‘It seems these days we are paying more attention to fringe and extreme groups than to the broader consensus that a direct democracy requires,’ Camp said, putting down the newspaper that he was reading.

            ‘You’re referring to the trucker’s protest convoy bearing down on Ottawa?’ I said. ‘They call it the Freedom Convoy. What a crock. Even the Canadian Trucking Alliance strongly disapproves of the demonstration.’

            ‘Yes, they had months to get the jab which is completely harmless and saves lives and hospital beds. They think of themselves as road warriors and freedom fighters when in fact they are drivers and movers of goods. Also, only about 15 percent of them are not vaccinated while the vast majority have complied with the public health mandates and are keeping the goods moving and our grocery store shelves stocked. It is those we should thank and support and ignore the others who think only of themselves, confusing personal freedom with selfishness.’ 

            ‘You don’t have to convince me Camp. I’m with you. This planned blockade of Ottawa is nothing more than blackmail and anarchism which is attracting every disaffected fringe group and individuals with a grudge.’

            ‘Many of them claim to have god on their side which makes any opposition a holy war and a righteous cause. I find it very troubling how these belligerent and vocal minorities grab the lime light and suck all the oxygen out of the tent of commonality.’

            ‘Whatever happened to majority rule? If 15 percent are unhappy with the status quo, they feel it’s their right to scream as loud as they can and force their way onto the front pages and into the social media universe in order to disrupt, sow distrust and destroy and push their pseudo-cause into the public domain.’

            ‘And never have anything better to offer. No solutions, just complaints and anarchy, until they get sick with the covid they disavow and need to go to the hospital.’

            ‘What would you do with these truckers and dung muckers who want to lay siege to Ottawa, demanding capitulation of the government and lifting of all vaccine mandates?’

            ‘I would suspend their trucking licensing, confiscate their trucks and send them home on foot, then auction off the trucks to pay for the disruption.

            ‘That’s funny and probably works in a movie but in real life it’s a bigger problem,’ Camp laughed. ‘I agree, the government cannot give in to blackmail. They didn’t do it for the Chinese when they kidnapped the two Michaels; they won’t do it now. They need to get the message out that these protesters do not have the people on their side. Isolate, marginalize and shame them and if that doesn’t work force them to go home, with or without their trucks.’

            ‘Meanwhile Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland are lifting most covid restrictions and England announced it will do away with mask mandates and scrap vaccine passports,’ I said.

‘Let omicron rip, seems to be the message, and if we all get it, together with the vaccines, we’ll have herd immunity and be able to return to some kind of normalcy.’

            ‘That is the preferred narrative,’ Camp said and finished his beer. We looked around for Vicky but she was nowhere to be seen. A new server, a young man with fully tattooed arms brought around another round. ‘Hi I’m Kevin, filling in for Vicky. She’s got the bug.’

            ‘What bug?’ I asked.

            ‘The omicron, I think. She’s fine, just staying out of circulation for a few days.’

            ‘There you have it,’ Camp said.