I suspect the truckers of Canada had no idea how much of a lightning rod they would become for the millions of Canadians fed up with heavy-handed Governments running their lives.
What started out as a protest against requiring truckers to be vaccinated has morphed into something much larger. I humbly suggest that truckers expand the scope of their protest to address a number of issues of importance to most Canadians. After watching several hours of coverage of the protesters, I have prepared a suggested manifesto.
A TRUCKERS' MANIFESTO
We, the truckers of Canada hold the following truths to be self-evident:
1) Travel Restrictions Based on Vaccination Status Never Made Sense
COVID variants that vaccines prevent are of little importance in a country that is 90% vaccinated. The only variants of real concern are vaccine-escape variants - which can enter Canada easily on fully vaccinated travellers, as we have seen with Omicron. It makes no sense to have different rules for fully vaccinated travellers given that they are no better protected than unvaccinated travellers from the variants we most would want to keep out of Canada.
2) Omicron has Made Vaccine Passports Obsolete
We know from Ontario Government data that those who are fully vaccinated were catching Omicron at a higher rate than the unvaccinated for most of the Omicron wave. If the purpose of Vaccine Passports is to prevent the spread of Omicron, statistically it would make more sense to restrict the activities of the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. That same source indicates that almost three-quarters of those currently in hospital are vaccinated. Though the unvaccinated are over-represented in the hospital population relative to their numbers in the general population, the excess risk for the unvaccinated is quite small in comparison to that of the population age 80 and over. If we are not restricting the ability of those over the age of 80 to go to restaurants and gyms, there is no moral justification to restrict the social activities of the unvaccinated, given that their risk of hospitalization is far, far lower.
3) Early Treatment Can Still Save Lives
A huge new peer-reviewed study from Brazil has indicated that taking prophylactic doses of ivermectin two days per week cuts the risk of COVID infection by 44%, the risk of hospitalization by 56% and the risk of death by 68%. We do not have sufficient supplies of ivermectin available to give prophylactic ivermectin to every Canadian who might want it. There are probably sufficient supplies for those at highest risk - enough to give every care home resident in Canada the option to take prophylactic ivermectin. Ditto for families with an elderly or immune-compromised member of the family.
4) Masks in Schools Cause More Harm Than Good
We now have abundant evidence that masks damage young children in various ways, most particularly in language and social development. Most of Europe never masked children in schools, and has found that unmasked children rarely spread COVID to classmates. The harm of masks in schools outweighs the benefits.
5) It's crazy to be pushing vaccines for children this late in the Omicron wave
Our feckless Prime Minister is still pushing vaccines for children. At this point, many children have already recovered from Omicron and have natural immunity. The rest will likely catch Omicron before any vaccination could take effect. The risk of a healthy child dying of Omicron is comparable to the risk of a child dying of ordinary flu. Why the hysteria, Justin?
6) The Superiority of Natural Immunity Must Be Recognized
The US Center For Disease Control just released a huge study comparing the protection offered by natural immunity compared to that offered by vaccination. That study found that those who had recovered from a previous variant of COVID were one-third as likely to get infected with Delta as those who were fully vaccinated. Those who had natural immunity and became infected with Delta were half as likely to go to hospital as those who were fully vaccinated. Pretty much everyone in Canada is going to be exposed to Omicron in coming weeks, assuming they haven't already recovered from Omicron. All the evidence to date suggests that those who have recovered from Omicron will have a natural immunity that is more robust, more long-lasting and more targeted to likely future variants than any vaccine-based immunity. Why are public health officials so reluctant to listen to the science? Why are they still pushing vaccination when it is not vaccines but Omicron-induced natural immunity that is bringing this pandemic to an end?
7) Doctors and Nurses Fired for Being Unvaccinated Need to be Hired Back.
Omicron may be mild, but with so many infections happening at once, our hospitals are in danger of being overwhelmed. Knowing that the vaccinated are more likely to catch Omicron than the unvaccinated, any justification for 'protecting' patients against unvaccinated doctors and nurses has disappeared. We should also acknowledge that a great many of the doctors and nurses who refused to get vaccinated did so because they were COVID-recovered and had better immunity than the fully-vaccinated. (Let's not forget they often got that natural immunity putting themselves at risk daily - for us!)
8) Justin Trudeau has Divided Canadians with Hate Speech, and Should Resign
Justin Trudeau has turned Canadians against one another in recent months with his slanderous stereotyping of the unvaccinated. If similar hostile stereotyping had been directed at a racial minority, it would have been correctly considered a hate crime. Justin Trudeau has lost the moral authority to govern. For the good of the country, he should resign.
9) Canada should follow the lead of Denmark, and Let Life Return to Normal
Denmark is about two weeks ahead of Canada in the spread of the Omicron wave. Cases there have been falling rapidly, and hospitalizations have started to drop. Denmark has just cancelled all COVID public health measures: no more masking, no more social distancing, no vaccine passports. England has also cancelled almost all anti-COVID measures, as have Holland and South Africa. In two weeks, Canada should follow the lead of Denmark. It's time to put the pandemic behind us.
10) When the Pandemic is Over, Canada Needs A Royal Commission
We need a forensic audit to understand why Canada did what it did during the COVID pandemic. Perhaps then we will be able to understand why numerous impoverished and unvaccinated Third World countries have had death rates orders of magnitude lower than that of Canada. We need an accurate accounting of the economic and mental health costs of lock-downs. We need to know why Canada never conducted large scale clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, fluvoxamine, and vitamin D despite abundant evidence these medications were saving lives in other jurisdictions. It will be important to understand why and how Canada's mainstream media became the de facto propaganda arm of the Trudeau Government, rather than encouraging debate and giving voice to a range of public opinion. Perhaps then we will know better which decisions were based on science, which were based on panic, and which were designed to further the financial interests of Big Pharma. Canadians need to understand fully what happened with COVID-19 so that we can do much better the next time there's a pandemic.
PS: Who’d have thought a Canadian pollster could be such a force for revolutionary change? Angus Reid polling has found that 21% of Canadians believe they’ve already had Omicron. An incredible 54% say it’s time to end COVID restrictions! US Senator Ron Paul has lauded the Trucker Convoy. Tucker Carlson is priceless in sending up Trudeau and the CBC. Even Sky News from Australia gets it: Media 'ignores and misrepresents' Canadian protests.
Here’s James Taylor singing a tribute to the independent truckers of the world. Keep on Truckin!
Studs Terkel, American author and historian, wrote a book called WORKING which was later turned into a musical. One of my favorite numbers has been playing in my mind for weeks: "Brother Trucker," a role originally sung by (the) James Taylor. Go, Brother Truckers--and these days also "Go, Mother Truckers."