Canadian trucker protest

[coldmeat]

These people all crying about the lockdowns and our underfunded health care will all go vote for Ford again this year while blaming Trudeau.

 

[Brainonska511]

on rail transport: you guys know there are like, big lakes and rivers in this area right? there are only 2 or 3 spots along the great lakes that have rail bridges or tunnels, many of them very old and probably have size and weight restrictions. Niagara, one in Detroit, and near the soo locks, which is nearly useless, because then you have to go all the way around lake Michigan to get back to the auto factories. otherwise you have to go clear to Montreal or the other side of lake superior at international falls.

it would take a much larger, and probably more expensive effort to utilize rail at more than the Detroit crossing over using cargo planes, and waiting for this to end.

the crossing in Detroit is a very old tunnel and I'm sure its operating at capacity.

It's not something that can be solved immediately, but we can always decide to move our trucking subsidies (in the form of low gas taxes and money spent on toll-free roads) to rail infrastructure instead.

 

[K1052]

on rail transport: you guys know there are like, big lakes and rivers in this area right? there are only 2 or 3 spots along the great lakes that have rail bridges or tunnels, many of them very old and probably have size and weight restrictions. Niagara, one in Detroit, and near the soo locks, which is nearly useless, because then you have to go all the way around lake Michigan to get back to the auto factories. otherwise you have to go clear to Montreal or the other side of lake superior at international falls.

it would take a much larger, and probably more expensive effort to utilize rail at more than the Detroit crossing over using cargo planes, and waiting for this to end.

the crossing in Detroit is a very old tunnel and I'm sure its operating at capacity.

In the area of concern there are two rail crossings 1) the CN single track tunnel at Sarnia and 2) the CP double track tunnel at Windsor. CN replaced an old tunnel in the 1990s with a brand new one that can take even double stack containers. CP's older tunnel passed down from Michigan Central can take everything but double stack high cubes I think. Three tracks is a lot of capacity, for example the three tracks over Cajon Pass can take up to 150 trains a day and that is FAR more challenging wrt elevations, curves, etc.

Edit: regarding capacity CP has agreed to let Amtrak through its tunnel as part of the deal for approving its merger with KCS. I really doubt Detroit-Windsor is near capacity and if it was that certainly would not have been on the table.

 

[K1052]

n/m

 

[herm0016]

and I'm sure they are operating with haste, I just wanted to address that logistics like this are not as easy as people make it out to be. I have been in logistics for almost a decade in the oil industry with a company that has one of the largest fleets of privately owned rail cars. We do not deal with the Canadian border much though.

In the area of concern there are two rail crossings 1) the CN single track tunnel at Sarnia and 2) the CP double track tunnel at Windsor. CN replaced an old tunnel in the 1990s with a brand new one that can take even double stack containers. CP's older tunnel passed down from Michigan Central can take everything but double stack high cubes I think. Three tracks is a lot of capacity, for example the three tracks over Cajon Pass can take up to 150 trains a day and that is FAR more challenging wrt elevations, curves, etc.

Edit: regarding capacity CP has agreed to let Amtrak through its tunnel as part of the deal for approving its merger with KCS. I really doubt Detroit-Windsor is near capacity and if it was that certainly would not have been on the table.

 

[Brainonska511]

and I'm sure they are operating with haste, I just wanted to address that logistics like this are not as easy as people make it out to be. I have been in logistics for almost a decade in the oil industry.

I think people are also just unimaginative about land use in North America. The favoring of trucks and roads is not something that happened overnight - it was built up over years of subsidies. We used to ship everything by rail in this country, including to local warehouses. Switzerland is set up for this today via electrified freight. There is no reason we can't go back in that direction in the US beyond a nearly insurmountable wall of intransigence on sticking with the way things are.

 

[Jaskalas]

It seems clear to me that this is an occupation, and not a protest. To permanently blockade roads isn't a bunch of people marching and shouting and causing some disruption. The degree and extent of the disruption moves this from peaceful to criminal. Formal warning should be issued, and a number of hours later the arrests should start. Take them all.

 

[KMFJD]

Pierre Poilievre

2021 -"When Indigenous People protest and blockade it is wrong and the government has laws and tools in place to deal with it.
“These blockaders are taking away the freedom of other people to move their goods and themselves."


Pierre Poilievre
2022
“I’m proud of the truckers and I stand with them,”
“They have reached a breaking point after two years of massive government overreach of a prime minister who insults and degrades anyone who disagrees with his heavy-handed approach. "


Can you spot the difference between these two protests?

 

[nakedfrog]

The vaccine passport system has cost billions of dollars and I imagine has a fairly heafty operating cost to keep the infrastructure running. Scrap that system and put that money towards health care instead.

Ah, yes, I remember this, the vaccine passport system that you falsely claimed cost 10 billion, then you conceded it was 2 billion, when the real number was 1 billion, and said you just got the numbers a little wrong, same as when you claimed Trudeau wanted to bring in 100 million immigrants. You don't give a shit about facts, you imagine a lot of things and pretend they're real.

 

[eelw]

These people all crying about the lockdowns and our underfunded health care will all go vote for Ford again this year while blaming Trudeau.

Lol Ford not going to get re-elected this summer. While he didn’t totally screw up covid response, people only voted for him because how much Wynne screwed up

 

[sdifox]

Ah, yes, I remember this, the vaccine passport system that you falsely claimed cost 10 billion, then you conceded it was 2 billion, when the real number was 1 billion, and said you just got the numbers a little wrong, same as when you claimed Trudeau wanted to bring in 100 million immigrants. You don't give a shit about facts, you imagine a lot of things and pretend they're real.

The one billion was an election pledge to help the provinces and territories to pay for vaccine passport, I doubt they spent that much collectively.

 

[Iron Woode]

Stupid is as stupid does. Long covid brain fog will just make the antivaxxers even more stupid each time they get reinfected

Back on topic, not sure what Biden can offer to do. Does he plan to arrest the protestors on the American side of the border?
And our premiere calling a state of emergency. And he’s pushing to lay severe consequences to these protestors. Up to $100,000 fines and 1 year in jail.

not to mention the revocation of their commercial and personal driver's licenses.

That is going to hurt them more than they think.

 

[dank69]

... Can you spot the difference between these two protests?

One of them is "legitimate political discourse."

 

[KMFJD]

Lol Ford not going to get re-elected this summer. While he didn’t totally screw up covid response, people only voted for him because how much Wynne screwed up

and yet, in polls taken just a week or two ago he still had a 10-12 point lead over Libs/NDP

 

[eelw]

and yet, in polls taken just a week or two ago he still had a 10-12 point lead over Libs/NDP

Wait he is? Wasn’t his approval rating around 25%

 

[KMFJD]

Wait he is? Wasn’t his approval rating around 25%

338Canada Ontario | Poll Analysis & Electoral Projections

338canada.com

He is and yes

It is early though, elections not for another couple of months

Ontario declares a state of emergency to end 'siege' in Ottawa and Windsor

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency as the truck convoy protests continue to disrupt traffic and prevent the transport of goods across the Canadian border.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

he's like a groundhog that only comes out every 6 weeks now or something, it's amazing how well he's hidden himself lately

 

[gothuevos]

is it me, or do things have that strange/eerie vibe like we felt leading up to J6?

Imminent similar truck protests here in the US, Trump again talking about being "reinstated" soon, Russia and Ukraine, etc.

Just all feels bad, man.

 

[Roger Wilco]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1492197832207568901

 

[nakedfrog]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1492197832207568901

And be prepared for more of the same...

 

[Artorias]

The Canadian trucking protest is not bringing Canadian's together.

We look like clowns, and are a laughing stock internationally. Letting hooligans put people out of work and disrupt the supply chain is a national embarrassment.

Shame on Treadeau for not finding his balls and nipping this in the bud. You had your protest, now get back to work, or leave modern society and live on the fringe.

 

[sportage]

Well, one thing we all have to admit, that the new four letter word in our vocabulary is MANDATE. Mandate, god forbid the word mandate dare be uttered when addressing any everyday subject.
Why not tack the word "mandate" onto other things that we are not fond of doing, like paying taxes? If we were told that the government would "mandate" the paying of taxes on or before April 15th, guess what would happen? No one would pay their taxes. Or how about changing the term OBEY TRAFFIC LAWS to OBEYING TRAFFIC LAWS IS MANDATED. No one would stop at a stop sign or red light ever again. Mandated seatbelts? Mandated the wearing of clothes? Mandated paying for groceries?
Yeah, we'd have a hell of a lot of naked grocery shoppers shoplifting groceries then driving away unbelted and running every stoplight.
So..... what do YOU feel that you are mandated to do today?

And my mandate for all you out there in Anandtech world?
You are mandated to like this post.

 

[pmv]

LOL

I just saw this:

Bomb threat to the wrong Ottawa by U.S. man opposed to Canada's mask mandate

The suspect searched for 'Ottawa Police Department' and phoned the force in Ottawa, Ohio

nationalpost.com

seriously, you can't make this stuff up.

It's fortunate he didn't threten to bomb that French DIsco-pop outfit who made "D.I.S.C.O".

(or, then again, maybe that would have been an improvement)

 

[Red Squirrel]

This is a pretty funny video about the situation so far. (satirical but makes really good points)

These people all crying about the lockdowns and our underfunded health care will all go vote for Ford again this year while blaming Trudeau.

We're in a crappy situation in Ontario. Ford is terrible, but then Liberal and NDP want EVEN MORE restrictions. Can't really win. We are screwed unless there are drastic changes at the Ontario government level. Federally we're looking a bit better now that O'Toole is out. He was useless.

It does look like Ford may be giving in and dropping the vax pass though. It's a start. But why announce that it will be done later, just do it now. He always does that. I think he's doing it to get votes so the more he waits the closer to the election it is and the more fresh it is in people's mind.

Doug Ford says plan in works to remove Ontario's vaccine passport system

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says plans are in the works to remove the vaccine passport system that requires people to show proof of vaccination when they enter a number of settings.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

Unfortunately there is also this: https://www.ontario.ca/page/digital-id-ontario

I don't like where that could be going.

 

[fskimospy]

This is a pretty funny video about the situation so far. (satirical but makes really good points)

We're in a crappy situation in Ontario. Ford is terrible, but then Liberal and NDP want EVEN MORE restrictions. Can't really win. We are screwed unless there are drastic changes at the Ontario government level. Federally we're looking a bit better now that O'Toole is out. He was useless.

It does look like Ford may be giving in and dropping the vax pass though. It's a start. But why announce that it will be done later, just do it now. He always does that. I think he's doing it to get votes so the more he waits the closer to the election it is and the more fresh it is in people's mind.

Doug Ford says plan in works to remove Ontario's vaccine passport system

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says plans are in the works to remove the vaccine passport system that requires people to show proof of vaccination when they enter a number of settings.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

Unfortunately there is also this: https://www.ontario.ca/page/digital-id-ontario

I don't like where that could be going.

Restrictions are bad but vaccine mandates are good. If anything we should expand them, right?

 

[iRONic]

Our awesome KY senator:

Rand Paul Encourages Truckers to Come to America and ‘Clog Cities Up