Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Protesters occupying highways? Oh really...

What's this I hear about protesters occupying a highway, from CP?

Members of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union plan to block Highway 17 in Dryden, Ont., Tuesday in support of the forest industry.

About 50 people are expected on the Trans-Canada Highway around 1 p.m.

The union says the federal government can no longer ignore forestry workers and is demanding immediate action.

The forest industry has lost 130,000 jobs in the past six years and the union says the sector deserves the same attention as the automakers.

A similar protest is scheduled in Ottawa.
Blocking a highway, hmm? We all know how the Conservatives feel about people blocking highways. Unless they have tractors. I don't think these protesters have tractors though, so surely the Conservatives won't be encouraging such civil disobedience, right? Right?
CEP members will meet with Flaherty as part of today's CEP-lead demonstration, which will see workers gather at the offices of Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt and Prime Minister Stephen Harper before the meeting with Flaherty and federal representatives.

Flaherty agreed to the meeting after CEP members took over the constituency offices of seven Conservative cabinet ministers and MPs, including his and Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan's office, last Monday to force the issue.
Oh, really? So Jim Flaherty is meeting with protesters that plan to block a major highway, after they pressured him into a meeting by occupying the offices of Conservative MPs?

Some would say Flaherty is encouraging and enabling acts of civil disobedience. And those some would be Conservatives, were the protesters not, hmm, how should we put it. What's different about these protesters and the protesters they don't like?

Surely, for consistency's sake, Conservative bloggers will be clamoring for the cops to go in and make arrests, right? Right?

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2 comments:

penlan said...

These double standards are making me crazy...

Barcs said...

no I am not impressed that people are protesting on highways. next to? maybe. But not stopping traffic and creating dangerous situations.

And yes if some high level tory staffer or MP shows up. I think they should be arrested with the rest of the rabble, sprayed down to clean em up and spend several nights in jail to allow them to come up with more appropriate protest methods.