Portrayal of Poilievre’s campaign unfair

Regarding “Calling out Poilievre’s reckless pandemic politics” (May 2): As per usual The Spectator has published an opinion piece from a left-leaning writer concerning the perceived threat of Pierre Poilievre’s campaign to become prime minister.

The author’s opinion of the trucker protest in Ottawa is filled with inflammatory language and misinformation. Yes, there were some players on the scene nobody wanted, and that very few Canadians support. These types seem to appear at all major protest events to promote their narrow agenda and are paid close attention to by the media.

The claim that the protest was infused with dark money supported by the far-right and aided through foreign disinformation is completely ridiculous. Mostly funded by patriotic Canadians and attended by peaceful and joyous citizens, the people were there to prove a point — that mandatory vaccinations for solo long-haul truckers was and is out of line and a heavy overstep by the Canadian government.

More oversteps include Trudeau invoking the renamed War Measures Act, freezing people’s money because he doesn’t like what he is hearing, and refusing to speak to the leaders of the protest, which is the first step in constructive dialogue in a conflict.

These are not the careful reactions of a democratic leader, but the heavy handed actions of a panicked and frightened man. These alone were dangerous invocations in a supposed free democracy and Trudeau’s actions were condemned worldwide.

It’s all about personal choice and that was what Mr. Poilievre, in my opinion, was promoting. Was the protest an inconvenience to the people of Ottawa? Of course it was, that’s what protests are meant to be, and every Canadian has the right to be involved. Claiming that Mr. Poilievre was backing a movement that was against all mask-wearing and vaccinations is another falsehood. Mr. Poilievre stated multiple times during the protest that he was defending Canadians right to make their own choices that affect their own lives.

Mask mandates and lockdowns for a vaccinated society are a misguided attempt at controlling populations and that is what the truckers were speaking out about.

It is known worldwide that vaccines are effective in reducing the damaging effects of COVID-19, and protect all vaccine recipients against the worst symptoms of the virus. Is also known worldwide that wearing cloth or surgical type masks are ineffective, and mostly a psychological Band-Aid to the wearer, unless the mask is an N95. These N95 masks should have been distributed in Canada from Day 1 as they’ve been proven effective protection.

Using the typical scare tactic language that the media uses in Canada constantly, especially the television media, the writer goes on discussing the many deaths caused by COVID-19 and fear for his family.

While these are concerns, they were mostly facts about the early days of the virus when all were at risk without vaccines. As Mr. Poilievre consistently pointed out, the vaccinated and the young are at much lower risk than the old, compromised, and frail. This is the demographic that governments need to protect and have failed to do so year after year, proven by the multi-province LTC disaster that was exacerbated by COVID-19.

We need strong leadership in Canada and of course the first person that comes along to effectively challenge the tyrannical prime minister of this country is made out to be a dangerous threat. It is comical and in no way believable.

Yes, it’s an opinion piece written by an independent writer, but The Spectator printed it.