# Canadian 'dopers, Freedom Convoy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 10, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186 "2022-02-10T00:07:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/421 "2022-02-18T20:31:52Z")
I know it would never happen, and would not be a good idea even if it could… But wouldn’t it be funny if these MEdom protesters went home and found their property surrounded by “protesters” who would not let them in? Until they agreed to some ridiculous demands? “We will end this protest around your house ONLY when you lower the price of milk and eliminate the Dairy Marketing Board!!! You have 2 days to comply. Oh, and this guy over here demands that you stop the giant space laser that is pointed at his head” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/422 "2022-02-18T20:55:19Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Oh, and this guy over here demands that you stop the giant space laser that is pointed at his head “Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout? I ain’t Jewish!” ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/423 "2022-02-18T21:22:18Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > “Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout? I ain’t Jewish!” “I’m actually the leader of the mt Green party” ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/424 "2022-02-18T23:18:57Z")
Watching the police action is very interesting and I worry that things are going to heat up. A while ago police had to send mounted cops between the lines of protesters and police because of a threat to the police at that instance; some asshole of a protester threw a bicycle at the legs of one of the horses and injured it. The bike thrower has been arrested. And every time a protester is interviewed we hear the same bog-standard bs from them that indicates that they are incredibly selfish and entitled assholes. I also wonder if this is, at this time, the most filmed, followed police action in a western country. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/425 "2022-02-18T23:21:51Z")
Nice to see the police staying calm in the face of moderate provocation (?). News said over 70 arrests and 21 trucks towed, though many more trucks left voluntarily. I hope they have all the people gone by tomorrow. The trucks will take much longer. Snow did not seem to be stopping much. Ford also on the news, reminding folks Toronto did not have the problems Ottawa did and giving credit to the police and Tory. This is true. But one also suspects the harder protestors wanted to go to Ottawa, and the situations were not equivalent. Since more protests are in the future, I hope they are systematically handled better, and in similar ways. One of the good things about the Canadian judiciary is a relative lack of politics compared to the US. It is a big advantage. I know military people and police officers who also complained about too much politics. Likely there are many areas where things work better when these are minimized. Canada fought Covid better because of this, for example. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/426 "2022-02-18T23:32:42Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > a relative lack of politics compared to the US Very true, though that seems to be shifting, unfortunately, with the likes of Candace Bergen trying to exploit this for the Conservative party. I think, however, that she is really driving the party in a really bad, Republican-lite direction. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/427 "2022-02-19T00:27:24Z")
Following up on this, it turns out they’re Durham regional police. CTV had a long shot of them where they were processing arrests in the underpass at the Shaw Center (used to be the Congress Center, it’s attached to the Rideau Center, the big shopping mall that had to be closed because of the idiots). ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/428 "2022-02-19T00:56:40Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The brakes are on when there is no pressure in the system. Weird. I’d read the brakes are applied by pressure applied from a reservoir through a triple valve to the brake cylinder, same as on railroads. This is why you need runaway truck ramps; injudicious apply and release cycles can exhaust the reservoir. On railroads this is so you can control a large amount of compressed air stored along the length of the train by releasing or applying a relatively small amount in the brake pipe. This would not be as big a factor for a tractor and semitrailer or two. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/429 "2022-02-19T01:22:08Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Rideau Center, the big shopping mall that had to be closed because of the idiots). Rideau Center should join the class action lawsuit and get as much compensation as possible for the damage to their business. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/430 "2022-02-19T01:42:36Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Weird. I’d read the brakes are applied by pressure applied from a reservoir through a triple valve to the brake cylinder, same as on railroads. This is why you need runaway truck ramps; injudicious apply and release cycles can exhaust the reservoir. This is true of the service brakes (the brakes that are actuated by pushing the pedal.) Pushing it too much will indeed deplete the air tanks, although the engine will soon build up more air pressure again as the air compressor is driven by the engine. The parking brake, however, is the one that’s designed with a failsafe principle, meaning that the air pressure is what’s keeping it _disengaged_, and the loss of pressure beyond a certain PSI in the system will engage it and hold it on until more pressure is built up. I think a runaway tcuk is caused more frequently by the brakes overheating and thereby losing their friction power, than by the air tank running out. You should shift to a lower gear before going down a grade, rather than relying on the brakes alone to slow you. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/431 "2022-02-19T01:45:09Z")
Ah, thank you. I didn’t know they were entirely separate systems on a truck. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/432 "2022-02-19T01:57:36Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Question: is “counselling to commit” the approximate equivalent of a charge in the USA of “conspiring” to commit a crime? No, conspiracy is different. Conspiracy is at least two people agreeing to commit a crime. Counselling can be one person, urging others to commit a crime. Crown doesn’t need to prove an agreement, or that anyone actually did commit a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/433 "2022-02-19T01:58:12Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > They are working at increasing the number of plaintifs named in the suit: > > > [@](#): > > > > Private investigators had been gathering information about the trucks at the demonstration, logging licence plates and tracing owners through provincial registries. I think you mean “defendants”? To cast the net wide? Because in a class action you just need one representative plaintiff, usually. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/434 "2022-02-19T02:13:31Z")
I think I was unclear because I don’t know the correct language. I understand they are looking at finding more people who were responsible for blocking businesses and disturbing residents beyond the organizers and the money collectors (grifters). For example, the individual truck owners who were blasting their horns all night. And they’re also looking for others to join the class action (eg. businesses). Wouldn’t this give the case more clout if pthere were hundreds of individuals and businesses who can all show they were damaged by the MeDom protest? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/435 "2022-02-19T02:18:58Z")
I’m not familiar with class actions, but generally you don’t want a lot of plaintiffs, because the more plaintiffs you have, the stronger the argument that it’s not really a class action, but more a collection of individual actions. But I suppose you can have sub-classes, all with a claim against the defendants: residents feeling trapped in their houses, workers afraid to go to work, businesses shutting, all because of the defendants’ actions. This is going to keep the courts and the bar busy for a few years… ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/436 "2022-02-19T02:44:23Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > Question: is “counselling to commit” the approximate equivalent of a charge in the USA of “conspiring” to commit a crime? > > No, conspiracy is different. Conspiracy is at least two people agreeing to commit a crime. Counselling can be one person, urging others to commit a crime. Crown doesn’t need to prove an agreement, or that anyone actually did commit a crime. Ah. Thanks for answer. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/437 "2022-02-19T02:47:51Z")
Here’s thje actual wording: > [@](#): > > Counselling offence that is not committed > > **464** Except where otherwise expressly provided by law, the following provisions apply in respect of persons who counsel other persons to commit offences, namely, > > (a) every one who counsels another person to commit an indictable offence is, if the offence is not committed, guilty of an indictable offence and liable to the same punishment to which a person who attempts to commit that offence is liable; and > > (b) every one who counsels another person to commit an offence punishable on summary conviction is, if the offence is not committed, guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction. > **[Criminal Code](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-464.html)** > > Federal laws of Canada I imagine that if an offence is actually committed, the person would be charged as a party or something along those lines, but I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/438 "2022-02-19T03:27:27Z")
I was surprised at the high potential penalties for committing mischief. But I suppose in practice it is usually a summary conviction? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/439 "2022-02-19T03:41:31Z")
This might be how protestors see themselves? > **[35 Canadian Memes That Are Making People Crack Up At The Country’s Stereotypes](https://www.boredpanda.com/canada-memes-2022/)** > > Canada is a very wonderful place, but the internet loves to meme-ify every place as such. In this list you'll find some of the most amazing memes about Canada. Check it out, eh? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/440 "2022-02-19T03:52:49Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I was surprised at the high potential penalties for committing mischief. But I suppose in practice it is usually a summary conviction? Virtually all “mischief” offenses have the option of being charged as either indictable or summary offenses. Mischief that endangers life must be charged by indictment, and is punishable by up to life imprisonment. It’s unfortunate that the word “mischief” has come into common use to imply a relatively harmless childish prank. In law, it defines a broad set of potentially serious criminal offenses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186.md?page=23)