After two years of imposing heavy-handed COVID-19 restrictions resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs for Michiganders and nearly 30 percent of small businesses in the state expecting not to survive the pandemic, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is concerned about the economic ramifications of the Canadian Freedom Convoy.
“[The right-wing media is] inciting and encouraging people to break the law and to do so in a way that devastates so many hard-working people … This is five days, and it’s already taken a toll of tens of billions of dollars — that number compounds over time,” Whitmer said on CNN Friday morning.
“And any encouragement for people to replicate this and break the law and devastate our economy is not just devastating to our national bottom line but to individual households … It’s incredibly unhelpful and downright dangerous,” she continued.
The Convoy, which began in Ottawa and has been a thorn in the side of the Canadian government, has spread across the nation. Traffic on the Ambassador Bridge near Port Huron, one of the two major land shipping routes between the United States and Canada, is jammed for the fifth straight day thanks to protesting truckers in Windsor.
The truckers are demanding an end to mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and other compulsory COVID-19 restrictions.
Just four months ago, Whitmer vetoed a bill that would have rescinded fines against small businesses who broke her COVID-19 protocols in attempts to keep their businesses alive during the state’s shutdowns.
Whitmer’s Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) coordinated with the Michigan State Police in an attempt to have a restaurant owner who broke Whitmer’s lockdown protocols arrested before that restaurant owner could appear on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, where she described the devastating effects that Michigan’s lockdowns were having on small businesses.
Other lowlights from Whitmer’s handling of the pandemic included threatening individuals with $1,000 fines for breaking 6-foot social distancing rules, attempting to ban individuals from gathering at private residences, ordering 2-year-olds to wear masks, and breaking her own COVID-19 restriction rules.
Notably, none of Michigan’s COVID-19 restrictions caused the state to fare better than others in terms of cases or deaths from the virus.
Whitmer’s office did not immediately return a comment request.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Michigan Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Gov. Gretchen Whitmer” by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Background Photo “Trucker Convoy” by GoToVan CC BY 2.0.
