canadian, very rude away where to go, and that's everywhere all over these tracks. Oliver peoples
signs all over these flags,
down there
are signs
all along these ornate fences that separate the street from the parliament buildings and their full of like everything from like. We love truckers to leg, Cove a red pill. There's also you.
a real sense of like an alternate reality. Were you hear snatches of conversations about you know people being abducted by
alien and literally heard that conversation to vaccines being used to track people by the guy
man and then the Cuban on up here,
And finally, there was this more menacing strain that I'd heard about. No, I personally didn't see any natty flags or anything that overtly hateful, but in addition to those signs that in were telling Trudeau where he should go, there was
more threatening stuff pictures of him with a noose.
pictures of ham behind bars. So, alongside the street party atmosphere, there was definitely a menacing element to which, like I said,
never seen before and would certainly evokes images.
What we have seen here in the United States. As awfully Moraine
So it's a more complicated scene.
In the one you had heard about before arriving here and
Became even more apparent, as I started, to talk to people
in the end, I ended appealing
the main street, which is CO called Wellington and going down the street Coquette, which surprised me because it was jam, attracts like for cross for both
schooling down and there was a real like encampment feeling I'm inside. Why we have heard one
three four tables
grill inside and lots of tables with donations. You know it's. A b
pressure fairly large building heaters portable heaters, three of them. I saw one track that had a little post box,
set up outside and there were fires, burning, chords of wood and huge numbers of supplies. You could see on the back of trucks from my tampons, too
blankets to sleeping bags and toilet paper than open donated
and so I went looking to talk to people there. It s about time,
I love, and I met with someone who presented himself
was an organiser of that street, and his name was Chris.
Where are you from from just ignored, was drawn up and are either I'm having children,
so crests is a heavy duty tow truck operator. He toes the trucks like these have attracts himself sensibly
since the beginning, more or less.
right here.
Here to fight for
everybody's freedom, canadian citizens? We have the right to our own language.
And he was there because they had been vaccinated. He didn't believe in the back scene,
one of the very life there s, nobody right
That's why you're here and only half way, you see with your own eyes, but he also really felt that she wanted the freedom to make his own choice. Any also talked about how he and many people said this to me believe the Trudeau
B. We just want the courts to deal with them for all the crimes of humanity's carved upon people.
tried and locked up for crimes against humanity for basically, they believe forcing people to take a vaccine
They need to be several rigging alive there. There is an irony of you saying as a warrant groundbreaking lawyer, blurry, there's a guy like you. Can you partner the Middle street? Would you can't you know? Is a biological
hearken them? As as canadian citizens, we have the right to protest, whatever means necessary to protest, and we must protest peacefully protests and peacefully
How do you square the things that suddenly Chris
telling you with what you described as the sentiment. The vast majority of the country, which is to us.
does this not to view it in political terms, not to think of this as a question of freedom, purses, tyranny he's using very different language and sound like most Canadians are when it comes,
So this pandemic yeah, really the language of all of it really struck me because Canada is a country
that our founding motto is peace order and good government. I mean you really can't get much more. Like rule five
we in that right and yet here on this,
AIDS of Ottawa. The biggest thing you heard over and over again was freedom
they came in and out of the mouths of truckers, the mouths of protesters, but also leg over echoing up and down the street.
as a call in response away people
one another, they would walk up and down the street shouting frayed and responding
their freedom is a new thing. People are just generally screaming freedom, and you know freedom is, I think, a real
stitched into the American DNA, but is not necessarily something you here in Canada the same way. Clearly we have freedoms that are protected in our charter to but is not necessary
Lee. You know a call to arms and Canada, like it, isn't the state, so that struck me right and there were a lot of people,
that, and then there were people who just seem done with the entire pandemic Joseph who shared with you, but I would ask you write that down. I met this guy named Joseph
I'm twenty for actually beekeeper. He was a beekeeper from the smallest province in Canada, call Princess
Ireland. We are here last Saturday and he'd been there from the big
name, and he was
eating a hamburger that a volunteer I just cook
for him on the street
Our reflections mandates
what what trying do they, Israel's now or aware, mass in class, and he
he was drawn in not because the restrictions had really affected his life had cancer, I don't, but for other people's lives and like them not being able to go to war. Sealer graduation like Robin
I'm going to aspects of their really bothers you something, and the thing that that made me stop to talk to him is that I heard
him meeting some other people, and he he repeated something me said you know
all of family here. When he's there were all a family
design, walk up and down the streets, I'm sure you felt for yourself
Everybody welcomes when it just feels like a big family, and we all we are all waiting for our brothers and sisters. So obviously this is a really did
and subset of people who had also shown up their Ottawa and varied
from the earlier reports of a really scary and threatening crowd. Just was destroyed luxuries and actually Joseph talked about that. This feeling that the picture painted of them with joy,
strong violence and racist myself, white supremacist violent and raises a lot. Terrorists allotted demoralising things
that's not it at all! Then I can see how some lessons if we got- and I also met this guy Johnny row well, actually I heard Johnny first, I was in my room working on a story and I heard his voice, echoing below the
tell her what he was saying. Welcome the Ottawa you're in the right place, swell
the Ottawa, and because I have heard so much that
seemed unfamiliar to me as a Canadian. This was like such a quintessentially
canadian thing to do to welcome people to the city. I literally like got my snow pants on got my boots,
tied my massive mask on my feet, gloved and want to running down the street. To talk to him.
The welcome the Ottawa. Thank you for coming is incredibly canadian. So I ask you, just like I had to talk to this guy find out. What is he doing?
I've done many many many things. The last ten years I've been running yoga school, big Romeo than I do.
He owns a the studio
and the moment I asked him what he was doing there. He just got ten
is in his eyes and was all choked up.
I'm trying to help every single one of these people has been catastrophically, they block
to love one. Would your business were job house? Everyone has had a catastrophic laws and their suffering
He said he needed to be their spreading love with people hurting so badly, and that included him. You can imagine
Big Romeo is not fair that well during the pandemic right leg, its yoga in Sana and he
he had lost his business. I lost doesn't dollars or students or suffer some sites.
I bought a half million. I lost my house, I lost my business, I lost half my say this is the first years I've had turned to really. You could not help people there's two, but two.
give him a love. This was a man who was in a whole lot of pain.
and was also clearly finding some catharsis and being here
with other people who he understood had also been through a lot there's. There is a very good vibration. People are happy there. There bowed their proud to be prepared to be out there do not their their herds and their suffering, but that's not other feeling whether here there's some stuff, but both
people are doing good for the first time, a garbage people, so there were some real healing going on there too. I feel great that I feel so connected
and re humanity. It's real to right, like these people,
You know it,
Catherine. We started by talking about
different the. U S and Canada have been in their responses to this pandemic, how non political it's been in Canada and how
shocking. It spent see these more alright elements suddenly showing up but listen to you, talk and described the people you met. There is another aspect of this that also
feels familiar to the: U S that this isn't just the story of the all right, you're talking about a truck driver
Keep her eye yoga, studio owner and
what we ve seen in the U S is at the pandemic has helped to create a sort of new group, a group that doesn't really fit neatly into political categories that were used to thinking about
group where people on the right and people on the left are kind of coming together to form something new, something that's united by their sense that something is wrong with how this pandemic is being handled and with the government's role and their allies. Yeah I hit on something for sure, Michael, you know it struck me
to that, while some people, the protests, had strong conservative, libertarian views there,
who normally might be considered pretty lefty
and while they might appear very different in so many ways the thing that unite them? That I saw
was a real distrust of government, a real distress of institutions and science, a sense also. They were being lied to and a frustration of where the countries that- and you know, that's real- that's something that started with the truckers but clearly tapped and something
in this country. It formed a crack in the eyes in some way, and we ve seen all this frustration and tension just come pouring out. Frustration intention that maybe people
didn't even fully realized. They were feeling and
we may not recognise its Canadian, but maybe
it's been there all along and then just has aligned with our own narrative of ourselves, but was also true. And what were still working to understand and report out is that there appear to be groups who want to take advantage,
all that frustration in the same way that we ve seen in the United States and the questions are like, are
these more organised, more threatening elements. Looking to take that frustration
least here and turn it into something else. Something bigger is this
the start of something new like a new political movement, or is it just kind of an outburst, something that will settle back down once the protesters have left the streets? Orban? Push
off the streets, and Canada will settle back into a version of itself that feels more familiar to us. Now we,
don't know yet
or Catherine. Thank you very much appreciated thanks, Michael.
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President Vladimir Putin said he had decided to pull back some troops from the border with Ukraine in
potential sign that he could be stepping away from the threat of an invasion.
We have not yet verified the russian military units are returning to their home, based the United States and its allies cautioned against taking Putin. At his word,
Speaking from the White House Press,
I'm fine said that Russia still has about one hundred and fifty thousand troops surrounding Ukraine.
and invasion remains distinctly possible and the families of those kids.
In the twenty twelve massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary school,
they had reached a historic settlement in there
suit against the manufacture of the gun used in the attack that manufacture, Remington, has agreed to pay them
at least seventy three million dollars
or just settlement involving a gun, make
the relatives of Victor
of a national
Today's episode was produced by Austin Mitchell, asked the charter of aid.
we're Shell bonds and Michael Simon Johnson. It was edited by Mark George and LISA Tobin, engineered by Chris. What,
and contains original music by Dan Power. Our music
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Transcript generated on 2022-02-16.