“China eats weird animals disease”

The premier claims his vaccine about-face has nothing to do with the protests.

And on the 24th Day of the Freedom Convoy, Doug Ford announced freedom.

Kinda. Sorta.

The Ontario premier lifted most vaccine-requirement restrictions in public places as of March 1. So, in two weeks, arenas, bars, restaurants, and gyms can admit people in Canada’s most populous province without checking for a COVID card. Capacity restrictions soon loosen, but Ford put off lifting the indoor mask requirement for at least another month.

(February 14, 2022 / JNS) Despite nearly blackout by much of the Israeli press, as many as 20,000 vehicles participated in a “Freedom Convoy” to Jerusalem on Monday, culminating with large protests outside Israel’s parliament and Supreme Court.

Vehicles set off on Monday morning from forty cities across Israel, calling on the government to lift the state of emergency declared due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the event’s organizers.

OTTAWA — Defying an emergency order to disperse, protesters in trucks and other vehicles vowed on Tuesday to stand their ground outside the Canadian parliament until the government lifts vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday became only the second Canadian leader to invoke the Emergencies Act in peacetime, giving the government broad powers to end border blockages that have hit trade and paralyzed downtown Ottawa.

I just spent a week in Ottawa. Talking to protesting truckers, attending their daily religious services, breaking bread with them in restaurants (usually small, ethnic places) that demand neither masks nor papers.

Monday came and went, but some Ottawa residents remain frustrated at the backdoor deal made by Mayor Jim Watson, who feel he legitimized the organizers of the so-called “Freedom Convoy.”

Trucks and supporters still remain in downtown Ottawa and despite the deal, just a handful of trucks were escorted by police to a new location.

“It feels like he hasn’t shown up for residents, particularly not for those in the downtown core,” said Fae Johnstone, an Ottawa resident. “To see him now back channeling with folks that I would describe as white supremacists is really concerning to me.”

White Supremacists? She learned how to hate from Trudeauscu. Can we nuke Ottawa?

At this point, it is not entirely inconceivable that the Ottawa protesters will get their wish of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being forced to step down before they pack up and head home. With public opinion firmly against the prime minister, his caucus, which is already beginning to speak out, may conclude that there is no other way out of this crisis, and start demanding he leave or actively push him out. That is not something to celebrate, as it would confirm that our institutions, from Parliament down, are so completely full of rot that normal governing has become impossible.

VANCOUVER — The Canada Border Services Agency says traffic is moving again south of Vancouver at the Pacific Highway border, while more protesters were arrested Monday night.

Surrey RCMP Cpl. Vanessa Munn said starting at about 8:30 p.m., police arrested 12 protesters, bringing the total number of arrests to 16 since Sunday.

Investigations into unlawful activity that is alleged to have occurred on Saturday during the blockade continue, police said.

Monday, FNC host Tucker Carlson called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to respond to the so-called Freedom Convoy truckers’ protest underway in Trudeau’s country a “defining moment” in its history.

Carlson said Trudeau’s declaration was the equivalent of declaring Canada a dictatorship.

Trudeau brings martial law to Canada. pic.twitter.com/RsiTrChIMe

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 15, 2022

Peter Sloly has resigned as Ottawa’s police chief and will publicly announce he is stepping down after the Ottawa Police Services Board meeting today, according to sources that have spoken to CBC News.

Sloly has faced criticism for his handling of a truck convoy protest that has caused major disruption to Ottawa’s downtown core.

There are some concerns about the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end antigovernment blockades against COVID-19 measures that are being held across the country.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association says it does not believe the “high and clear” threshold needed to invoke the act has been met, noting the law states it can only be used when a situation cannot be dealt with using any other law in the country.