The border crossing between Coutts, Alberta (CA) and Sweet Grass, Montana (USA) continues to be closed despite truckers opening a lane in either direction as a show of good faith. The dynamics in this regional part of the larger Freedom Convoy protests are very interesting. The Alberta protests are in support of the larger trucker protest taking place in Ottawa.
Last night, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (the Robert the Bruce character in the province), disparaged the truckers in the protest group and claimed, without evidence, that violence was taking place in the confrontation between RCMP and the Truckers. It was all lies.
Just like Justin Trudeau makes stuff up for media stenographers to draw an alternate framework of reality, so too did Jason Kenney have the same motive. The painfully political Kenney, a visible elitist and detached politician, was playing his controlled opposition role and attacking the Freedom Truckers.
Just to give appropriate understanding for how detached these conservatives in Canada are from the people they claim to represent, Jason Kenney’s political worm traits were on full display during his prepared remarks on Tuesday. However, 24 hours later, as soon as his brother in controlled opposition Erin O’Toole was removed from political power, suddenly Premier Kenney has a change of heart and proclaims his allegiance to the Truckers, saying, “I’m on your side.” The slime oozes from this guy.
Despite all that, the truckers remained focused -reinforced their ranks- and engaged in conversation with the rural Ministers of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly (MLA’s). The MLA’s are apparently slightly less slimy creatures akin to political clan leaders in the province.
The rural MLA’s said they would hold a meeting and drop the COVID mandates, thereby supporting the demands of the truckers. In exchange, and as an act of good faith, the truckers would open a lane in each direction of the highway at the Coutts border crossing area. The RCMP was happy to see negotiations be fruitful and backed away from any police enforcement action.
However, the The United Conservative Party, the right wing of the Trudeau led uniparty, then denied there was any agreement:
“Reports have surfaced that the United Conservative rural caucus has negotiated an agreement to temporarily end the Coutts blockade pending the outcome of a rural caucus meeting to discuss the immediate lifting of the Restrictions Exemption Program (REP),” UCP caucus chair Nathan Neudorf said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“No such agreement has been authorized and the meeting is not to discuss lifting the REP. As the Premier [Kenney] has stated, Alberta will begin lifting restrictions very soon, likely within days, starting with the REP.” (link)
Conservative politics in Canada is even more slimy than GOP politics in the U.S.
The Conservative Party does not want to see the truckers achieve through grassroots activism what their highbrow political pontifications could not deliver. Therefore, the official position of the Conservative Party of Canada is to downplay the influence of the truckers until the installed correct thinking politicians are in position to take credit.
The problem for Premier Jason Kenney, and the larger Conservative Political Party in Canada not just in Alberta, is the blue collar truckers and grassroots ordinary Canadians have proven they can win without politicians. This is a similar scenario to the Tea Party in the U.S. circa 2010.
Just as the GOP in the U.S. is full of useless pontificating cocktail party cronies who powder themselves in the country clubs of Wall Street finance, so too does the Conservative Party of Canada follow the same political business model.
Kenney and the Conservative Party are trying to figure out how to acquiesce to the Freedom Trucker movement and remove COVID restrictions without letting it appear like the Freedom Truckers won. The dynamic is transparent and sickening, and it shows the reason why there has been no opposition to Justin Trudeau throughout his tenure.
The Canadian Conservative Party is the right wing of the UniParty bird, and the extreme liberals are the left wing. Both parties support the vulture of big government.
As a result, the Freedom Trucker movement is a threat to politicians in the Canadian Conservative Party just like the Tea Party and MAGA movement were/are a threat to the Republican Party in the U.S.
The working class in Canada holds all the power, but both wings of the UniParty do not want that noticed. Unfortunately for them, the Freedom Trucker movement has exposed the power of the people in Canada, and the politicians -in both parties- don’t know how to act.