Just Watch Him?

By Zamboni

A crazy fringe group in Canada disturbs the peace, threatening (and in some cases, committing) violence. Daily life is upended. Things get so bad that Prime Minister Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act for the first time in peacetime.

Fooled you! The year was 1970, the PM was Pierre, not Justin, and the fringe idiots at the time were the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ). They kidnapped two government officials (and murdered one), blew up mailboxes, and basically wreaked havoc until Trudeau clamped down with what amounted to martial law. It was a bold move on his part — but since Trudeau was a social liberal and civil libertarian, kind of an Only Nixon Could Go to China thing. Asked what else he was capable of, Trudeau replied with a dare: "Just watch me."

Now, in 2022, the question is: Will Justin Trudeau follow in his father's footsteps? The possibility has dawned on us.

Today's Trumpy truckers — who fly Nazi and Confederate flags, attack the homeless, terrorize their fellow Canadians, and call for the hanging of the current Trudeau (sound familiar?) — actually have beefs with the provinces, not the federal government. COVID restrictions have been imposed — and lifted, and reimposed — by provincial premiers. But since the truckers have been blockading and trashing the national capital for the last five days now, sterner measures in Ottawa might be called for. Especially because city government seems overwhelmed, and the repugnant Premier of Ontario, where Ottawa is located, is AWOL.

(Coincidentally, right-wing Premier Jason Kenney is facing a similar dilemma in Alberta, with Trumpy truckers blockading the port of entry to the US at Coutts-Sweet Grass, on the border with Montana. Which could devastate Alberta's economy. Is this was "freedom" is all about?)

When PMJT gets over his COVID, he could have some serious decisions to make. The occupation of downtown Ottawa, a place we're quite fond of, is upsetting, and nightmarish for its residents. But its echoes of January 6 are even worse. It has to end. Prime Minister, in the kind of-sort of words of your dad, we cats are watching.

(UPDATE, February 14: Today, PMJT invoked the Emergencies Act, which was passed by the Conservative Mulroney government in 1988 to replace the War Measures Act. You learn something new every day!)