This letter is in response to Freedom protesters harass striking CRA workers in Sudbury which was published on Friday, April 21 and originated from Village Media site Sudbury.com.
To the editor:
Last Friday, Baytoday.ca and other Village Media media outlets published a story of a counter-protest to the thousands of PSAC employees striking in Northern Ontario.
I have come to appreciate this news website for being willing to share both sides of many stories. But this reporting was incredibly divisive, misleading and purposely hurtful to so many people.
In your reporting, you led with a direct quote from one of the union leaders that claimed that the counter-protesters represented the “freedom convoy.” You even allowed them to label the entirety of the Freedom Convoy with an “anti-queer/anti-worker agenda.”
I don’t agree with all the things these counter-protesters shouted, however, in no way were they fighting for the same things that the Freedom Convoy was.
The Freedom Convoy was the most pro-worker movement I have ever seen. Millions of Canadian workers were forced to take a medical product against their will or lost their jobs because of COVID mandates, The Freedom Convoy stood up for them when no one else (including their union) would.
Like many Canadians, I don’t personally agree with the unreasonable demands of PSAC. Like the counter-protesters, I find it hypocritical for them to claim to fight for workers' rights when they abandoned thousands of their members when they were to take the COVID shots to keep their jobs.
But I am not “anti-worker.” I am 100% pro-worker. I sympathize with all workers in Canada but particularly with the millions who didn’t get a guaranteed paycheque throughout the entire pandemic, saw their taxes go up and would never dream of asking for such a large pay increase.
The Freedom Convoy has never been "anti-queer". The pride movement or any of the controversial debates around these issues have NOTHING to do with the freedom that this movement is based on. This movement was about ending harmful lockdowns, ending divisive vaccine mandates, ending government overreach. Nothing else.
Political leaders, journalists with an agenda and union leaders who need to build sympathy for their cause are slandering this movement to create more division. Millions of Canadians either went to Ottawa during the convoy or supported them on the streets or online. It is terrible reporting to take any single supporter and label anything they say as a representative of the entire Freedom Convoy.
Rejean Venne
West Nipissing
