Must be the crusty war paint, the long, disheveled tufts of unwashed hair, the piercing eyes and the guttural voice, but “Freedom!” is — to me — a cry all of Mel Gibson’s own as he played Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace in the 1995 epic “Braveheart.” Sure, it’s a movie, and one with factual flaws, but it’s a convincing portrayal of Scotland’s fight for independence from the English monarchy.

Cries of “Freedom!” at otherwise peaceful Canada-U.S. border crossings — and in the capital city of a country whose soil hasn’t seen war in nearly 140 years — weren’t as convincing. But the “Freedom Convoy” protests did make clear the power of fiction, the damage it can cause, and its threat to whatever “normal” we might achieve in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Something about Confederate flags, swastikas and the desecration of war memorials smacks of a movement with a purpose other than just breaking down vaccine mandates, as imperfect as they are. And like a virus, it attached itself to a host — a “truckers’” cause — unwanted. Consider that 90% of Canadian truckers are vaccinated, and the trade organizations that represent them did not support this movement.

More than a rally for freedom, it was, at various stages, an illegal expression of aggression. And while purporting to take aim at the disruption that COVID-19 has caused over the last two years, it choked the free flow of goods, and will only ramp up supply chain costs and exacerbate economic harm. Some experts estimated a loss of $1 billion per day of the weeks-long blockades. Not only were large shipments of meat held up, but, among a slew of other affected industries, major auto plants ground to a halt.

Highlighted here is the critical business relationship that the U.S. and Canada share, as well as, again, the essential nature of a long-haul trucker’s job. The two countries annually trade between $600 billion and $700 billion of goods, with about two-thirds of it carried each way by truck. Given those stakes, it’s here, too, where political leaders don’t get a pass.

The quick jab to throw is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took too long to act. Of the more careful considerations is whether a vaccine mandate imposed on truckers (deemed essential workers and previously exempt) only a few weeks before provincial governments began easing restrictions was appropriate. Most drivers go it alone and don’t congregate indoors.

This isn’t to suggest that a policy decision was the sole cause of what unfolded along the 49th parallel. But as governments loosen restrictions and major employers the likes of Tyson Foods follow suit, it will be interesting to see how the border protests inform the approach to COVID-19 policy for the next potential variant.

We’re not in normal anymore. The pandemic has been nothing if not a special circumstance. Let’s hope we learn to use it as a unifying force for good — to preserve the health of people and economies — rather than another tool to divide and conquer.

Editor's note: This article ran as the Editorial in the March issue of Meatingplace magazine.

A long haul to 'normal'

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