Things can be so nonsensical at times. Protesters who have come to Ottawa from all over the country to try to convince the government that it is unreasonable to enact mandates that are harmful to people's livelihoods when there's nor really convincing reason for them, are now being hit with Emergency legislation that will empower policing authorities to remove their giant rigs crowding out normalcy in downtown Ottawa as a result of their protest getting out of hand.

These are people outraged that ordinary, hard-working people who happen to drive long-distance trucks bringing perishable food and other products to market are being put out of work. Most Canadian truckers have accepted the need for inoculation against the coronavirus, but a small percentage have held back. It is this small percentage for whom a waiver was previously in force in recognition of t he critical nature of their jobs and then revoked, that have been hit.

The hit they've taken has aroused universal umbrage, not just among fellow truckers, but from the general public as well, those who recognize the importance of the work they do ensuring that food supplies are delivered when needed and that just happens to be all the time. There have been wider repercussions as well, with the resignation of Ottawa's Chief of Police who did the best he could under extremely strained circumstances made all the more tense by the country's prime minister's aggressively insulting characterizing the protesters and those who sympathize with them as racists, thugs and homophobes.

Justin Trudeau has always been quick to defend causes that fall into his sphere of 'wokeness', cautioning other world leaders to listen to what their citizens have to say, and respect their right to say it. His own qualities of leadership lack the willingness to empathize with those who are critical of his imperious reign. He prefers to sneer at people with legitimate grievances rather than capitulate to their expectation that this country's values include hearing the other person out with a modicum of sympathy.

His hypocrisy is so manifest it's hugely puzzling that enough Canadian voters were prepared to re-elect his government in November and we've been paying a steep price ever since. Now he has accused a Jewish Conservative Member of Parliament who found fault in Parliament with his having brought in essentially a reincarnation of the old War Measures Act to deal with a situation that he created, inferring she supported the waving of Nazi flags because she is a Conservative MP. The man who loved dressing up in Blackface.

Jillie

Well, things are improving in this household, at least. Irving's ankle is much better and he gets around now without hobbling, though it's too soon yet to embark on a ravine hike. We had heavy rainfall during the night and into the morning hours. It's damp and dark out. We're heading for a freeze-up and snowfall, however. The snow will be welcome, to cover the ice that has resulted everywhere from the combination of cold and rain. Even the puppies tried to avoid the pathways in the backyard because they're slick with ice, and I wore my cleated boots taking them out to the back.

Jackie

The savoury beef pie we had last night with French green beans and strawberries for dessert was so good that we both ate more than we should have. The pie was just perfect for Irving;  moist and flavourful with every forkful. Even Jackie and Jillie saw fit to approve. I never feed them from the table. Irving is incorrigible, he never stops slipping tidbits to them. He thinks he's doing this so surreptitiously and that I don't notice, but of course I do. And no amount of chiding on my part makes any difference.