Roundup: Bike rally goes nowhere fast

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It is now around day sixty-eight of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and a UN convoy has managed to evacuate some of the civilians who have been trapped under that steel plant in Mariupol, which is promising news, but we’ll see how long these humanitarian corridors can remain in place. Wives of some of the Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol are also calling for the soldiers to be evacuated as well.

Also, this weekend was the fact that we learned that US Speaker Nancy Pelosi also visited Kyiv unannounced, and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which is turning into quite a convoy of American officials, and that in turn is turning into some bellyaching about why we haven’t seen any Canadian officials there. Which is a bit ridiculous, and would seem to me to play into the notion that this particular government is all about photo ops, and what more would a trip to Kyiv be at this particular point?

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1520680217177726977

Closer to home, that “bike rally” was largely a non-event outside of a few blocks, though things did get a bit testy at times over the weekend, with police taking no bullshit and arresting several of the protesters, some of whom were found to be violating their bail conditions after they were arrested during the occupation a few months ago. It’s kind of amazing what can happen when the police do their jobs and don’t let an occupation get entrenched because they either were sympathetic, or didn’t believe the occupiers when they clearly stated that their goal was an occupation. With any luck, this could dampen the enthusiasm for any future such “protests,” though I worry that we may not be so lucky.

Good reads:

  • Marco Mendicino says that downplaying what happened during the occupation in Ottawa is “revisionist” (and he’s right).
  • A Statistics Canada report shows that Indigenous women who were taken into government care as a child are more likely to face violence as an adult.
  • Apparently Novavax is the vaccine of choice for those who have been scared off by disinformation about mRNA vaccines.
  • All six confirmed Conservative leadership candidates were at an event in the GTA this weekend, and not hanging round the bike rally in Ottawa.
  • Here is a look at how the pandemic is shaping the narratives of the Conservative leadership race.
  • In spite of having a significant francophone population in the province, none of the current party leaders in Ontario actually speaks French.
  • Chantal Hébert looks at the political actors in Ontario, Quebec, and the Conservative leadership race, and wonders if climate change is starting to fall off the radar.
  • Susan Delacourt remarks on the differences apparent with this weekend’s supposed “bike rally” as opposed to the occupation in January and February.

Odds and ends:

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4 thoughts on “Roundup: Bike rally goes nowhere fast”

  1. I disagree with you on your view of visits to Kyiv by politicians. PM JT is missing in action on this file, it would make a difference in the worldview of Canada to go for a visit and to bring with him more aid. Also not reopening our Embassy while other like minded countries have reopened and we are still talking about looking into the security blah blah, how not credible is that. Canada enters a period of isolation on the Ukraine question?

    • PMJT is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. If he goes, he gets vilified for “photo ops” and the usual bad-faith gotcha about his carbon footprint. If he doesn’t go he is vilified for abandoning Ukrainians. Biden did not go, and PMJT is as much a high risk target. DPM Freeland is high on Putin’s hit list; she has been a thorn in the KGB’s side for 30+ years, and she is now arguably the most high-profile Ukrainian elected official other than Zelensky himself. So it would not be wise to send her either, out of the strong possibility she would get the Navalny treatment. I would guess someone like Rae or Joly might go. But not the boss or his second-in-command.

  2. The conservative leader hopefuls are leaving “climate change” in their rearview mirrors because for them the issue is a minefield. First they have to cater to their followers who don’t believe in climate change and second they have no cogent policy to offer Canadians.
    Canadians will have ample opportunity to see for themselves how bankrupt the failed CPC is on this and so many more issues. They will attack Trudeau unmercifully as do all aspirants to authoritative regimes who resort to ad hominem attacks and non sequiturs to detract from their own shortcomings. Chantal is usually interesting, We will see if she is even more perceptive or will she deliver her daily dollop of political pap for her cheque without offending the good folks on all sides?

    • Chantal has adjusted her commentary accordingly to satisfy the new right-wing ownership. Hers used to be the gold standard of Canadian political commentary but now she’s swimming in the same swamp with the likes of Lilley, Goldstein, and the indistinguishable Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum conjoined twins of Ibbitson and Ivison. Anyone worth reading has gone to the independents now.

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