For Wolf.
Lt. Wolf Wm Solkin was a Canadian hero and a personal one to myself and many others. As a young man, he volunteered to fight tyranny in Europe, and when he came home he would continue fighting. He would battle against all levels of government until he died, tenaciously fighting for and on behalf of veterans. I saw him as the Dean of Canadian Veteran’s Advocacy and, after he left us shortly before his 98th birthday three years ago, even though he wasn’t a Catholic, I would think of him as its Patron Saint.
We miss you, Wolf.
This is for you.
Saturday, 12 February.
Off to Ottawa.
Weather observations – Calgary 12 February 2022
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/calgary/historic?month=2&year=2022
It was a mild 1 degree Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) at 7AM when I arrived at the airport, and a Chinook arch was visible as the sun rose and I waited in the lounge to board the 9AM flight to Ottawa. Usually, I like to be among the first in line, but I wasn’t looking forward to being on this plane for any longer than was absolutely necessary. Although restrictions were starting to be lifted in Alberta, wearing a mask was still mandatory aboard all aircraft and I was about to be on one for roughly five and a half hours.
My vaccine status and position on the issues.
Vaccine status.
Obviously, since I was able to board an aircraft at that time, I had to have at the very least received the first two COVID-19 inoculations to get my “vaccine passport” which would allow me to do so. It was only after a great deal of consideration that I decided to get those injections, and I would be making as informed a choice as one could hope to expect at the time. I was well aware of the potential risks that would or possibly could come with this vaccine, but then, I also knew that I was facing a certain degree of risk every time I was prescribed a drug that was new to me.
I know that there are people out there who would call me a sheep for having decided to get the vaccine. To them, I would say that it is because of that kind of rigid black-and-white thinking that we now find ourselves in the predicament we currently find ourselves in, not just as a country but across the globe.
Believe me when I say that I had spent a considerable amount of time learning just exactly how little one can place one’s trust in either government or the pharmaceutical industrial complex. I’m not given to swallow everything that I am fed, particularly when it comes to those two entities. Having weighed the pros and cons, I decided that I would get the first two shots should I ever need to do some business travelling. Turns out that I was right on that point.
Pandemic response and aftermath.
I could write another series about my thoughts on the response to the pandemic and its subsequent aftermath, but, for the sake of brevity, I will attempt to summarize my position as succinctly as possible while not appearing to be glib about it.
Time has gone on to prove that, in Canada and the United States at least, the socio-economic fallout will be felt for years to come as a result of how this was (mis)handled by our elected officials. While it didn’t turn out to be the catalyst for governments to start locking people up in camps as some had feared, it was the cause of deep divisions in a society that was already rife with division. We were weakened even further, much to the delight of our enemies, among them the People’s Republic of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, not to mention non-state actors like religious fundamentalist groups and other terrorist organizations (Hamas, Hezbollah, etc,).
English historian Dr. David Starkey provides an interesting take on inflation, comparing what happened in the post-war era economies following the two World Wars to what occurred in the wake of what he calls the “Covid phoney war”.
The Freedom Convoy.
Leadership/organization.
There seemed to be several people whose names were being mentioned in the media as being associated with the Freedom Convoy in some capacity, typically as an “organizer”. Of these, however, three would stand out more than the others.
Tamara Lich & Chris Barber.
At the time I wasn’t familiar with either Tamara Lich or Chris Barber, so I had no basis on which to form an opinion of them other than that they were both passionate about how they felt and were willing to act on their principles. As for the GoFundMe effort, I didn’t contribute to it because it wasn’t clear who would be administering it, how the funds were to be spent, etc.. It wasn’t so much a matter of thinking the funds would be stolen as it was a seeming lack of organization on their part. Saying this, trying to organize something like this would be a monumental task taking at the very least several weeks of planning by numerous people, all of whom are singing off the same sheet as it were.
My only real concern was that it might not get much support east of Manitoba given Lich’s separatist affiliations, although she did resign from her position in the Maverick party in early February of 2022 to dedicate all of her attention to the protest.
Tamara Lich and Chris Barber both face four charges, with Lich spending 48 days in custody before being granted bail, while Barber was released the day after his arrest.
Pat King.
Pat King however was a name that I was familiar with, as I knew of him through various Facebook pages and groups that I belonged to. After seeing some of his posts and talking with several people, I concluded that he was an opportunist who had previously misrepresented himself to the veteran community. I’ve heard from more than a few veterans who referred to him as a grifter. Quite frankly I would trust the man about as far as I could throw him, and I felt that his presence could only prove detrimental to the cause.
He is facing 16 charges and spent 150 days in custody before being granted bail.
The capriciousness of Canadian criminal justice.
Despite how I may feel about Kimg personally I do not think that he deserved to spend five months in jail before being granted bail, and in both his and Tamara Lich’s case, the amount of time spent in custody seems disproportionate to the crimes being charged, especially when because people charged with far more serious crimes have seen much less time behind bars awaiting trial.
As of the time of this writing, Lich and Barber’s trial remains adjourned, while King’s trial is slated to begin in May of this year.
Western Separation.
At one time I was among those in Alberta who believed that the West would be better off breaking away from Confederation and doing our own thing, it was a belief that I had held onto from the time I was old enough to vote. After all, I grew up during the reign of the first Trudeau and the economic ruin he inflicted on my home province with the National Energy Program, so I was all about breaking away from Ottawa and committing to the fight.
Things started to change for me about five years ago, however. For one thing, when I decided to become an advocate for veterans, it was to be for all veterans no matter where they lived or were from, east or west. I had also grown tired of the Western Separatist movement being nothing but talk, all sizzle and no steak. No charismatic leader has yet emerged with a comprehensive plan that will detail how they would address every aspect of separation that would need to be addressed, and I would expect such a plan to be at least several hundred pages long, not laid out in bullet form on two or three. Until such time comes, I find that it would be just a waste of time for me to even think about it, I have better things to be doing.
Wheels down.
Weather observations – Ottawa 12 February 2022
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/ottawa/historic?month=2&year=2022
3 PM EST – Temperature -13C/9F (Wind Chill -25C/-13F)
The mask was gone the moment I was off the aircraft and on the jetway, making a beeline for the main entrance so that I could have a cigarette and catch up with events online. As soon as I stepped outside I was hit with an arctic blast, as temperatures in Ottawa began to plummet and the wind started to gust steadily while I was en route. I knew that this bitter cold would greet me on my arrival, but it didn’t prepare me for the frigid shock. I lit a cigarette and discovered that while I was in the air the fence that had been put up around the National War Memorial had been taken down by a group of veterans, in a move decried by the evidently clueless Minister of Veteran’s Affairs, Larry MacAulay.
Somehow MacAulay failed to understand was, to veterans, that damn fence was just as much a desecration of the memorial as the acts committed by the ignorant protester. To suggest that veterans would intentionally disrespect the War Memorial was completely asinine and foolish on his part. In fact, after removing the barricade, there was an almost constant presence of veterans standing watch at the monument to ensure that no further acts of desecration would be committed by anyone. They wouldn’t abide the behaviour of knucklehead fools, no matter who they were, protestor or otherwise. I would spend several hours there myself that week, at times going in the middle of the night when things were quiet to keep vigil over the unknown soldier entombed there. I resolved that if and when the situation escalated, it would be where I made my last stand.
I finished smoking that cigarette in a hurry, eager to return to the terminal’s warmth and headed to wait for my baggage to land on the carousel. A short time later I was in a cab headed downtown, listening to the local news as it played on the car’s radio.
Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ottawa.
Also known as the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Downtown on King Edward Avenue and conveniently located 2 kilometres, about a ten-minute walk, from the National War Memorial, it would be my base of operations for the week. As the cab pulled into the carport, I could see a group of people with Canadian flags going into the hotel and was happy to see that there would be other people of like mind staying in the hotel. I checked in and went to wait for an elevator to take me upstairs, and was joined by an attractive young woman who had also just checked in. As we got on the lift she asked if I was in town with the convoy, and I told her that I wasn’t “with” them but that was why I was there. I told her that I was a writer and freelance investigative journalist and had just flown in from Calgary. I in turn found out that she had just arrived from Vancouver and was a lawyer considering a run in local politics. As I was about to exit onto my floor she gave me her business card and I immediately recognized her last name as being Ethiopian. I thanked her and said that I would likely be seeing her around.
Dinner out – Chez Lucien.
After getting settled in at the hotel I wanted to get something to eat, and I wasn’t about to have fast food on my first night in Ottawa, so I searched online for a place within a few blocks since I really didn’t feel like walking a long way in the frigid weather. Chez Lucien was only a couple of blocks to the west and looked like a good place to relax and have a couple of beers and a bite to eat after a long day.
I sat at the bar, the place having a very cozy environment that would be good for a date night or an evening out with some friends. I got a pint of beer from the friendly bartender and then asked her for an order of Mussels and Fries ($14), which came before I had the chance to finish half my pint of beer. I decided to empty the glass and order another pint to enjoy with my dinner, which consisted of a good number of mussels with a delicious dipping sauce and a decent amount of fries that automatically came with a side of mayo for dipping.
I was happy to see that they recently celebrated their 20th anniversary and hope that they have many more years of success. If I ever make it back to Ottawa again, I’m definitely hitting up Chez Lucien.
Back to the hotel.
It was back to my room after dinner to get some rest after a long day. The weather forecast called for continuing cold temperatures, but I kept hoping for a miracle.
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The Advocate-Equalizer 