Unforgivable Things

'I want accountability. I want a deterrent so that this never happens again.'

Part 1: We Felt Free

Photo taken by me in Ottawa

In February 2024, Rich and Kerri joined the lawsuit against officials who took part in the freezing of their bank accounts. He regrets leaving Ottawa just prior to the police crackdown. "I've felt bad about that, and I wanted to do my part. I want accountability. I want a deterrent so that this never happens again."

Big picture, COVID taught him that many people "don't have a backbone anymore. They're just happy to wander around, as long as they're not directly affected by what's going on." Before he arrived in Ottawa, he says, he already knew to avoid the mainstream media "like the plague. There was absolutely no point talking to them." Nothing he experienced there changed his mind.

"But we learned a few lessons about how to manage our money," he says. "Mostly everything now, we pay cash. There are circumstances, obviously, like your mortgage, where it's just not possible. But I mean, everyday life, it's cash only now." Furthermore, "We've moved money around, for sure. So that it's not necessarily in a bank. To protect ourselves the best we can."

During the Freedom Convoy protests, some people were uncomfortable with the profanity on some of the flags (in most cases, the vowel in the F-word had been replaced by a maple leaf). But there are times when harsh language is entirely understandable. Unforgivable things were done to hard-working, law-abiding people like Rich and Kerri. Those people had every right to be outraged.

Photo taken by me in Ottawa

In normal conversation, Rich is quiet and contained. He rarely curses. But he himself owns one of those 'F**k Trudeau' flags, and the phrase remains part of his everyday vocabulary.

"Absolutely. Whenever I sneeze, it's immediately followed by F-Trudeau."