"Tesla Takedown"

"All of the platforms in which we communicate and talk to one another are controlled more and more by the tech oligarchy."

"Were seeing that the press is being owned by billionaires, the social media we use is owned by the same billionaires, and the alignment that is happening in the United States ... is just a more overt version of the same kind of thing that's happening in Canada." 

Juan Alperin, professor, faculty of communication, art and technology, Simon Fraser University

 

"[It's my belief that billionaires are] interfering [with politics in North America and Europe in ways they should not be involved]."

"I'm also against the attacks on Canadian sovereignty ... by saying Canada is not a country and that our prime minister is a governor [Musk quips]."

Andrew Balakshin, Vancouver resident 

Over 80 Tesla vehicles were damaged at a Hamilton, Ontario dealership in a vandalism spree. Carscoops

The backlash against Elon Musk's support of U.S. President Donald Trump's war on Canada begins to mirror a rising tide of popular dissent within the United States that has begun targeting the appointed head of DOGE, through targeting his Tesla electric vehicle car production facilities in a series of protests outside Tesla dealerships to deliver a message of rejection. Those protests are par for the course with a disgruntled public expressing their opinion. It is the accompanying and linked violent criminal acts of sabotage, of puncturing tires, keying paint jobs and most of all fire-bombing vehicles that tell the story of matters getting out of hand.

 

Now Canadians in cities including Ottawa and Vancouver have linked themselves to the growing rejection of Tesla as representative of government-cost-slashing actions of DOGE, under the direction of Elon Musk that speaks to a spreading global rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump's abrasive and volatile style of government.

 

Surrey, British Columbia saw residents holding signs with messages including "elbows up", "Elon be-gone", and "democracy dies in apathy". President Trump has proceeded with his threat to slap steep tariffs on Canadian goods, the result of which has predictably been a trade war. His repeated barbs that Canada would be better off as the 51st state, and that Canadians would love to become Americans, surrendering their sovereignty for the 'greater good' of immersing within the U.S. has struck most Canadians as an unforgivable assault by a former friendly neighbour. 

 

A number of the most prominent incidents in the U.S. have been reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment runs high. In this image, a member of the Seattle Fire Department is seen inspecting a burned Tesla Cybertruck at a Tesla lot in Seattle, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

 

Ordinary Canadians have retaliated by refusing to buy American products, seeking out Canadian-produced goods or alternately foodstuffs arriving in Canada from other parts of the world rather than the United States. Musk, the self-described "free speech absolutist" faces criticism from hate-speech watchdogs, seething with outrage that his social media platform X allows extremist, dangerous and antisemitic comments to flourish on X.

 

The world's wealthiest individual has been advising President Trump on overhauling the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, newly created to install Mr. Musk as a special government agent dedicated to reducing the costs of government services. There are those who cite a post Musk shared originating with another X user that posted: "Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn't murder millions of people. Their public sector workers did."

 

Tesla dealership in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

 

Few individuals have the high profile internationally as does Elon Musk. His partnering with the new U.S. president has only increased his visibility and the suspicions surrounding his intentions. Resulting in the auto production company directly associated with the man becoming a target for protests and vandalism. In Oregon gunshots were fired at a Tesla dealership. In Seattle four Cybertrucks were destroyed in a deliberate blaze.

 

Action Network website hosts the "Tesla Takedown" protests where events are posted, used by individuals and community groups to promote what the site describes as 'progressive causes'. Dozens of protests are shown scheduled across the United States and Europe through the remainder of March and into April. 

 

Law enforcement respond to reports of incendiary devices at Tesla showroom in Austin, Texas, March 24, 2025.  @DocumentingATX / X

"The FBI will be relentless in its mission to protect the American people. Acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism — like the recent Tesla attacks — will be pursued with the full force of the law."

"These criminal actions appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night."

"Individuals require little planning to use rudimentary tactics, such as improvised incendiary devices and firearms, and may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes." 

Federal Bureau of Investigation statement

Moral/Immoral Business Disputes -- And Consequences -- Company Rules Rule

"These protests were part of a longstanding campaign by a group of organizations and people who largely don’t work at Google. A small number of employee protesters entered and disrupted a few of our locations."

"Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and completely unacceptable behavior. After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety.”

"[We carried out] individual investigations that resulted in the termination of employment for 28 employees, and will continue to investigate and take action as needed."

Google spokesperson

Image Credits: Justice Speaks

 

The tech company's cloud computing contract with the government of Israel is in deep disfavour with some among the legion of people that Google employs; so much so that some of these employees have been planning and staging vigorous protests in the name of (selective) human rights. Leading to the arrest of nine workers who held sit-ins at Google's offices in California and New York, protesting the $1.2 billion contract their employer signed with Israel for the provision of custom tools meant for the use of the Israel Defense Forces.

The additional fallout of the protest and those engaged in it, refusing to vacate their illegal occupation of their employer's worksites was the identification and work disengagement of 28 staffers. No Tech for Apartheid, the group behind the protests is adamant that Google's version of events does not reflect reality, in that they claim the company fired workers who did not directly engage with the protest which the company identifies as part of a long-standing campaign by groups and "people who largely don't work at Google".

Videos and photos were posted on social media by No Tech for Apartheid in which workers in Google offices were shown holding placards and sitting on the floor, chanting slogans. A letter-writing campaign was organized by the group which has staged protests against Google's agreement to provide technology to Israel, since 2021. The cloud-computing contract, referred to as 'Nimbus' evidently caused further tension among Google employees as well as at Amazon.

The situation of  worker-disagreement has risen substantially since the initiation in October of the Israel-Gaza conflict. Critics of the project claim the contract will have the effect of aiding the Israeli government's surveillance of Palestinians, leading to further displacement and discrimination. Evidently none among them appears concerned over the hideous rapes and mass murders inflicted on Israeli citizens by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PLO and ordinary Palestinian civilians, which led to the conflict.

Locked out of their workplaces and devices Tuesday evening, learning of their termination through email that very morning, the 28 fired employees complain of having suffered shock and anger by the decision of the company. One of the fired employees who was involved in organizing the sit-in without direct participation made no secret of his impotent rage at the outcome of his free-agency-choice to oppose his employer's decision-making.

"I'm furious. This is a wildly disproportionate response to workers standing up for morality and for holding Google accountable for its own promises."

"Firing people associated with an event they don't like -- it's unbelievable."

Fired Google employee

 A banner hangs during the sit-in at Google’s New York office.

(No Tech for Apartheid)

Trudeau: "We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations"

"Trans people -- they exist in society, and they deserve inclusion, just like everyone else."

"We need to talk to people, teach them the right vocabulary, the proper words, at an age-appropriate time, in order to explain that inclusion is a good thing."

"We need to make sure that their trans and queer peers at school feel welcome."

Trans activist Celeste Trianon 

"Transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country."

"We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations, and we stand united in support of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians across the country -- you are valid and you are valued."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

 

"We know that there are a lot of folks that don't feel safe because of the rise in hate and division that's targeting vulnerable people."

"But then you see a lot of people coming together, and it shows the strength of solidarity, of us supporting each other, of having each other's back."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

 

"I think our parents should become knowledgeable about what their kids are being taught and what is important for them to learn in schools and what's important for parents to make decisions on with kids that are under 16 years old."

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs

 

"I don't want them to be educated on whether they are a girl or a boy."

"Let them be what they want to be."

"If he [her son] decides in his life, when he's an adult, if he wants to change, I'm OK with that."

Jashandeep Dhillon, mother in Regina

 

"[Children were being] bullied by teachers into changing their pronouns]."

"It's one thing to say, well, we have various people who have different feelings about sexuality." 

"It's a different thing to teach everybody that it is perfectly normal, and that you [the student] should look into that, if it's applicable to you."

David Low, rally organizer, Prince George

Protests and counter-protests over LGBTQ school policies took place in Toronto on Wednesday, with many more happening across the country. The initial protests were organized under the banner of '1 Million March 4 Children' to 'protect our children from indoctrination and sexualization,' according to the group’s website. Counter-protests took place in response, with thousands gathering at places like Queen’s Park. CBC

 

Everyone is invested in the education of society's children, starting with their parents, and ending with the schools they attend where children in public schools are trusted to be introduced to and instructed in the most basic requirements of literacy and numeracy, geography, practical economics, history and enrichment programs associated with sports, nature, and social culture. This is all preparation for adulthood, for children maturing and accepted within their greater society. The stern educator of long ago demanding instant obedience from his classroom has long since been replaced by an easy-going instructor encouraging students to familiarize themselves with themselves. 

Where once unruly children were sent to the principal's office for the vice-principal to mete out appropriate punishment for anti-social and/or destructive or disruptive behaviour, it is now verboten. Students whose classroom performance is mediocre are now encouraged not necessarily to study more diligently and take part in classroom discussions, but to consider themselves special and extraordinary. In today's classrooms students can be disruptive and even physically abusive and face no penalties. Stories of teachers being assaulted physically and a general aura of violence have become common. There seem to be no penalties, children will be children.

 

Protesters march down Elgin Street in Ottawa as they demonstrate against sexual orientation and gender identity programs in schools on Wednesday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

"Safety can't be guaranteed in class; the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario says three-quarters of its members report having experienced or witnessed violence committed against colleagues."

"On Monday, a 14-year-old girl in Whitby, Ontario stabbed another girl in school, seriously injuring her; meanwhile, in Oshawa, a 12-year-old girl had to be subdued with a taser after she attacked fellow students and a teacher with scissors, sending one child to hospital." 

Tasha Kheiriddin, journalist, National Post

Parents over the past several years have become increasingly perturbed over the agendas in schools their children attend. Where once parents scrutinized report cards for results, they now wonder what has been happening with their children as students in public schools when they read reports of school boards mandating that teachers not reach out to parents to discuss their child's newly-emerged preference to change their birth biology by assuming the persona of a gender other than that they were born with. The child requesting to be addressed with specific pronouns rejecting their birth gender has the final word.

 

Protesters and counter-protesters are shown in Charlottetown. (Alex McIsaac/CBC)

 

 At one time students in Canada's public schools were in the high percentiles of successful learning, passing their grades in above-average numbers, indicating that the Canadian education system was in fine form and doing justice to the needs of the active minds of their students engaged in learning basic academic subjects. That is no longer true. Canada has distinguished itself of late by being identified as the sole G7 country whose scores in math and science are "steadily declining", according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a concerning reality for parents expecting their children to be properly educated.

What does now also hugely concern parents of school-age children is the new acculteration dominating the news of children being encouraged through the school system to think deeply about their sexual identity; whether it coincides with their ideas, thoughts, proclivities and orientations. Boys with girlish tendencies, and girls who emulate boyish behaviour are now engaged in the kind of introspection that leads them to question their gender realities, boosted by the literature they are now exposed to in their school libraries.

Young children are now introduced to aromantic (absence of romantic attraction), asexual (absence of sexual attraction), pansexual (attraction to any gender) or demisexual (attraction requiring an emotional bond) 'normalcies'. The atmosphere in the classroom is one of complete abandonment of biological determination based in science and nature, in favour of gender fluidity and the ease with which children can decide they prefer to alter their gender identification because it's alluring to them, and fits more neatly into how they perceive themselves after exposure to the alternatives available to them.

Transitions in fundamental biology that puzzle their parents and who have finally come to the conclusion that their role as guardians of their children's well-being, as nurturers and parents guiding their children into the future has been taken from them by a school system that cautions teachers and students not to inform parents of their children's preferences and decision-making. And so parents, some teachers who disagree with the system, and other concerned individuals mounted country-wide protests, called 1 Million March 4 Children.

True to his infamous virtue-signalling and condemnation of any who disagree with his social and cultural proclivities, the prime minister of Canada has denounced these hundreds of thousands of protesting parents as hateful and racist. Those who protest at school classrooms and libraries presenting drag queens acting out the theatrics of sexual exhibitionism and sex change, concerned for the welfare of their children being exposed to orientations of poor taste and no value, find themselves being told that there is no place for them in Canada, by their prime minister.

 

Hundreds demonstrated in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday morning, one of several similar events across the country  CBC

 

Do.As.I.Say

"We talked about the U.S.-based flooding of the 911 phone lines in Ottawa, the presence of U.S. citizens in the blockades and the impact of foreign money to fund this illegal activity."

"[Biden] expressed concern not just for the impacts right now, but the indication that there is international support from the United States and from elsewhere around the world for these protests."

"[On some funding platforms, the] number of U.S. donations are approaching 50 percent."

"Our police services are monitoring carefully, and watching and co-ordinating with partner agencies around the world."

"We see mobilization of some of the more challenging political elements in Canada and in the United States around support for these blockades that are hurting citizens."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

"Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo."

"All funds for EVERY campaign on GiveSendGo flow directly to the recipients of those campaigns, not least of which is the Freedom Convoy campaign."

U.S.Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo

"There's messages from donors saying their location is in the U.K., Israel, U.S., and it has been promoted by some quite high-profile American content creators as well."

"[The Institute for Strategic Dialogue hasn't collected any evidence, but it's] something that I would never rule out [that some of the Convoy donations are emanating from Russia]."

Tim Squirrell, head, communications and editorial, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, U.K.

"Each hour that these blockades continue does more serious damage to our economy and society."

"Manufacturers that depend on just-in=time delivery have been forced to cancel shifts for thousands of workers, shipments of livestock and of fresh produce face serious delays or waste that threaten food security,and deliveries of products that are greatly needed by Canadian families are being cancelled."

Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Anti-mandate protesters children walk beside parked trucks near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, February 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

The Canadian Truckers Convoy that has dubbed itself the Freedom Convoy has reverberated globally. From New Zealand to the United Kingdom, the United States to Israel and points between, capital cities like Paris are now facing the threat of blockades by their national truckers groups, initially expressing sympathy for the Canadian Truckers, and expanding that to express their own outrage over the coronavirus mandates that have been visited on themselves nationally.

 

In Canada, Federal authority has been muted in response to the capital of the country being under the physical thrall of thousands of protesters, many driving large semi-trailers, the rigs being used as a coercive measure and menace, threatening to remain as long as it takes for the central government to revoke its COVID mandates. That demand was later substantially increased by another demanding the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign.

This is the same federal government that has failed to resolve an issue that has grown to national proportions causing both social and economic dislocation. Other truckers, attempting to deliver time-sensitive loads across the border between Canad and the United states have been held up for as long as a week at some of the critical border crossings. The Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, to Detroit, which sees a quarter of all trade pass through between the two countries has finally been cleared of protesters but not yet cleared for traffic.

The Canadian government has excoriated the provincial Ontario government and the municipality of its capital city for not having dealt expeditiously with the protests that have upended people's lives for close to three weeks with trucks idling 24 hours a day,diesel fumes polluting the atmosphere, air horns blasting continuously, and protesters openly defying mask mandates while harassing and intimidating local residents who wear masks. Grocers have shut down because of unruly behaviour, hospitals have been unable to operate as normally.

But the federal government and the prime minister sit by, critical of everyone else, themselves having in the first place caused the protesters to dig in their heels, refusing to disperse. Justin Trudeau spoke insultingly disparagingly of the truckers, characterizing them as misfits, racists, homophobes, thugs with whom he refused to meet. When Black Lives Matter demonstrated on Parliament Hill a year and a half ago, Trudeau was pleased to make an appearance and 'take a knee', though many of the BLM demonstrations turned violent.

This is the same Trudeau that when India attempted to introduce new farm legislation to upgrade and modernize their system of sales of agricultural products, and the farmers organized a protest rally just outside New Delhi to demand the legislation be repealed because of their belief it would harm their incomes, Justin Trudeau stated his support of the farmers -- mostly Sikh -- to play to Canada's large Sikh population. At that time he was pleased to urge Indian Prime Minister Modi to 'listen' to the protesters.

As for Canada's Truck Convoy, there are those in the U.S. cheering it on; Republicans and far-right figures, including former President Donald Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Georgie Representative MarjorieTaylor Greene. They'll have their own Truckers Convoy to contend with, one planned to possibly interrupt the Super Bowl and Mr. Biden's State of the Union address on March 1st.

The original GoFundMe campaign to raise funds in support of the protest saw $10 million raised in the space of a week, but the GoFundMe organizers decided to freeze the funds. Whereupon the Convoy organizers turned to an alternative source, the U.S. GiveSendGo fundraising site which has almost now matched the original fundraising of $10 million, and which, unlike its predecessor has defied Canadian government wishes that the funds raised not be given to the Truck Convoy organizers.

According to Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Royal Military College and Queen's University, "the amount of money that's being raised, the pace at which it's being raised, raises serious questions about the sources of the money", that it's "not inconceivable" that some of the funding may have come from Russia. 

 

What is undeniable, is that Canadian truckers have a legitimate grievance. There was no need to mandate vaccinations for the mere ten percent of the trucking industry that remains unvaccinated, depriving them of their livelihood and Canadians of ongoing food deliveries. A miserable failure of an incompetent federal government in its zeal to control the public to an extent not seen other than in wartime situations.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves a news conference after announcing the Emergencies Act will be invoked to deal with protests, Monday, February 14, 2022 in Ottawa. Trudeau says he has invoked the Emergencies Act to bring to an end antigovernment blockades he describes as illegal and not about peaceful protest. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Europe COVID Ridden, Locking Down

"It's like a luxury prison. It's definitely limited freedom and for me it's not great psychologically."

"People were promised that if they got vaccinated they would be able to lead a normal life, but now that's not true."

Sascha Jamkovyi, food sector entrepreneur, Vienna

Pedestrians walk at the city centre during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, as Austria's government imposed a general lockdown from Monday, in Salzburg, Austria, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Lukas Barth

Austria now is the first country in Western Europe reimposing lockdown since inoculations first began in the country. Non-essential shops, bars and cafes are now shuttered as caseloads surge, making the continent's leaders fearful of a second straight winter where the entire continent will be in deep freeze, so to speak. Tighter restrictions are also on the way in Germany in an effort to control a record-setting wave of infections.

Europe is now again the epicentre of the global pandemic that caused lockdowns first in March of 2020. The imposition of new restrictions and new vaccine mandates are expected to affect more countries struggling with rising caseloads, marking the approach of the second full year of spreading infections since the SARS-CoV-2 viruses that causes COVID-19 first emerged in China.

Confirming her position on the need to begin another closing of society, Chancellor Merkel informed leaders of her conservative CDU party: "We are in a highly dramatic situation. What is in place now is not sufficient" to dampen rising COVID case numbers. An urgent message from Jens Spahn the German health minister for people to be vaccinated, followed his confidential assurance of certainty that by winter's end everyone in the country would be "vaccinated, recovered or dead"; a message geared to spell out dire consequences.

Workers dismantle a booth in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, which, like Saxony, has cancelled its Christmas markets to help control Covid-19. Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images

 

Austrians are being urged to work from home if at all possible; warning that restaurants, theatres and non-essential shops would be closed for a period of ten days. Citing a limited number of reasons for leaving home, such as attending school, going out to a workplace, shopping for essential products, or walking outdoors for exercise, Austrian authorities have made it clear that normal life habits must temporarily undergo change.

As of February 1st, in Austria, vaccinations will become compulsory, within a public where many remain skeptical of vaccinations, a suspicion of medical science encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, third largest in parliament. Some 40,000 protesters were out on the streets in Vienna. In Brussels and across the Netherlands, protests turned violent over the weekend.

Unvaccinated people were banned from services, including going out to pubs and cafes and restaurants in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. In Austria a third of the population remain unvaccinated, one of the highest unvaccinated rates in Western Europe, a situation that authorities blame for the COVID wave the country is currently struggling under.

 

Abandoned tables of a closed restaurant are seen in a street as the Austrian government imposed fourth national coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown in Vienna, Austria, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Despite the imposition of a lockdown on the unvaccinated last week, daily infections continue rising far above the previous peak, leading to a full lockdown this week. In Berlin and other parts of Germany Christmas markets have opened for the first time in two years, but in states bordering Austria and the Czech Republic with Germany's highest case loads, stricter rules prevail with the cancellation of Christmas markets and barring the unvaccinated from restaurants and bars, along with night-time curfews.

Vaccination rates are lower still in Eastern European countries where some of the highest death tolls per capita in the world have been experienced. In countries like Bulgaria and Romania, hospitals are overrun with serious cases of COVID-19, the surging caseloads leaving medical personnel in a quandary of hopelessness over vaccine hesitancy.

Demonstrators protest against government COVID-19 restrictions during anniversary celebrations of the 1989 Velvet Revolution ending communist rule, Prague, Nov. 17, 2021.  AP Photo/Petr David Josek

Mandating Back-to-Work Vaccinations

"There is definitely going to be tension."

"COVID is throwing so [many] curveballs for us in terms of what the workplace is going to look like in the future, and this is just one of those curveballs."

"What vaccine mandates will do is allow people who are hesitant to use that as a reason to get vaccinated ... and they can blame whoever they want. For the minority that doesn't want to, I don't think anything is going to move them."

David Zweig, organizational behaviour professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

"If they don't upload it [vaccination status to an internal portal], they're not welcome in the office, and if they don't show up in the office it's a condition of work, so they don't have a job."

"We're not doing this in-between thing, where people can get tested every day., The only way you're not vaccinated is because  you can't for religious reasons or health reasons."

"[It's also] common sense and the only way out of this mess."

Perry Dellelce, managing partner, Wildeboer Dellelce LLP

"Employees with a medical reason for being unvaccinated, or for reasons protected by human rights legislation must be offered a formal accommodation under the law."

"In addition, if there are workers who are unable or unwilling to be vaccinated, the government must temporarily reassign those employees to other duties where possible or allow for alternate work arrangements such as remote work."

Public Service Alliance of Canada

The Canadian government is requiring federal government staff to be vaccinated. Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail

Over 82 percent of Canadians eligible for vaccinations have received one dose of vaccine at least, and 75 percent have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Among those people who have decided not to become inoculated against the virus a vocal number haven't been quiet about the official push for vaccinations closing in on them. Essentially they perceive, and with good reason, that they are being held responsible for fueling the new wave of the Delta variant, since the unvaccinated represent the greatest number by far of new cases.

A situation that has persuaded these groups to gather together to mount protests against strictures imposed upon them by health authorities and arms of government at every level. Citing their human rights to control what happens to their bodies, and their rights to determine whether or not they choose to be vaccinated they have become increasingly loud and disruptive, particularly when protests are mounted in front of hospitals, legislatures or even private homes of politicians.

Canada's federal government has come down unequivocally on the side of all federal employees along with the federally regulated transportation sector, government agencies and other groups being mandated for vaccination by September's end, preparatory to a return to business as usual, working out of offices. Government leads the way; with that announcement, private industry has followed suit with a growing number of employers including big banks, major insurers and municipalities mandating vaccinations.

 

Canada's biggest banks will require employees who return to the office to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing. (CBC)

 

Among Canadian small and medium-sized businesses, 62 percent have stated their intention to make vaccinations mandatory for their employees. Requirement specifications for fully vaccinated employee applications are also making their presence in employment criteria. On the other side of the ledger, 47 percent of Canadians agree with their employers mandating vaccination, according to an August Lifeworks Inc. survey, which revealed that 33 percent were opposed and 22 percent uncertain over the issue.

"When people get COVID, we have seen the devastating impact that has [on seniors]; they're much more vulnerable to getting sick and dying. We can't take the chance."

"Right now, staffing is so tenuous in the system, people are so burnt out and their resiliency's been diminished. I can se them moving [on to other types of employment] for that reason."

"In the HR landscape, we know what reasonable accommodation up to the point of undue hardship looks like, but when it comes to vaccines, I'm not a doctor and I'm also not a lawyer. Having the government be more explicit on what a reasonable accommodation looks like would certainly be an easier way to navigate this as a business."

Lisa Levin chief executive, AdvantAge Ontario

Ontario teachers' unions initiated overtures to the provincial government to mandate vaccinations in schools, extending accommodation to those with medical or religious exemptions. The province introduced a vaccine mandate specifically for "high-risk settings" which include hospitals, retirement and long-term care homes and schools. Under the mandate employees who are unvaccinated must submit to regular testing and educational vaccine programming. "Parents really want to know that their kids are going back to a safe place and so do all the staff", Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation explained.

 

In Montreal, thousands of people gathered on Aug. 28 protesting public health measures, including the vaccination passport system and mandatory vaccines for health-care workers. (Jean-Claude Taliana/CBC)

"Eventually, every company is going to have to deal with it, depending on when they're going back to work."

"Obviously, it's a good thing for society if as many people are vaccinated as possible, but you have to work with your employees, especially ones you've had for a significant amount of time."

"Otherwise you could lose valuable people and -- people could get upset -- not necessarily about the vaccine, though that's what sparks it, but about something being forced on them that they don't like, and that causes additional conflict in the workplace that can be problematic."

Andrew Monkhouse, employment lawyer, managing partner, Monkhouse Law Professional Corp.

Employers, stated Andrew Monkhouse, are obliged to provide safe workplaces, noting that unvaccinated employees have the potential to place clients or other third parties at risk of contracting     COVID, without adequate protection the vaccines offer. A situation that would result in exposing their employers to liability claims in the event of transmission. Yet employers must also accommodate employees who fall into a category of those who cannot be vaccinated on human rights grounds for religious or medical reasons.

Frustration and Agitation

"I think it's the ultimate selfishness that individuals choose not to vaccinate themselves. And I think they don't realize they are too arrogant to understand that we live in a society where we all have to make sacrifices."

"For the [hospital] staff, it's exhausting. It's challenging when you have somebody come in who is there when there was a simple route to preventing what they came in with-- a COVID infection."

"Our job is to be professional, but it's very trying for nurses and doctors and all the other health-care professionals to look at somebody who made a conscious decision not to get vaccinated."

Dr.Steven Fedder, emergency MD, Richmond, British Columbia

"It's really hard to grasp why any group of people would be protesting outside of hospitals, where we have vulnerable people coming in to seek medical care."

"I think people are getting really aggressive about the vaccine issue and I'm scared. I'm scared for my family,"

"I have little children as well and I know many other colleagues in the same sort of boat as me have faced a lot of pushback."

Dr.Amit Arya, palliative care physician, Kensington Health, Toronto

Thousands of demonstrators attended an anti-vaccine passport protest in Montreal on Aug. 28. CTV

 

As the global experience with the pandemic wears on with one wave after another and governments enact restrictions in response when all else seems to fail, including restrictions, many in the general public have taken to loudly expressing their counter-opinions of everything wrong with the decisions made by health authorities advising government action. In Canada, since some provinces brought forward plans to require vaccination 'passports' to access restaurants, movie theatres and gyms, anti-vaxxers have increased their incensed protests of impediments to their human rights.

Protesters grouping and shouting vociferously outside the University Health Network particularly incensed palliative care physician Dr. Amit Arya for disrupting patients and staff to the extent where both were unable to enter the hospital. Both patients seeking urgent medical assistance at one of the gravest periods in their lives and staff under pressure to provide emotional and professional assistance to these vulnerable people, are in no condition to be confronted by irate people furious over the self-protective steps the novel coronavirus' unstoppable surges require.

The large and unruly groups of anti-vaccination protesters that assemble outside hospitals across the country reflect similar occurrences elsewhere in the world as people ventilate their frustration and grievances against both medical advisers and government agencies all of whom are consumed by the need to enact responsible response mechanisms in an effort to reduce virus infections among the population at large.That the most vulnerable in any population are those represented in worst-case-infection scenarios and are further impacted by those who are least likely to face serious consequences only adds to the frustration of medical staff.

Invariably, many of those leading or taking part in the protests, denouncing vaccines, refusing to follow distancing and mask-wearing regulations eventually contract COVID. When they appear for treatment consequently, it can be difficult for medical staff to muster sympathy as they work to restore these people to health. According to Dr.Fedder, it is past time that employers -- private and public -- mandate vaccines. In so doing, messaging people who prefer to ignore the science upholding vaccinations. Fear of unemployment, he feels, could act as a spur to convince the unconvinced.

While case numbers remain troublesome and begin to accelerate in size and hospitals scramble to service the needs of all who are hospitalized, people with other serious illnesses defer decision-making to expose themselves to the potential of contracting the virus. Hospitals and medical workers are distracted by COVID numbers requiring treatment and are unable to respond to those requiring medical care for other, serious illnesses, and needed surgeries are placed on hold.

 

Thousands of people unhappy over the B.C. vaccine pass and other COVID-19 restrictions protested outside Vancouver General Hospital and Vancouver city hall. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

With COVID sufferers occupying all available beds, there is no room to accommodate the needs of those suffering ill health aside from the coronavirus complications. People suffering from the effects of chronic impaired health conditions will often avoid appearing at hospital emergency facilities when COVID cases are spiking, and in the process their health conditions spiral out of control. 

Meanwhile, many of those same protesters who claim that government and big Pharma have concocted the SARS-CoV-2 virus threat for the purpose of control on the part of government, and for fattening the bottom line in the instance of the pharmaceutical industry, while denying the efficacy of vaccines and claiming that inoculation brings on COVID and worse, barely hesitate before clasping the pseudo-science of unproven drugs as COVID 'cures'.

"Ivermectin advocates pool effects from observational studies that are very questionable, and from randomized controlled trials that may or may not be randomized and, in general, are poorly conducted and, in some cases fraudulent."

"Ivermectin overdoses can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hallucinations, blurred vision,  tremors, abnormally rapid breathing, seizures, coma and death."

"Ivermectin advocates claim governments, politicians, 'Big pharma' and mainstream media are suppressing evidence that the drug is effective. Ivermectin is a favourite of anti-vaccine, conspiracy theorists who claim COVID could easily be controlled with cheap, off-patent drugs like ivermectin."

Dr.Donald Vinh, infectious diseases specialist, Montreal

Protesters listen to a speaker as they gather outside Toronto Police Headquarters to voice opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and other COVID-19 related restrictions on Thursday September 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young.

Publi8c Rebellion, Herd Immunity and Prioritizing Super-Spreaders for Vaccines

"Hot-spotting is dramatically more efficient than uniform allocation."

"We conclude that hot-spotting could enable public health authorities to greatly reduce the social and economic costs of COVID-19 until vaccine supply catches up with demand."

New scientific paper

"Let's assume the vaccines do nothing to stop the spread. Removing high-risk individuals doesn't really change anything."

"The optics are not that great: ‘You can get vaccinated because of your bad behaviour' [people taking advantage of an incentive to violate social-distancing rules so they can jump the vaccine queue]."

Mahesh Nagarajan, applied mathematician, business professor, University of British Columbia

Unmasked people take part in a protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Toronto on December 20, 2020. Photo by Chris Helgren/Reuters/File

Not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, a new research paper recently posted on a 'pre-print' online site lacking independent scrutiny posits that the strategy of 'hot-spotting', essentially recognizing people who present as super-spreaders, with the use of smartphone contact-tracing apps to identify those super-spreaders, and then using the still-scarce supply of vaccines to focus on seeing them as a priority for inoculation, would have the effect of reaching herd immunity levels far faster than with the equal spread of inoculation distribution.

In theory, this would mimic the work of forest firefighters who see a wide-ranging fire and target it for immediate attention for the purpose of stopping its raging spread. In Canada, as elsewhere in an anxious world where the first doses of the recently-approved vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna are being circulated, it will take quite a long time -- perhaps into next year's fall season -- before sufficient vaccines will have been produced to facilitate inoculating entire populations against COVID-19.

Until that occurs, society must grapple with the need to self-isolate, to remain vigilant against contagion, to properly mask and attend to hygiene methods in a universal bid to cope with the infectious spread of the coronavirus that has succeeded in short order in upending the global social order in country after country, while threatening food security and taking the world economy into a veritable down-spiralling head-spin. Those doses of precious vaccine are in short order and will be for some time, taxing authorities to dole them out carefully among prioritized groups.

 

Hundreds of people gathered in Montreal Sunday and marched through the city protesting municipal and provincial government restrictions put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. Montreal police (SPVM) handed out 269 infractions to protesters who weren't wearing masks   CTV News

 

The recommendations out of this paper appear feasible in identifying potential super-spreaders, to then prioritize those who infect the greatest number of other people, for the purpose of vaccinating them and thus removing the threat they represent in the ever-widening arc of infections. Herd immunity would theoretically be accomplished using less than half as much vaccine as opposed to it being distributed more evenly across a population.

Scientists from the Universities of Waterloo and Guelph, working in conjunction with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics alongside drugmaker Samofi Pasteur were jointly responsible for the content and premise of the paper. Considered an excellent paper by one outside expert, to be seriously considered by Canadian authorities, that expert nonetheless cautioned the protocol would work only should the vaccines be proven to prevent infection with COVID, not merely prevent symptoms of the virus from occurring.

Queen's University infectious-disease specialist Dr.Gerald Evans also commented on the fact that it remains uncertain whether the apps would succeed in identifying possible virus transmitters, or would inadvertently catch "highly mobile persons". The paper was produced through a collaboration between mathematicians and physicists addressing the reality that the vaccine rollout will take considerable time and effort to achieve its ultimate goal. The authors cite theoretical research previously published suggesting targeting potential super-spreaders would have the effect of increasing the effectiveness of a vaccine.

Tracing apps harnessing the Bluetooth function on cellphones warning whether someone has been in close proximity to an individual who has tested positive for COVID to pinpoint those who have an exceptional number and duration of contacts is a vital part of the concept. Mathematical modelling was used to test the possible impact in prioritizing such people as opposed to the effect of uniformly administering vaccine.

 

Up to 2,000 people marched through the streets of Aylmer, Ont., angry about masks and physical distancing rules put in place by the provincial and federal governments. (Kate Dubinski/CBC)

 

They were able to conclude with a degree of confidence that half as many would require shots to reach herd immunity, the point where sufficient numbers of people are vaccinated to make certain the spread has been significantly reduced. Dr. Nagarajan from University of British Columbia points out a possible glitch; while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were seen to be 95 percent effective, that effectiveness was based on preventing symptoms; 'protective immunity'. 

The studies failed to collect data on sterilizing immunity, which is to say, whether the vaccines actually act to prevent infection from the virus occurring. Should this not be the case, the method of singling out super-spreaders would fail to be of much help, since they could continue passing on the pathogen to others, Dr.Nagarajan noted. Another issue is the potential  unintended consequences of the strategy, with people seeing an incentive to violate social distancing rules manipulatively to jump the vaccine queue.

 

On Sunday, hundreds of Calgarians marched down Stephen Avenue to protest public health restrictions intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus. (CBC)

Defying Illness and Death for Life-as-Usual

"What we see is that in many states, you see an increase in influenza-like illnesses, and then a week or two later, you see an increase in deaths due to pneumonia and influenza."
"It provides some confirmation that what we are seeing is related to coronavirus."
"We decided to look at all deaths from pneumonia, or all deaths overall, and see how those numbers were changing,"
Dan Weinberger, epidemiology of infectious diseases, Yale University

Protesters demonstrate against safer-at-home orders at the Colorado Capital in Denver on Sunday. Some counties there have implemented stricter measures than the state, which had announced an easing for some businesses starting Monday. (Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images)

"In New York City, this discrepancy [between numbers forecasted and numbers realized] was even more stark, with three to four times as many excess all-cause deaths as pneumonia and influenza deaths."
"For instance, California had 101 reported deaths due to COVID-19 and 399 excess pneumonia and influenza deaths."
"Many states experienced a notable increase in the proportion of total deaths due to P&I (pneumonia and influenza) starting in mid-March through March 28 compared to what would be expected based on the time of year and influenza activity."
"In some states, such as Florida and Georgia, the increase in deaths due to pneumonia and influenza preceded the widespread adoption of testing for the novel coronavirus by several weeks."  

"Given the lack of adequate testing and geographical variability in testing intensity, this type of monitoring provides key information on the severity of the epidemic in different geographic regions."

"It also provides some indication of the degree to which viral testing is missing deaths associated with COVID-19 directly or indirectly."Research report, published in MedRxiv

The United States has been hit by one of the globe's worst epidemics of novel coronavirus. The death toll is approaching 58,000, increasing at a steadily rapid rate. Despite this, a growing number of state governors appear to be defying reality, in lock-step with the president anxious to see a return to normal life, in particular that business as usual would resume. The economy has been put to a standstill. From a situation of full employment and more jobs than people to fill them, suddenly mass unemployment has struck the country. On Saturday alone, there was an additional 2,404 coronavirus deaths reported.

Yet, a belief born of desperation appears to be informing decision makers, that the worst of the outbreak could have passed, matching pressure from the corporate community that the devastated U.S. economy must see some relief from the imposition of lockdown. Across the country anger and frustration have seen protests erupt, with citizens decrying the unneeded security steps, that their liberties have been abridged, that the American way of life has been upended for no good and reasonable purpose.

As evidence of that looming distrust in government action in response to the advice from their top expert medical advisers, Americans are demonstrating their penchant for ignoring stay-at-home orders in a demonstration of quarantine fatigue. A team led by the University of Maryland, with the use of mobile-phone data, discovered that Americans have been leaving the confines of self-isolation in increasing numbers.

Operating manager Barry Lennon cleans up the table of customer Duke Scott in the empty dining room of the J. Christopher's restaurant on Monday in Brookhaven, Ga. As of Monday, restaurants around Georgia are allowed to offer dine-in service. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

In California, thousands of people have gone to the beaches amid soaring temperatures on the weekend, choosing to entirely ignore the state governor's orders. Demonstrations have been reported in Springfield, Ill and Baton Rouge, La. Demonstrations in Michigan, where one of the worst breakouts has occurred in Chicago, have been supported by conservative groups. In response the governor agreed to ease some of the imposed curbs allowing some businesses to reopen.

In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp is allowing hairdressers, nail salons and tattoo parlours to re-open their premises; hardly the essence of 'essential' services for a population in lockdown against a dread disease. There have been guidelines issued that clients and staff wear masks and customers be asked questions of their health conditions; with no way to monitor compliance. A raft of businesses will be permitted to operate over the coming week in around 20 states.

According to the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Tom Inglesby, he believes the country is "at the end of the beginning" of the crisis. As for President Trump, he has stated that his daily White House briefings are to be scrapped, "not worth the time and effort".

Some health experts and local politicians are concerned that restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 are being lifted too soon in some U.S. states such as Georgia.