Getting rid of the protest

Police are undertaking a massive clearance operation today, arresting the ringleaders of the Trucker Convoy protest and beginning to get the problem vehicles out the way. I'm following the live report from the CBC. Their photographers are having some trouble with their camera batteries because of the cold, and have to climb over mounds of snow to get their shots.

It is Day 22 of the Ottawa crisis. This morning the police calmly moved into Rideau Street and other streets near the parliament area in squadrons from various parts of the country, and then the Mounties joined in also:

The protesters are standing around just watching the police operations at the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive, identifiable by their lack of masks. Some of them are wrapped in flags which may or may not be keeping them warm. There's still a windchill in the minus-20s.

The Sûreté du Québec police have donned their gas masks, which makes one wonder what may come next. There seems to be a cautious approach because they are aware of our international audience.

The courts have to process all of the arrests today, which is going to make it a long day; so far 70 people have been arrested, says the police chief (at 3:30 p.m.). The police seem to be making serious efforts to avoid too much use of force although they are carrying guns. At one point the CBC filmed a family group among the protesters, with children (crying) gently being led out of the way. Apparently two family groups with seven children per family(!), are staying in their hotel today. There are pets down there too, although they had been warned that the pets could be confiscated.

All of the downtown core is closed down today, shops, public transport, everything.

Tow trucks are lining up on Nicholas Street, some of them disguised as police vehicles to protect the drivers from future harassment from protest supporters. Their usual logos are covered over. The stubborn truckers who have now been parked on Wellington Street for three weeks. They are building barricades out of snow after the big snowfall last night, ostensibly to keep the police out. "A bit of a symbolic barrier," says the reporter, because it obviously won't be as effective as a concrete barrier. Their slogan for the last few days is "Hold the line!" Some truckers have decided to leave voluntarily now. Others are still there, hoping the rumours that the police will come over to their side at the end, are true. I don't think that's likely.

The protesters are still using their stage for amateur concerts. According to one reporter, it's still a "festive atmosphere!" 

The carrying out of their deliberate and methodical plan will take time, says the police chief.

The Protest

Just now, in Ottawa, the truckers' convoy protest looks more like a party than a serious protest. They have been partying with their thousands of supporters for 17 days now, in the heart of town, on Parliament Hill. If it weren't for the minus 25 wind chills on some of those days (current conditions minus 21, feels like minus 28) you'd think it was a premature celebration of Canada Day. And perhaps that's the point. The people in this demonstration were lonely, restless, frustrated in multiple ways, probably desperate to let off steam and experience some togetherness because "the government"--- by which I fear they mean everyone who isn't on their side --- has neglected them. But they particularly loathe Mr. Trudeau, condemning him in four-letter words or the Quebec-French equivalent (Tabarnak! Calisse!).

I have been struggling to find valid reasons for behaviour that shocks me and most of my friends. The rebels are like disruptive teenagers in a school classroom. They have brought the business district to a standstill. How is it possible to forgive these people for the fumes of their idling trucks and the noise pollution from their honking horns? One night they were particularly loud and non-stop, deliberately honking outside the Bruyère Hospital because a few health-care workers have been sacked for their refusal to be vaccinated against Covid before coming to work. That night an old lady died at this hospital with her daughter alongside her, who said that noise was "brutal." Did anyone apologise? I don't think so. I also know an Afghan woman traumatised by the violence in her country who has recently moved to Ottawa and given birth to a little girl. The noise keeping her baby awake caused her great distress. I heard of another downtown resident who has moved out of town for the duration. 

As my brother-in-law often says, the veneer of civilisation is very thin. The gentleman at the fruit and vegetable shop I frequent at the market has locked the door. He calls the intruders "barbarians" and only lets me in to shop there because he recognises me and knows I'll wear a mask.

A hot tub is being used by the more flamboyant members of the demo. They have also brought in whole drum sets and a stage for impromptu concerts. Barbecues on Wellington Street. Some demonstrators are spending the night in their trucks; others can afford to sleep at the Chateau Laurier, it seems. Numerous children and flags everywhere (Canadian, Quebec flags, flags from the USA). The excuse for the noisy party is that this is a "Freedom Convoy" which means that the participants cannot endure mandates. Initially they disapproved of the new regulation that wouldn't let them drive across the border into the USA unless they had proof of vaccination. That has changed into a rebellion against "all mandates." 

A few in favour of the protest have been arguing with me; here are some (paraphrased) comments they made: 

• If you had come from an eastern European country and lived through the communist régime, you wouldn't approve of mandates and restrictions. Canada has turned into a "police state."
• To me personally --- "At your age your future is limited. You must understand that progress must happen and you are not part of it." (I rose to the bait and replied that I would continue to be "part of it" until I dropped dead. We disagree on what "it" is, of course.)
• The protests are not only warranted, but absolutely necessary, because all levels of government are failing to uphold people's rights.
• Having to wear a mask or queue for a vaccine brings on panic attacks in people suffering from mental disturbances such as PTSD, so they shouldn't be obliged to do this.

A kind-hearted, long-time friend of ours has been bringing the Parliament Hill demonstrators homemade muffins every day. She says: 

thousands of Canadians have been fired because they didn't want a forced medical procedure or [their] businesses had to close because of the lockdowns so they've lost their homes, can't pay the rent and worry how to feed their children [...] It is so distressing to see these decent hard-working salt-of-the-earth [vaccine refusers] be demonized and bullied by a bunch of salaried, comfortable stuffed shirts.

I asked her why anyone would refuse to be vaccinated, with that much to lose, and in reply I received lengthy descriptions, with reference links, of why Covid vaccines don't really work and how medical intervention, encouraged by Big Pharma, messes up one's immune system. One's body has the ability to recover from Covid unaided, is the implication. She adds: 

Previously highly respected and eminent doctors, scientists, epidemiologists, virologists are censured, belittled and discredited as quacks spewing misinformation when they express concern or raise questions or offer alternatives. The physicians’ governance body demands strict obedience to a new ruling where doctors can no longer use their own discretion in dealing with individual patients but must impose the arbitrary Covid protocol. They are no longer allowed to give any exemptions for philosophical, religious or medical reasons.

For the sake of our friendship, we had a civilized phone chat and then agreed to stop pointlessly arguing about it. 

The other one who disagreed with me simply said, "Get off my wall!" So I did.

A more objective comment from a friend who grew up on the Prairies was that people from out west like to make their own decisions without being told what to do, because in the past, they have had to.

Anyway, Ottawa citizens against the protest are starting to make their position clearer as well. A counter-demonstration this weekend successfully blocked a line of trucks when they stood in the road holding up placards that said, TRUCK OFF! 

Four generations of Eco-babes

On Friday I went to what they called a Pink Tea, hosted online by the Famous Five Foundation. This was nothing to do with Enid Blyton stories; the Famous Five in this context are the five famous Canadian ladies of the 1920s who declared women to be persons, who used to meet over cups of tea; their statues in Ottawa and elsewhere commemorate them.

Women Leading Climate Solutions was the title of the event. One speaker referred to her like-minded female colleagues as eco-babes, which made me squirm, somewhat. Anyhow there's an "unwavering spirit" among them. Us.

JL used to do Don River cleanups in Toronto as a child, "hands-on stuff". She studied science but came to the conclusion that no action came from that. Since then, her aim in life has been to change policies and find practical solutions. The approach matters, she said. We have to be committed to optimism without being naive. We have to realise that there are solutions; the general public is not so aware. It's challenging to have to do the same thing over and over again. JL has been fighting for the environment since the 1980s, up against big institutions entrenched in their ways. We are in the denial stage of grief for the planet and that needs to be overcome. Others will take the credit for the work we shall push them into. Never mind. Needing everybody, we're obliged to work with people who are not like us.

MB was an outdoor child who also left pure sciences for environmental studies ⁠— human health and biodiversity. She finds it hard to "stay true" to her motivation. Councillors make condescending remarks to younger people, failing to appreciate their expertise. The mentoring work she engages with is ongoing and reciprocal. She mentors young children as well as adults. In her region she is developing a Climate Hub.

ES reminded the gathering that not-for-profit organisations have to create their own marketing team, and on a very low budget, too. Her motto is Occam's Razor ⁠— go for the simplest solution always.

We had some representatives of Generation Z at the meeting, mentees. I always have to do a Google search to remind myself which generation is which, but these two girls appeared to be in their 20s. One of them had young children and wanted to know from the panellists what she should be teaching them.

Answers: simple habits like not leaving taps running, turning lights off. Teach your children easy meal planning or meal preparation.Teach food habits or garbage habits in manageable chunks, and make sure you model them yourself. Where fashion is concerned, teach them about quality versus quantity. Get them to understand that one country's actions will affect others in the world. Get them making posters for strikes and demos; show them there's strength in numbers. Encourage them to keep asking questions.

Get your kids outside: nature has so much to teach us! The medicine for Nature Deficit Disorder is Eco Action!

The other Gen. Z girl wanted to talk about holding authorities accountable. Why isn't the government doing more? complained MB. We need to understand the bigger picture rather than getting stuck in our individual guilt for not doing enough. Be aware that the oil companies are deliberately shifting the blame for environmental damage onto consumers. 

Did we know that half of our emissions come from buildings? [I quote, but question that statistic.] Retrofits need to be ramped up. It should be pointed out that retrofitting creates jobs, benefits whole communities and improves people's health. People can be helped to claim their rebates for retrofits; let's make the process easier for them.

Final quick questions for the panellists were sentence completion prompts:

When I'm confused, I ...?

...consult a colleague / ... make a list / ... ask a lot of questions.

When I'm sad, I ...?

...go outside / ... spend time with my family / ... talk to somebody.

When I'm scared, I ...?

... go back to my purpose / ... go for it! / ... freeze! 

*****

If I'm not mistaken, Pink Tea women seem to be implying that we can do whatever it takes to change the world for the better without involving any men, but this seems rather short-sighted. Not being a very ardent feminist, I think the men in our lives should be joining in as well.

Extreme cold, continued

Clear. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 28. Wind chill minus 21 this evening and minus 36 overnight. Risk of frostbite. So says Environment Canada again, and meanwhile, a possibly record-breaking snowstorm is brewing on the eastern coast of the USA. 

In Ottawa, a convoy of truckers from western Canada and their supporters arrived to protest against restrictions of every kind and vaccination rules in particular. 

As an Englishman, says Chris ironically, he wants the freedom to drive on the left when everyone else is driving on the right. 

I personally think the truckers' demonstration is an attention-seeking howl against loneliness.* This evening, not mentioning that, I sent a very short letter to the Editor of the Ottawa Citizen, commenting on the pollution and greenhouse gas emissions created by this huge demonstration. I know someone who intends to brave the crowds and the police in order to carry a placard with the slogan Stop Air Pollution. Protect the Environment! I hope she won't get into trouble. Another acquaintance of mine, sympathetic with the truckers' cause, says she is going out to offer them hot drinks.

Interesting times.

I persuaded Chris to drive us (on the right) to Wakefield, this afternoon, where we walked for an hour in the minus 20-something windchill. We must be getting hardened to the cold because we couldn't have borne that a couple of weeks ago. We walked through the village to the covered bridge and back, the sidewalks strewn with sand, under a very blue sky, as you can see from the photos, with seriously long icicles hanging from the buildings.

We love the peacefulness of Wakefield.

On a video chat with George, Sha and Eddy in Australia where it's tomorrow morning, they were complaining about the heat, Eddy making balloons (blimps, he called them) drift around in the downdraft from their air-conditioner.

* Footnote, Saturday: I had a new insight into this, on reading reports of why some of the truckers and their supporters are taking part. These are first-generation immigrants from Eastern Europe, and the recent COVID-related government restrictions remind them too much of their youth in Communist-controlled countries. In another article it is revealed that a fifth of Canada's truck drivers are from south Asia. These people do not support the protest but fear that our food-supply systems are breaking down and that could lead to more unrest.

My friend survived her solo demonstration on Parliament Hill without mishap, carrying her homemade placard saying STOP AIR POLLUTION, PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. She sent me an email afterwards: 

I received a lot of thumbs up and smiles for the most part. Five pickup trucks put on the gas and bumped out the fumes. Two people cussed me out. [...] the organizer of the group from the west said that he was the inventor of a catalytic converter that many of the big rigs had on their engines. I said that the area still smelled and he said maybe it was my breath because I was wearing a mask. Most people were not wearing masks. 

So I got my protest out of my system. Glad I made my statement.

Reusing our resources

January 25

A fascinating panel discussion on The Circular Economy was presented by the Globe and Mail, with Ryan MacDonald, senior editor of Climate, Environment and Resources, as the moderator.

Tima Bansal, Canada Research Chair in Business Sustainability at the Ivey Business School, spoke first.

Current linear economy allows what we use to keep accumulating in the earth, in the air, in the water. In the circular economy of the future, we shall be able to keep reusing our resources. The Council of Canadian Academies has published a report on the "state of circularity" in Canada that reveals how far we have to go. Canada lags behind. At present only 6% of the materials we use are circled back into use, in comparison with 30% of materials in the Netherlands and 19% in France. This difference is partly because it is more expensive to collect and move stuff within Canada. Our three layers of government are another challenge. How do we make the system more harmonious? How we we get our supply chains lined up? Canadians are great consumers. We "love our stuff" and there's so much demand for plastics! So some education is needed. Canadians are good at extracting mineral resources but we ought to understand the value of re-manufacturing byproducts into something else.

Recycled plastics can be reintroduced into the economy. The right to repair should be paramount (although if consumers repair their own goods it may invalidate the warranty). Packaging should be up-cycled into multiple-use containers.

Julie Poitras-Saulnier, CEO and co-founder of Loop, that "repurposes the outcasts of the food industry," claims that the food industry discards huge amounts of fruit and vegetables which can be turned into new products: juices, smoothies, sauces, crusts, even gin! Loop's trick is to pay money for the rejected products, so as to encourage food companies and retailers to get rid of their waste productively. However, to avoid too much delay and to keep the supply of food consistent, the distribution model needs to change. It takes three days to press 50 pallets of grapes, she said, so timing is crucial. 

How are Loop's products marketed? The right words have to be chosen; people can be educated to appreciate "up-cycled" food.

As everyone should know, there's a difference between "best before" and "use by" dates on products. Another panellist, Bilal Jarmakani, representing Solar X, said that home-owners and business owners were asking "Is solar sustainable?" Solar panels that are past their prime and ready to be replaced by more up-to-date models are usually "still fully functional" in fact, and, until Covid restrictions put a stop to this, were being shipped to Nigeria. More recently the northern communities of Canada have been making use of them, via a social enterprise called Indigenous Clean Energy, ICE.

Another interesting contribution to the discussion was by Tim Faveri, VP Sustainability and Shared Value at Maple Leaf Foods. Because his company is famous for its meat products, and meat-consumption is questionable these days, they are doing their best to come across as eco-friendly. He said their goal was to be "the most sustainable protein company on earth!" That's a big ambition. Circularity in the case of Maple Leaf Foods starts with the production of manure from animals raised for meat. He mentioned their "hog operations in Manitoba" in this context, where they are doing their best to eliminate wasted energy and wasted water. The energy generated by their "processes" is used for heating the water that cleans and sanitizes the animal pens. Then he spoke of the company's packaging goals. They need better infrastructure to bring this about, but the eventual objective is to make all packaging from recycled or biodegradable materials. The waste generated from their food processing can be repurposed as by-products: pet foods, oils, soaps, fertilizers. Anything organic can be turned into renewable fuel. This does require some collaboration with other companies.

Sheri Hinish, a spokesperson for IBM, wants environmentalists to add another R-word to the usual Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose / Redesign, Recycle options: ReTHINK. There will have to be shorter supply chains in the future. Tim Faveri agreed with that, saying that 82% of the emissions generated in his business come from the supply chains and it's important to keep measuring and recording this. 

A question from the audience led to a discussion of how consumers can be persuaded to change their spending habits. This is an important question; we are "feeding the machine" and it's up to us, when we go shopping, to choose the right brands. Consumers do want to make a difference as is evidenced by the popularity of the Thank My Farmer initiative, enabling people to make donations to coffee farmers, for example.

Of course, consumers also ask "What's in it for me?" If people are made to feel they are part of something larger, they become "empowered by purpose" and spend their money on the right things. Julie Poitras-Saulnier of Loop advised, "Don't talk down to your customers. They're smart." Transparency builds trust.

Circular products don't have to be more expensive. Initiatives for change are mostly at the local level, for now.

There's inevitable resistance from the traditional natural resources economy in Canada. We could upgrade our own oil and gas rather than shipping it elsewhere; this is something we'll have to think about. Because our natural resources are relatively cheap, we ought to put a higher price on carbon and disposal fees should be higher. 

We should embrace the shift to renewables, and build locally. Decision makers must anticipate the transformation, asking "what about jobs?" We're going to need more minerals to reach a net-zero GHG emissions target, hence more jobs. So that communities become more resilient in the face of change, we should think in terms of redeployment rather than unemployment. Here too, transparent decision-making is important, more effective than offering subsidies! Banks should be encouraged to support companies that have a positive environmental impact; this added value must be integrated into the business model. Data collection is a low-hanging fruit, but it requires a process imposed by the government.

Alan meets Elizabeth

Alan Neal of All in a Day on CBC-Radio (Ottawa) donated some of his precious after-work time last Tuesday to engage in a public conversation with the author Elizabeth Hay. This meeting was a fundraiser for student scholarships, hosted by a CFUW-Club in our vicinity, CFUW-Kanata. I know the person who designed the publicity poster, who was nervous before the event, hoping it would go well. She needn't have worried.

The guest speakers, two professional "wordsmiths" as someone put it, knew how to make their dialogue compelling. I felt I was eavesdropping on a private conversation, so exclusive and personal did it seem: an illusion, deliberately and skillfully contrived.

Elizabeth Hay's book All Things Consoled is about her relationship with her parents. Although she's primarily a writer of fiction, she considers the real world to be more interesting. 

Her father, like Albert Camus, was a man who spurned fiction in favour of non-fiction. A high-school principal, he ruled the roost. Her mother was his "counterpoint".

"I keep track of things," says Elizabeth Hay, constantly taking notes; All Things Consoled had originated as an unpublished series of short stories. ("I'm always looking for stories.") Her editor had persuaded her to make the book biographical instead, and advised her to "start with the crisis!" Elizabeth realised in any case that she was incapable of giving her parents fictional names. "I couldn't pretend they weren't who they were."

Her goal with these family memoirs was simply to end up with a good book. Alan Neal probed further: did her siblings mind?

She laughed. "I don't ask [their] permission!" She warned her brother and sister she was writing this book and sent them a copy once she had finished. "Happily, they're all still talking to me."

She hates talking on the phone; it makes her feel "cornered". She likes being left alone.

While her father was still alive, she felt unable to write about his anger. Her mother was a gentle soul, an artist, whose studio was her true home. Elizabeth called her death from pneumonia an escape. ("Pneumonia, the old person's friend!") For Elizabeth too it was an escape, from the pain of looking after her mother. When they were younger she remembers how her mother's creative drive was thwarted, how she was not happy until she had work to do as an artist. The two of them handled rejection and disappointment in the same way. "I just wish we could get a little recognition," her mother used to say. In the end, both of them did. In 2007, Elizabeth won the Giller Prize, and has other awards besides. The room we saw in the background on the Zoom webinar was decorated with her mother's paintings and other artwork. She calls it the Mumsaleum.

When Elizabeth was 15, the family moved to England for a year where she went to school, clearly a formative experience. She says she has "muscle/joint memory" feeling emotion through her knees, always going shaky in the knees when something overwhelms her.

"I thought I was a poet," said Elizabeth. "It surprised me to write novels; I was always drawn to stories." 

She appreciates honest reactions to any work-in-progress and gets her husband and son to act as editors. "What I try to do is hit something real ... and surprising. Then I hit the ground and keep going."

Alan gently pressed her to divulge what sort of book she is working on now, but she refused to say. He managed to extract the admission that it is based on something she published before, resuming the narrative in 2008. He startled her at the end of the conversation by holding up a copy of four poems she had written long ago. 

"Wherever did you find those?"

"Dig deep enough," he answered, "and you find stuff!"

Learning about the landfill

Meike Woehlert at the meeting

Environment Action, again.

Last Monday, January 17th, two very cooperative ("outreach") representatives of the City of Ottawa's waste management services, Ashley Cheslock and Meike Woehlert, gave us the latest news of the Master Plan For Solid Waste and answered our questions about garbage disposal and recycling. 51 people attended this meeting, a record for the Environment Action group; nearly half of the audience were people from outside of our Club. As part of the presentation we watched two well-made videos, What Happens To My Garbage? and What Happens To My Recycling? This was at my request, perhaps too ambitious an idea, because there were a couple of embarrassing technical hitches while we were trying to get the videos to work. I had practised without any problems, but on the day, the audio settings let me down. No matter, we kept going as a team, and the meeting was well received.

One worrying takeaway was that if we carry on disposing of non-recyclable rubbish at the present rate our landfill will be full by 2038 or thereabouts. So between now and then we ought to give more thought to what we throw away.

The speakers encouraged us citizens to engage with the city on its plans for the future because our opinions count, so they say. A public survey on how waste should be managed in Ottawa starts next month; by the way, there's a nice photo of Ashley on that page.

Since then, many a follow-up email to send, read or reply to, so it has been a busy week. I compiled a reference list of places that will accept the stuff we want to dispose of, and this morning I heard that my counterpart at the CFUW-Nepean Club has been doing exactly the same thing for her group and received her list. Rather than put it all in our bins destined for the landfill there are numerous "take it back" options in the city and better yet, worthy organizations that will either hand things over to people in need or re-purpose them for a good cause. My contacts keep contacting me to tell me of more such opportunities. Once the spring cleaning season starts, and with decluttering a trendy pastime these days, especially for our generation, such lists will be a great help, both for us and for the environment.