The cartoon in the Nov. 3 paper was something I could do without.
This inquiry into the necessity of the Emergencies Act is a finger-pointing exercise at best.
During the FLQ crisis Trudeau the Elder imposed the War Measures Act for 11 weeks. The only Canadians impacted by that were the criminal element. The British ambassador was rescued. Unfortunately, Pierre LaPorte was kidnapped and murdered.
Jean Chretien backed up the Securite de Quebec with the army and resolved Oka.
Throughout the pandemic, truckers were saints on wheels according to Trudeau. They kept us fed, kept medical supplies moving, kept us warm. Some things we take for granted were in short supply but remember, 80-90 per cent of all things we consume are moved by a truck driver.
When he announced truck drivers had to be vaccinated, Trudeau made them pariahs. Ipso facto you got the occupation.
At that time, using federal government data and press statements by the government, the 38-day period prior to this edict, random testing at airports caught 0.1 per cent of all inbound air passengers with COVID on the random testing – 639 cases.
The highest stated number of truckers entering Canada was unclear, as some said 12,000 daily, others 24,000 which could be in and out. But using 24,000 and the airport data, 24 cases would have been caught over 38 days when 6,500-7,000 new cases per day were being reported across Canada.
Was the Emergencies Act needed? No, not if Trudeau used his data and realized that the truckers would have been statistically insignificant in the big picture and not worth talking about.
Millions will be spent on the inquiry that could be better spent elsewhere and, in the end, it will change nothing. The citizens of Ottawa I think would agree it was necessary.
Alex Currie
North Saanich
