A violent response to these peaceful blockades will lead to violence in response, and far more economic damage, than the prime minister’s strategy of letting the situation peter out. And remember, there are nearly 50,000 kilometres of rail line in Canada, so it’s not as if there is a shortage of targets.
Indigenous Canadians have been lied to, betrayed and abused so many times their forbearance and patience with those of us of immigrant stock is truly remarkable. A military “solution” to suit the desires of an extremist minority concentrated in Western Canada is exactly what our country does not need.
So what is going on? I suspect Canadian movement conservatives collectively started to lose their minds circa 2015, when they lost two major elections, one nationally and the other here in Alberta, that despite voter fatigue with their rule they thought they had a reasonable chance of winning.