# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/61 "2022-02-11T08:21:48Z")
The police say they are recording and tracking all 911 calls (which of course they have _always_ done and always will), and they will investigate any that seem bogus, which could lead to charges. What tools do they have to pursue and investigation and charges against callers in the United States? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/62 "2022-02-11T08:33:20Z")
They will work with American authorities, as they so often do. Cross-border cooperation between Canadian and American police is quite common. If Americans are calling in bogus 911 calls to Ottawa (Ontario) law enforcement, then the Canadians will let their American counterparts know. After that, it’s up to American authorities to tag them for making bogus calls to any 911 line, no matter where it is located. And then, there is this guy, who never consulted a map: > **[Man upset over Canada’s mask mandates makes bomb threat to Ohio’s Ottawa -...](https://globalnews.ca/news/8609706/canada-mask-mandates-bomb-threat-ohio-ottawa/)** > > A man who wanted to join the protests in Canada's capital over mask mandates threatens the wrong Ottawa. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/63 "2022-02-11T09:18:12Z")
Yes, that is the fool I meant in post 35, he even made it into Wikipedia (see the post I reply to). How stupid can you be? It blows my mind. And there is this, which I don’t know where else to put, so here it goes: > **[The anti-vaxx Canadian truckers want to talk to you about Bitcoin](https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/9/22925823/canadian-trucker-convoy-anti-vaxx-bitcoin-press-conference)** > > The anti-vaxx protests have converged with Bitcoin. A reference to this other thread should be appropiate too (hope I am linking this right): > [@Cryptocurrency and NFTs](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cryptocurrency-and-nfts/959211): > > Two things I don’t understand, despite many attempts by their aficionados to explain them to me. I wonder if there’s any connection between them, or if they just both happen to be concepts that seem to me incomprehensible, very recent, and based on some sort of ‘virtual’ value that didn’t exist before someone invented them out of thin air. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/64 "2022-02-11T12:36:35Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > As much as I dislike her, she’s stuck in the no-win scenario, and Captain Kirk she isn’t. LOL I like that. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/65 "2022-02-11T12:47:20Z")
The Gov Gen’s office was flooded with calls demanding she get with the Supreme Court and unseat the Trudeau government! (Um, that’s NOT how things even work!) Most of those calls also originated in the US, I read. In addition, the ‘go fund me’ that was halted and refunded, was 53% far right US donors, by far the lion’s share. All other donations were split among several sectors. Canadians should be really concerned about what ‘foreign agents’, are doing in their sandbox. Protocol demands Trudeau wait for the Premier to request federal intervention, I believe. But a Conservative Premier won’t, as these are his people. So Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, it’s largest city, Toronto, the busiest border crossing have all been blocked and occupied and are being held ransom to a group that won’t denounce the nazi flags, or public shitting, brought their kids as human shields, so no one can move against them, and announced they aren’t leaving ‘till they get what they want’. That’s NOT a negotiation. Even though these mandates will mostly be rescinded within weeks! Because it’s not about mandates, (their whole industry is nothing but health and safety mandates, from special licenses, to training, weight allowances, hours driven, tire pressure, etc, etc). This is conservative bros angry they lost the elections, seizing an opportunity to be obnoxious to the liberals who won. Ontario, as a province, they especially hate because, as the most populous province, most often gets it’s way and shapes policy having more political influence. (Though to be fair they are also making some mayhem at border crossings out west!) So the PM won’t intervene in a Conservative province till the Premier asks, (or things get truly dire!), but the Premier won’t as he needs to not annoy his base and has national aspirations, I suspect. Meantime, Ontario’s cities are being trashed by these people. Some one needs to act. Watching this spiral and multiply around the world is absolutely heartbreaking, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/66 "2022-02-11T13:17:27Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > The problem is, it doesn’t take that many jerks in trucks to really screw shit up. Particularly if the people in power aren’t willing to play hardball with them, and pretty much just let them do whatever they want. That’s the unfortunate take-away lesson from the last two weeks. I have zero doubt that these protests are organized and financed by people outside of Canada for their own interests, and that this is being used as a test run for other Western democracies. My brother drives a big rig for a living and there is no way he can take his truck on a 2+ week protest w/o being paid somehow. I’m already hearing calls about similar March 1st protests being held in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/67 "2022-02-11T13:27:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m already hearing calls about similar March 1st protests being held in the US. Earlier than that. [DHS is expecting a convoy to start Sunday at the Superbowl.](https://www.npr.org/2022/02/10/1079870231/super-bowl-truckers-protest-dhs) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/68 "2022-02-11T14:41:29Z")
That sounds like a great way to get people on your side. It’ll be interesting, I have a number of clients that have forked out tens of thousands of dollars to go see the Bengals in their first Superbowl in decades, some the first time (and probably last) of their lives. These are extremely conservative people, most of whom voted for Trump. I am happy to see a Superbowl get sacrificed if it means that these people stop supporting the Republican party. Be amusing if this action is what ends up flipping Ohio blue for the upcoming senate race. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/69 "2022-02-11T14:54:08Z")
> **[U.S. offers Trudeau government help to end border blockade | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/white-house-border-convoy-protest-covid-response-1.6347421)** > > U.S. officials have offered to help the Trudeau government end a protest blockade whose effects are multiplying across the border and causing increasing concern in Washington. Nice to see, despite (for now, anyway): > [@](#): > > The White House did not elaborate on the offer of help. Mayorkas’s department handles multiple agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I know they at least can really really use some paper towels. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/70 "2022-02-11T15:32:32Z")
Well, there goes my ‘lets move to Canada and wait this shit out’ plan. ---
**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 11, 2022, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/71 "2022-02-11T15:41:27Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It’ll be interesting, I have a number of clients that have forked out tens of thousands of dollars to go see the Bengals in their first Superbowl in decades, some the first time (and probably last) of their lives. > > These are extremely conservative people, most of whom voted for Trump. I am happy to see a Superbowl get sacrificed if it means that these people stop supporting the Republican party. And also, anyone who can afford to drop that much on a ticket to a football game can almost certainly afford to drop that much on a lawyer to sue the pants off of absolutely everybody who screwed up said football game. If the truckers win on Sunday, it’s going to be hi-larious watching then lose everything in the following months. These football fans will be mounting their trucks as trophies on the front lawns of their mansions all over the country. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/72 "2022-02-11T15:44:52Z")
If you think they’ll blame anyone but Biden, you’re fooling yourself. Conservatives will support the truckers fully. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/73 "2022-02-11T15:49:52Z")
Leaving the Super Bowl aside. The one thing that appears to be missing now is the news reporters doing “driver in the truck” interviews actually asking these people: “What IS your grievance? What would have to change in order for you to give up this protest?” Given the nature of this protest I suspect that there would be many different answers. It might even shock some of the protesters to hear what others say. (Or it might inflame them further…) (Deja vu: Remember the Terry Pratchett novel where someone used peoples’ petty grievances to amass power and summon up dragons?) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/74 "2022-02-11T15:55:59Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > anyone who can afford to drop that much on a ticket to a football game can almost certainly afford to drop that much on a lawyer to sue the pants off of absolutely everybody who screwed up said football game. Or _is_ a lawyer. Or judge, or politician. > [@Chingon](#): > > If you think they’ll blame anyone but Biden, you’re fooling yourself. Conservatives will support the truckers fully. Eh, I’m not so sure. They may be supportive of such efforts, up until when it personally inconveniences _them_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/75 "2022-02-11T16:08:28Z")
> **[Automakers face even more supply chain pain as Canadian protesters block a...](https://www.npr.org/2022/02/10/1079834996/automakers-workers-supply-chains-canada-protests-ambassador-bridge)** > > Car makers are canceling some production shifts as protests over public health measures in Canada shut a key bridge that connects Detroit to Ontario. With [used car prices driving inflation,](https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/a-scarcity-of-chips-feeds-frustration-inflation/89491898) this disruption the new car supply chain can’t be good. ---
**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 11, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/76 "2022-02-11T16:11:47Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > The one thing that appears to be missing now is the news reporters doing “driver in the truck” interviews actually asking these people: “What IS your grievance? What would have to change in order for you to give up this protest?” Most serious reporters aren’t getting close to them any more. There were several reporters mobbed and harassed the first few days any time they tried to get close to the protest. I’ve seen a few “live streamers” talking to some of the convoyers, and yeah, they’re basically as incoherent as you’d expect them to be. Stick a Canadian flag on a typical Trump rally attendee, and you pretty much have it. What few of them can string together a coherent narrative about why they are here pretty much just recite every anti-science conspiracy theory you’ve heard about the vaccines and COVID. ---
**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 11, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/77 "2022-02-11T16:57:07Z")
Conservative premier Ford has announced a state of emergency. He explicitly called this a siege and promised fines and jail time for the criminals involved. Also revocation of commercial driver’s licenses I think flooding 911 with fake calls was the tipping point. The support for the fake truckers just plummeted. It does not help their cause when it’s obvious that this is being orchestrated and financed by Americans either. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/78 "2022-02-11T19:35:24Z")
I don’t think it was the flood of fake calls. I think it was the threat to the auto industry. If the auto industry collapses, then the Ontario economy takes a serious hit, which Ford cannot afford in the upcoming election. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/79 "2022-02-11T20:10:37Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Conservative premier Ford has announced a state of emergency. He explicitly called this a siege and promised fines and jail time for the criminals involved. For those interested: > **[Trucker protests: Ontario calls state of emergency](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60352980)** > > Demonstrations continue to shut down parts of Ottawa as well as vital border crossings. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186/80 "2022-02-11T20:21:33Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > So Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, it’s largest city, Toronto, the busiest border crossing have all been blocked and occupied and are being held ransom to a group that won’t denounce the nazi flags, or public shitting, brought their kids as human shields, so no one can move against them, and announced they aren’t leaving ‘till they get what they want’. To be honest, I’ve been trying to figure out just what these people want and I’m not at all clear on that. No vaccinations anywhere? No masks? (Those mandates are being rescinded as omnicron fades, even as we speak) Free pitbull puppies for all? What? With the auto industry shutting down due to this these yahoos are going to start getting pressure from both sides of the border. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-dopers-freedom-convoy/959186.md?page=5)