Don Martin: The thunder of overreaction as Rolling Blunder wheels toward Ottawa
There’s panic in Ottawa that thinks it’s hearing the distant rumble of an angry rerun of the Freedom Convoy heading toward the national capital.
The Public Safety Minister is vowing federal help to block Friday’s Rolling Thunder biker rally from becoming another Ottawa occupation.
Public health officials caution about the mental stress so many baritone-belching mufflers will inflict on downtown residents.
Restaurants are bracing for more frightened-off customer interruptions.
And the Ottawa police chief is talking tough, vowing the feeble police force of February will unleash a serious crackdown this time, action he undoubtedly sees as essential to making his interim job permanent.
A large chunk of downtown Ottawa will be sealed off to traffic starting Friday with various police forces on standby to control a mob with the stated goal, according to event planners, of laying a wreath on the “desecrated” National War Memorial.
Honest. That’s it, by way of stated intention anyway.
This is clearly not a Hells Angels gang invasion, the return of the insurrectionists or another downtown-paralysing takeover by illegally-parked trucks.
This is shaping up to be a Seinfeldian-level protest, a rally about nothing more than "freedom" from mandates that have already been repealed while "liberating" a National War Memorial that was briefly fenced in last February but has been open for respectful remembrance ever since.
It could be more Rolling Blunder than Thunder when thousands, but more likely hundreds, of bikers are forced to U-turn away from the barricades of a vehicular-obstructed Parliament Hill.
As was the case with the Freedom Convoy, it’s the organizers of Rolling Thunder who are giving the event's modest purpose some ominous overtones.
Planners darkly warn of a ‘free-for-all’ if cops actually shut off all routes to the National War Memorial as planned. I suspect the only "free-for-all will be the scramble to find parking spots once bikers find themselves cut off from motoring by the war memorial.
Then there’s the proposed rally on Parliament Hill, minus any actual rallying cry, which so far inexplicably lists only one speaker, a yahoo with a racist, homophobic and anti-vax background named Chris “Sky” Saccoccia.
Despite all the advance hysteria and twisted communications, the more likely scenario is this: A few hundred beer-bellied 60-plus bikers blasting Born to be Wild from their Harley Davidson speakers – hey, that also sounds a lot like me riding my Honda – will approach the downtown core emitting many decibels from their noise-enhancing tailpipes.
Encountering roadblocks everywhere, they’ll be forced to walk to the National War Memorial for a wreath-laying ceremony and look around for a place to have lunch before heading home.
There will be no Conservative politicians pledging support or leadership hopefuls showing up to burnish their right-wing credentials. A usual-sized Parliament Hill rally will feature the usual anti-vax suspects carrying upside-down Maple Leaf flags. And no one will remain overnight on any streets because, unlike in the big rigs, sleeping on a single-seat Harley just isn’t very comfortable.
Now, of course, we have to be careful about predicting the unpredictable. Only an idiot would dismiss these guys as "fringe" elements before seeing what actually develops. Wait . . . didn’t somebody say that about the Freedom Convoy?
But this is not that.
This has every indication of becoming a modest reunion of nostalgic protest compared to a February event which unleashed global copycats and forced the feds to invoke an Emergencies Act, now being covered up by a limited public inquiry.
All the alarms now being sounded by police and politicians could look extremely alarmist in hindsight if the rally delivers what the website promises, specifically a gathering of peaceful and tolerant bikers around the war memorial.
Let’s hope Rolling Thunder Ottawa ends up being grown-up boys on their 1500CC toys playing rebels without a cause to the rallying cry of Born to be Mild.
That’s the bottom line.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
Senators reject field trip to African Lion Safari amid elephant bill study
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
Local Spotlight
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.