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OpEd: Illegal protests aside – is it time to end COVID-19 vaccine mandates?
February 5, 2022

Before Twitter erupts with accusations that I support illegal acts and community-crippling trucker protests, let me state unequivocally that I don’t. Nor do I, as a rule, believe that we should change public policy or legislation to meet the demands of law-breakers.

I am triple vaccinated and never questioned the need for mandatory vaccinations. Personally, I’d get dozens of shots to protect myself and my family/friends from being ill or dying from a virus. But that’s me. I respect the contradictory views of others.

A number of first responders are opposed to vaccine mandates – which I don’t support (See my OpEd: “Ontario’s Police Officers Should Be Vaccinated"). Similarly, a number of nurses and other hospital personnel are refusing to be vaccinated. Some Canadian Forces personnel are digging their heels in and risking dismissal. Personally, I do not agree with them either. They are all public servants that were hired to protect the public.


In the early days of COVID, truckers were allowed to cross the Canada/U.S. border as they hauled goods between countries without so much of producing a negative COVID test. They only had to show their passports to prove citizenship. That was through the worst of COVID variants. Restaurants, bars, gyms and a host of other establishments were in full lockdown. The rules around accessing hospitals and nursing homes were extremely challenging. In fact, it broke my heart that we were not able to visit our father when he died in a nursing home in 2020. But these rules were established for the betterment of the health of Canadians in very uncertain times.

Then vaccines were developed and delivered, slowly making their way into the arms of Canadians – including truckers. Cross-border rules got tighter and tighter for travellers crossing land borders, but not truckers. Even when the border was totally locked down, truckers still had the unfettered ability to cross. I thought that was crazy, but I also appreciated the need to meet supply chain demands.


Then in mid-January 2022, when the Omicron variant seemed to be flattening and provinces were loosening many COVID restrictions, provincial and federal rules were tightened, forcing truckers to have proof of vaccination in order to return from south of the border, and the U.S. established the same for those entering that country. At that point, almost 90 per cent of truckers had been vaccinated. So, in essence, there was a diminishing health risk as restaurants were opening to a larger degree. Truckers were largely vaccinated, but apparently, it was time to clamp down on them. It seemed oddly contradictory, but I’m neither a lawyer or a public health official. As the pro-vax guy that I am, I really didn’t care.


Fast forward to late January, and the truck convoy for “Freedom” began its cross-Canada trek to Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates. Even though the provinces own part of the mandate authority, the protest was focused on the nation’s capital. Highways were clogged and eventually the downtown core of Ottawa came to a standstill and was then plagued with blaring air horns 24/7. A host of other ridiculous and disturbing acts occurred and still do by people at least “associated” with the convoy. It’s a quandary of epic proportions, to say the least, and well past the realm of a “peaceful and lawful” protest. A similar blockade was also established on the international border in an isolated area near Coutts, Alberta. This weekend protests are occurring in a number of Canadian jurisdictions. None of it should have occurred and none of it should continue – plain and simple. This veiled attempt at “Freedom” has disrupted the lives of already stressed out Canadians that were all hoping a relatively manageable level of COVID was drawing near.


In the middle of this mess, a few provinces are easing a number of COVID restrictions in an attempt to manage Omicron more like how we currently address the flu. A number of countries around the world are taking similar action, some even returning to pre-COVID practices.


Is all of Canada heading that way soon? Protests aside, is it the right thing to do? I hope so, but who knows. The protestors don’t know either because they have yet to speak with provincial or federal health authorities. Instead, police are responsible to negotiate through this tense situation and then wear the results. The premiers and the prime minister all have a pile of officials beneath them that could at least protestors out and either explain where mandate rules are going, what they can or cannot do in terms of policy and why, and their inability to change any rules on the U.S. side.


If their position is that they will not have any dialogue while protests are ongoing, fine, say that and at least agree to have ongoing and structured dialogue between appropriate federal and provincial authorities and trucker representatives when the protests end.


The police will have to enact an “arrest and tow” solution soon. In fact, it’s probably a few days too late in both the Coutts and Ottawa scenarios, but it has to happen. It will be a large show of force. It will be resource-intensive and costly. People will be hurt without question. Lawsuits and investigations will result, and sympathetic protests will continue to emerge. It will be a drawn out and painful exercise but has to happen if the blockades don’t end immediately. That’s the only solution remaining if the protestors don’t get their way.


I fear that after all the smoke settles, Canada and the provinces will be afraid to remove additional mandates in the near term out of fear that the electorate will think that they “caved in to criminals.” It would be sad in my view IF making the changes is the truly right thing to do for Canada as a whole now, if governments hold off from making appropriate policy changes immediately for no other reason than the illegal protests and instead wait until the smell of tear gas dissipates from the air.


If it is the proper time for mandate changes, they should do it now and weather the political fallout later. If it truly isn’t the right time, then damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.


As I say in my leadership lectures and writings: “How can it ever be wrong to do the right thing?”

Chris Lewis served as Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police from 2010 until he retired in 2014. He can be seen regularly on CTV and CP24 giving his opinion as a public safety analyst.

The worst boss: Nightmare for some, reality for many

By Chris Lewis • June 21, 2025
Image: new-manager-training.com Imagine this scenario if you will, getting the worst boss on earth – a person who is the total antithesis of leadership. Your new “Boss” replaces a leader that wasn’t always right and was getting too old to meet the mental and physical demands of the job, but at the same time treated all those around him with respect. He tried to select people for key positions based on their experience base and his confidence that they may not always agree but the individuals picked would be honest with him, other employees and the client base. He undoubtedly made mistakes here and there and did have some flaws but would readily admit to most of them. This boss comes back to the organization having committed a list of publicly confirmed misdeeds and illegal acts – many of which would have singularly been a good reason to not hire even the lowest level of employee, and justification for imprisonment for others. However, he was chosen for the top job despite all that baggage. Conversely, he brings not one redeeming quality to the top position. From day one, it’s obvious that the new Boss is truly a “boss” and not a “leader.” He has old personal scores to settle and wreaks revenge on many employees that he doesn’t like. Not because they were dishonest, incapable or lazy, but because he perceives that they didn’t want him to return or didn’t always agree with his philosophies and rash actions during past affiliations. This activity causes panic among all employees who know they have no choice but to get aboard his out-of-control train or perish beneath it. Then – without any deep evaluation or thought, he makes tremendous cuts to many organizational programs – leaving thousands without work and lacking any strategy to provide much needed services to a vast array of client groups. He viciously cuts through the organization like a chainsaw through softwood. Why? Because he can. Some of these decisions may have had some degree of validity following a proper assessment, while others not, but that analysis never occurred. Most previous positive relationships with partner agencies and the majority of client groups are immediately scuttled by the new boss. He publicly demeans and taunts longtime allies with irrational statements and outright falsehoods. Never in the many decades of history of the organization has such broad-ranging international indignation been felt, largely as a result of his childish behavior. Very few productive relationships remain and although some new ones are developed, they are only with organizations that are poorly considered by clients and upstanding industry players. His decisions continually fly in the face of the needs of the immense client group but more align with the personal business interests of only the Boss and his business associates – some of whom are either known despots or of questionable character. Company stocks continue to plummet as a result of his silliness. That also has a significant negative impact on the fiscal picture of partner organizations around the world. Anyone that respectfully expresses disagreement or suggests alternative decisions to the Boss, are sidelined or fired, then are ridiculed and until they become unemployable. Gas-lighting, exaggerations, denials, the passing of blame and blatant lies are his norm. He seldom speaks the truth about anyone or any situation. The sycophants he has positioned to assist in his destruction of the organization, publicly praise him for his leadership and courageous decision-making, when the majority of employees and clients know it is just flagrant butt-kissing on their part. He constantly seeks and demands praise, even for things he didn’t do, then sulks and whines when he doesn’t receive it. He falsely takes credit for the few good things that do happen but quickly passes blame when things that have his fingerprints all over them, go horribly wrong. His God-complex is resounding and worsens with each passing day. His public claims of success – before and since becoming the Boss, and assertions of being the “Greatest Boss in history”, fall flat with anyone that truly knows him. He aggressively takes advantage of anyone he can but then turns on them at the flip of a switch. No one is beyond being found at the pointy end of his meanness stick. When caught making an error, he’ll blame everyone on his “team” before accepting any criticism. In fact, he’d turn on his own children if he felt it would make him look brave or heroic, or if it would prevent him from public humiliation. He states his 24/7 lies over and over so often to make his base of lemming followers believe him, that he seemingly believes them to be factual himself. Even when he is confronted with witness testimony or audio/video of his brazen lies, he blames others for being out to get him. Being accountable when things go wrong and letting the light shine on others when they go well, is beyond his comprehension. (Can you spell “narcissistic”?) Although he doesn’t understand the business, he refuses to surround himself with people that do, given that he thinks he knows more than any of them and possibly more than anybody, anywhere, ever, since the dawn of time. Public statements he makes are often completely ridiculous and childish, causing all those around him to force plastic smiles, offer him undeserved praise and nod like pre-programmed bobbleheads. People and even affiliated organizations live in such fear of his thirst for retribution that they either cow-tow to his insanity or prepare for annihilation. He is an embarrassment internally and externally, on an international scale. No past executive has even been so blatantly self-centered, mean spirited and/or inept, nor have they ever had such a negative impact on the organization and its people. It may take decades to repair all the damage he has done. Thankfully, his employment contract is only for four years, so there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Most of those within and those reliant on the organization, as well as friends, associates, allies internationally pray that this nightmare will end at that time. If it’s not too late, that is. Just a bad dream for some or a reality for millions of us?

What did the PM’s most recent announcement on border security really mean?

By Chris Lewis • February 4, 2025
Is there any meat to this or is it more of the same?

What police don’t need during a crisis

By Chris Lewis • January 4, 2025
Police know how to conduct major investigations and find bad guys. Although several specific factors change from case to case, their general investigative playbook remains the same. Once some ungodly multi-victim attack occurs, in very simplistic terms: the scene is protected, and the health of the living victims is looked after. Forensic experts begin processing the crime scene. Witnesses are located and interviewed. Physical evidence is gathered. Area and witness video recordings are collected and analyzed. Victims are identified. An off-site reunification centre is established where there are multiple victims. Next of kin notifications begin. At any point – if a suspect or suspects become known, their background is gathered, and the hunt begins. They need to be apprehended before anyone else is hurt. Area law enforcement officers need to know suspect details ASAP. “Motive” is at top of mind as investigators are synthesizing all this information, whether the suspect is identified or not. Of course, establishing motive often leads to identifying the suspect, but at other times identifying the suspect helps fill in the blanks on motive. What was the initial basis of what became a murder? Was it a robbery? Could it have been a street fight gone bad? Was it simply a want or need to kill someone specific or maybe anyone at all? That’s for investigators to sort out. There is an onus to warn the public or at least tell them something, i.e. “ongoing threat”, “stay indoors”, or “no threat to public safety”. There are reporting protocols to follow. Senior officers need to be advised up the food chain as do their political masters, so everyone knows what is happening. None of that should detract investigators from doing what they do best – catching killers. But that’s when the ravenous “thirst for knowledge” and political grandstanding often take over and completely interfere with police work. The only knowledge the investigators are thirsty for in those early hours is evidence and then identifying, locating and capturing bad people. They do not need politics monopolizing their time or efforts. The New Years Day massacre in New Orleans was big. Fourteen innocent party goers were killed and dozens injured. The world wanted to know what happened and the community wanted to know if they were in danger. I absolutely get that. However, what sometimes comes with such tragedies is everyone wanting to know everything. We see it in most mass murder cases, but this was an exceptional example of the insanity surrounding such a high-profile incident. Whatever blanks weren’t immediately filled in by police officials and verified mainstream media reports, were filled in by social media. In such cases police totally lose control of the narrative as rumours, theories, falsities, conspiracy theories and “hey look at me” games take over. The political party and individual positioning in this case was nauseating. In any multi-agency response, having the leaders of those agencies at press conferences in a united front makes sense. The public needs to have confidence that the situation is in the best of hands. But where did these massive press conferences where police officials are flanked by numerous politicians come from? I can see some elected leaders being present when a new program is launched or government funding is being announced, but it should never be in the early hours of a mass murder. Having a bunch of partisan wonks peacocking on stage and in follow-up interviews, helps no one at the operational level. As some of them were speaking, I was responding to their dumb questions in my mind: Was it a terror attack? Maybe, but let the experts figure that out. In the meantime, it’s a mass murder. Was the killer an illegal immigrant? Let’s worry about that when the dust settles. What political party is to blame for allowing him into the country? We don’t care. Maybe he was born here. Let’s sort that out if he turns out to be an illegal immigrant. Why wasn’t the area more secure? Good question for a future debrief. We need to get the FBI and HSI leaders before a government committee right away so we can find out who failed! Shut up. We have police work to do. There are always enough social media theories, private citizens’ investigations into suspects, outright lies and misinformation being spread to the public, without silly partisan games sidetracking investigators who are fighting to stay ahead of legitimate theories and tips. In the early hours of a mass murder case investigators are probably the busiest they have ever been, and don’t need any of this interference. Controlling the social media fever is next to impossible. It would take a sudden level of maturity across the populace that may be unattainable. But politicians at all levels need to get the message that they are not welcome on stage at operational press conferences and their comments to the media – if asked for them – aside from expressing sadness, thoughts, prayers and confidence in the police, should be “Our law enforcement agencies are investigating, and we need to let them do what they do.” Adding any theories, raising questions or passing blame is totally wrong. If elected officials truly care about their electorate and feel the need to say more, they should have some prior dialogue with the police leaders or their Public Information Officers to ensure that what they say is helpful as opposed to harmful. Otherwise, be quiet.