It seems that the Winter Storms in the Atlantic provinces are getting worse each year. This year so far we had 4 storms over 4 weekends. It is the same pattern, a mix of snow and freezing rain and very high winds in the 70 to 80Km range. This past Thursday night we had very high winds around 100Km and then rain, so much so that severe flooding all over the Island was wide spread, roads cut off, etc..
The rain and wind was so fierce that the windows on the West side of the house were leaking and the wind was pounding our 180 year old house. We did not loose electricity, we stayed in obviously. We could not take the dogs out for a walk, they would have flown away. The snow melted quickly and now we have a lot of green everywhere. Funny to see how in two days big snow banks disappeared. The weather also went from -29C to +9C. The next day it was sunny again but cold. The temperature has been fluctuating wildly from one part of the day to the next.
Today is Nora’s Birthday and next week it will be Nicky, both are 13 years old now. Incredible how time flies by so quickly. They are in good health generally and Nora is as feisty and talkative as always. Nicky has cataracts but he is getting eye medication twice a day and is doing well. With COVID we really spent a lot more time with them and developed quite the routine and I often think that they organized the routine for us to follow, one thing is for sure we cannot depart from it, they give us dirty looks. For her birthday Nora and Nicky got prime rib roast beef, just a few pieces, they also got home made liver treats, they enjoyed it all.
It is true that there is inflation all around but what continues to surprise me is the crazy sale and discount in grocery stores, often prices are slashed 50 to 70% for a week on various items. I know that they are still making a profit, so it is telling. There is no shortage, all this talk of shortages in grocery stores was nothing but pure nonsense, a lot of it spread by the Conservative party who truly hate PM Trudeau.
As for the situation in Ottawa today, well the occupation is over, the trucks are gone, many left on their own but the police made sure to get all their details, name, licence and insurance. They are free to leave but prosecution will follow at some time. Some where towed away. I watch live on CBC and CTV the coverage of the police action to clear the streets, the Media had unfettered access, many journalists commented on that fact, they could go where ever they wanted, film and record. The police presence was massive, including a detachment from the Sureté du Québec in their green riot uniform with steel helmets. Others came from all regions of Ontario and the RCMP also had a big tactical presence. The police were very polite, you heard them ask people to leave and move out, it was a little unreal but it was all very professional. Contrary to what FOX News, Reuters and the New York Times were reporting no one was injured or killed, no guns. The police did not use their guns or shoot at people, the New York Times had to retract that story. The cavalry unit separated the crowd to allow the police to form an inside line, one woman fell but was not injured otherwise. The protesters had lots of diesel and gas jerry cans, some had propane canisters and threw them at the police, they also threw firecrackers which could easily have ignited the fuel. The police responded with pepper spray and smoke bombs.
There is a hard core or protesters, some want to die for the cause and they are delusional. Some parents with small children and one lady with a small baby charged at the police line on Sussex Drive. That was unbelievable that anyone would do that to a child. The police managed to bypass her quickly without injuring anyone. The leaders have been arrested or fled, news tonight is that they are on their way to Quebec City, am not sure that this is a true story. During the police action, protesters, some of them in the USA flooded the 911 line of the Ottawa police with obscene messages. Some one called a bomb threat at two major hospitals in the hope of disrupting the police action. The media followed all this and reported as being malicious action on the part of protesters.
Tonight, Saturday, the streets of Ottawa are deserted, Parliament is still sitting until midnight to finish the debate on the motion of the Emergencies Act. The vote in the House could be Monday and probably in the Senate the next day. The Conservative Party with interim leader Candice Bergen are doing all they can to vote down the E.A. but it looks like the motion will pass with the help of the NDP for reasons not clear to me, possibly because their leader Jagmeet Singh is of Punjabi origin and saw the hatred and racism of the protesters. Many people living in Ottawa from residents to business owners said out loud that they were very afraid of the protesters. Harassment on the street and acts of vandalism against ordinary people and property is one hallmark. We had during the day, Friday 3 Conservative members of Parliament come out from the West Block to cheer the protesters and tell them to keep fighting to get rid of the Government. One Conservative Senator Michael MacDonald from Cape Breton berated on the street the Citizens of Ottawa and the Government, cheering the protesters as good people.
I don’t think this is the end of these protests, the extreme right, the white supremacists are spear heading a movement similar to the Trump Nation in the USA. However despite the lies and their rhetoric and their appeal to the Armed Forces and the Police to come and join them, they are very unlikely to prevail. Some protesters like Dwayne Lich the husband of top organizer Amanda Lich, quoted the First Amendment of the US Constitution in Court during a bail hearing. The Judge asked him what he was talking about, reminding him that we are in Canada and have very different Laws and Constitution. Dwayne was taken aback and then asked the Judge if the Government of Canada was legitimate, the Judge and the Crown prosecutors were in disbelief. Some protesters asked the police to read them their Miranda Rights, there is no such thing in Canadian Law. Truly sad to see so much confusion from people who watch too much Fox News. Dwayne Lich is from Saskatchewan and Amanda from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Both had jobs in the oil patch in Alberta.
Majority of Canadians are disgusted with what they saw in Ottawa and the 3 week occupation of the Capital. The people of the downtown core are proceeding with their Lawsuit against the organizers of the protest, money donated has been frozen in accounts. But what is also apparent now, some so called influencers on YouTube are very well financed. One guy who does videos of Downtown Ottawa got a donation of $40,000 last night (Saturday) from one donor and thank him publicly on his site.
This is what happens when you have a population who does not pay attention, watches to much foreign television and is illiterate in Civics. I feel anxious for the future, something has to give.
Larry Muffin At Home 