Give me that olive branch

What’s that I heard on the news yesterday? Murphy Brown is the new leader of the Opposition in Canada? How did that happen?

Oh, not that Candice Bergen. The Candice Bergen who is now interim leader of the Conservatives is an MP from Manitoba. 

And what do we know about her? In the week before her election as leader, her Twitter account was all pro Freedumb Convoy all the time. Three days before she became leader she was tweeting photos of herself and the “protesters”.

Respect. Right. Personally I respect the 90% of professional truck drivers who’ve had their jabs and are too busy doing their jobs to be desecrating the tomb of the unknown soldier or mugging food banks in Ottawa. But that’s just me. (Oh, and the vast majority of Canadians.)

It may have happened, but so far I haven’t heard any of the freedumb fighters denounce the Confederate and Nazi flag wavers in their midst. I’d have a modicum of respect for them if they did.

This was Bergen’s first appearance as interim leader in the House of Commons yesterday.

An olive branch? Seriously? These clowns are holding the nation’s capital hostage. Someone (although clearly so far it won’t be the police) should indeed take a branch to them – olive, maple, mahogany, doesn’t matter.

As I said the other day, the last female interim leader of the Conservatives, Rona Ambrose, did a pretty good job. I very much doubt I will say the same thing about Bergen when she’s done.

And, yes, the police. Gary Mason summed up how most Canadians are feeling about their performance in Ottawa in the Globe and Mail this week.

“Canadians across the country have looked on at what is taking place in the capital with a mixture of anger and incredulity. Why has nothing been done? Sure, no one wants to see the police moving in right away with batons and pepper spray, but you’d like to see some kind of sanctions for blocking streets and sounding horns at all hours of the day. People have been beaten, tasered and arrested by police in this country for doing far less than these demonstrators. Police won’t even threaten to tow their rigs away and as of Thursday had given out just 30 tickets.”

I am far from the first one to point to say this. If a convoy of indigenous people had turned up in Ottawa last weekend noisily demanding redress for the cultural genocide perpetuated against them, you can bet your bottom dollar that the police would have waded in quick time. 

Perhaps they’ve been issued with this helpful January 6 chart.

Anyway, if Murphy Frown’s appointment is any reflection of the anti-vax, freedumb qualities the Conservatives want to see in their next permanent leader, it’s good news for Justin Trudeau.