But by associating with these extremists, Tory appeal to ordinary Canadians is diminished. Short-term gain for long-term pain.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on January 31, 2022.

OTTAWA—Hundreds of anti-vaxx truckers descended on Ottawa on Saturday and the longer the convoy actually goes on, the more the Conservatives seem to be tangled in the anti-vaccination web.

Now even the New Democrats have been embroiled in the drama after the brother–in-law of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh donated $13,000 to support the convoy.

According to Singh’s office, his relative did not fully understand what the convoy was up to and has now applied to have his funds reimbursed through a GoFundMe process.

Meanwhile, the truckers are rolling in the dough with more than $6-million already collected in support of the convoy.

With the funding come questions as to exactly what the money will be used for. Tamara Lich, convoy organizer, is associated with the Maverick Party, a separatist movement in Alberta. She also launched the GoFundMe page which has been under review by the funding platform because of questions about the transparency of the flow of funds and the plan for disbursement.

However, the truckers have no support from any official provincial or national trucking organization. The international vaccine requirement for truckers was instituted both by Canada and the United States, effective mid-January. Almost 90 per cent of international truckers are already vaccinated so convoy protesters represent a very small number of commercial trucking operations.

Truckers are actually ahead of the rest of Canada when it comes to the numbers of fully vaccinated workers.

That hasn’t seemed to stop the Conservatives from throwing their support behind the movement, with vocal, high-profile approval from former leader Andrew Scheer and current deputy leader Candice Bergen.

Likewise, leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis has accused the vaccine mandate of promoting segregation. Outspoken critic Pierre Poilievre has called the federal requirement a “vaccine vendetta.”

As usual, leader Erin O’Toole is sending out a confusing vaccine message. On the one hand, he refused last week to say whether he planned to meet with truckers, but his caucus was collecting signatures for a petition seeking the reversal of the vaccine mandate for federal workers and international truckers.

If the GoFundMe response is any indication, the Tories could raise a lot of money by jumping on the anti-vaxx wagon. But they also risk alienating a huge percentage of the population that is simply fed up with the refusal of anti-vaxxers to consider science and society in defending their positions.

Just last week, Canadian musical icon Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify after the music streaming platform refused to drop anti-vaxxer and podcaster Joe Rogan. In another health twist, a Boston hospital patient was removed from the wait-list for a heart transplant after refusing to be vaccinated.

The hospital explained its decision by saying vaccination is a lifestyle behaviour “required for transplant candidates … in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and to optimize the patient’s survival after transplantation.”

The medical community is unanimous, and the public is not far behind, in Canada and globally.

Tennis whiz Novak Djokovic was literally run out from Down Under after failing to meet Australian Open tennis vaccination requirements. Djokovic said he was planning on studying the matter further after he was deported. He faces the same requirement for the upcoming French Open and apparently may take a pass there as well.

Bearing the new nickname NoVax, Djokovic has allied himself with the same group of vaccine deniers who came to Ottawa.

Some of the Canadian protesters have even gone so far as to suggest they wanted to replicate the Jan. 6 takedown of the American capital, which resulted in five deaths.

Two Canadian convoy participants were photographed—one wearing a Donald Trump MAGA hat and the other wearing a yellow star of David—mimicking the Nazi requirement for Jewish identification.

Convoy organizers have distanced themselves from racist supporters but that didn’t stop white supremacist Paul Fromm from tweeting “I pray this is Canada’s Budapest, 1956, when patriots and ordinary citizens rose up and overthrew tyranny.”

With so few anti-vaxxers, why would the Conservatives even bother to align themselves with the so-called “Canada Unity Convoy.”

Some of it is about building a power base, with petitioners getting embedded into future Conservative communications. Some is about raising money, because the angry folks attached to this convoy are ripe for campaign donation pitches.

But by associating with these extremists, Tory appeal to ordinary Canadians is diminished.

Short-term gain for long-term pain.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

The plethora of warnings and onerous test results will keep all but the most intrepid traveller from venturing across to the United States anytime soon.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on October 18, 2021.

OTTAWA—The Canadian southern border is opening up, but don’t expect a flood of travel anytime soon.

The plethora of warnings and onerous test results will keep all but the most intrepid traveller from venturing across to the United States anytime soon.

Many border communities depend on travellers crossing the border for a day or two, investing a few dollars into the local economy and getting a break from the drudgery of daily chores.

But the Canadian government’s testing paranoia will make that possibility very nearly impossible.

To enter Canada, even as a fully vaccinated person, you need to have a PCR test that actually spins your DNA in a lab to guarantee your COVID-free status.

That test payment hovers around $200 U.S. on average, and at most American airports, it can be secured for between $250 and $350 U.S. per person.

At that price, the possibility of crossing the border for a night on the town is just about nil. No one in their right mind is willing to pay that kind of a travel premium just for the pleasure of breaking bread in another country.

The testing system for getting out of the country is less onerous. Right now, the Americans will accept an antigen test, which analyses your body’s protein to see whether you are COVID-free. That test is currently offered free to unvaccinated school teachers in Ontario for twice-weekly personal testing. But to Jane Q. public, the drug store charge is $40.

That is a lot more affordable than the outrageous cost of PCR testing, but consumers are still being gouged. Some European destinations are charging $1 for antigen tests while private clinics in Canada get up to $100 for administering the same test, which can be used within 72 hours as proof that you are travel ready.

Price-gouging and onerous test requirements will definitely discourage travellers from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

And that is just fine with the Canadian government, because it really does not want you to travel anyway.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland tried to discreetly rationalize the open border announcement with an ongoing government directive to avoid international travel.

She suggested Canadians follow the Toronto public health officer’s advice to “just try to do the things you need to do and maybe hold back on the things you just want to do.”

So even though the border opening was lauded by many, it is clearly not the wish of the government that Canadians start moving.

But those border communities that are starving for business might feel differently.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty is urging the government to scrap generalized travel advisories in favour of individuated advice focused on the situation in specific countries or regions.

Beatty characterized the current blanket travel advisories as being in the category of “stay home or you will die” and asked the government to review it.

Freeland herself was in Washington when she was suggesting that Canadians do only what is necessary when it comes to travel.

In reality, the in-person appearances that are currently being made internationally by ministers could also be carried out digitally. So, Freeland could choose to stay home and make her point in the virtual bubble.

The fact that she is not doing so underscores the point made by Beatty that we are almost fully vaccinated and know a lot more about the spread of COVID than we did a year ago.

We know how to protect ourselves by getting vaccinated, practising social distancing, and wearing masks.

Pre-vaccination, global gatherings were virtual. And leaders from all countries were able to participate and get their point across in a virtual way.

With the shield of double vaccination, leaders are starting to meet internationally again. That is a healthy development. But it cannot be only applied for political leaders or travelling salespeople.

The Canadian government should have a plan to encourage the same safe movement for ordinary Canadians.

As leaders start cautiously fanning out to meetings across the world, citizens should be encouraged to start travelling with proper precautions.

Advising people to stay home while politicians travel is hypocritical.

The lockdown advice also runs counter to mounting evidence that risks from social isolation can quickly outstrip that of viral exposure.

Increasing depression and mental health problems have been a by-product of Covid lockdowns.

The government should stop stoking Canadians’ travel fears. It should be issuing sound advice on safe travels.

Open borders need to be matched by open minds.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.