The Heart & Soul of Canada

Every one of them said: ‘I’m here for my children. I’m here for the future of Canada.'

Part 1: It Felt Like the Sunday Fair

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One of the tasks of a journalist is to put current events in context, so that the public understands the significance of a news story. During a recent interview, former journalist Rodney Palmer did this effortlessly.

Mainstream journalists spent three weeks pretending not to notice the massive number of francophones among the Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa. Rodney, on the other hand, explains their significance. At the 8:36-minute mark he says:

There were so many Québécois people there. Because at the time, if you remember, they were locked down worse than anybody else. [The unvaccinated] couldn’t go to a Costco, they couldn’t go to a Home Depot. It was way different than the rest of Canada. It was much, much more severe. And plus, they’re right there [geographically speaking], over the river. So they were well represented there.

And they’re standing on top of transport trucks with their shirts off, like they’re at an NFL football game with their bodies painted up. And I’m thinking ‘There must be alcohol involved here, because those guys should be freezing to death by now.’

And they were singing at the top of their lungs, and they were smiling. And it felt like a celebration.

For all the diversity he saw firsthand amongst the truckers, Rodney says the big-picture character of the protest was emphatically wholesome:

No matter their colour, religion - some were wearing turbans - they all had this similar personality trait. Which was so gentle, and so sweet. And they’re there, every one of them, [they] said:

‘I’m here for my children. I’m here for the future of Canada. We’re tired of this, and we can do something, so we’re doing something. We can’t do much, but we can do this.’

And I was reminded of my two uncles, when I was growing up, who were both truck drivers. And they were just the sweetest guys. If you ever needed a hand, they were there. You needed a ride home from the hockey rink, they were the first one there. And if they had to wait for you, they’d sit and wait.

And this is who was there. This was the heart and soul of Canada.