Well over 100 Toronto police officers and at least ten horses shut down Adamson’s BBQ today. They arrested the proprietor for “trespass” on his own property.
His sin was, of course, opening when Toronto is under “lockdown”. And then opening again and then, today, getting around the changed locks on his premises and opening again.
Now there will be plenty of people who will say, “Well, it’s the law and necessary if we are going to “stop the spread”. But I suspect there will be a strong minority who will say, “Lockdowns don’t work and Costco is in full operation a block away.” Have at it, my interest is in the show of force.
For the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario, Adamson’s was a point of rebellion which had to be crushed. At any cost. If Adamson’s was able to open the entire pandemic lockdown regime would collapse. So out came 100+ cops and the horses. (I was surprised there was not a tactical vehicle or two.)
Given that there were all of about a hundred people at the BBQ spot today this was more than sufficient force to ensure Adamson’s would not be able to open. No doubt Mayor Tory and Premier Ford are pretty sure the job is done. Adam Skelly, the owner, is cooling his heels in custody pending a bail hearing. (If that hearing goes as I expect, there will be compliance conditions attached to his bail, namely no re-opening.)
Big government relies upon the general complacency of its citizens. A couple of hundred people showing up to a BBQ joint can be handled with a large police presence. A couple of thousand? Much more difficult. 20,000, not a chance.
I keep saying to my very worried wife, “Worse before better.” Which means that before there is any chance that reason, moderation and good government is restored, things have to get a lot worse. On the left, groups like BLM and Antifa work very hard to create martyrs for their narrative. So far with limited success. Adam Skelly may have set in motion the process which will make him a living martyr for common sense and a degree of justice.
Tomorrow, when he is asked to agree to conditional bail all he needs to do is say “no”. Which will mean a few more nights as Her Majesty’s guest. But it will create a rallying point for people fed up with the two tier lock down system in Ontario.
It is not at all obvious that the Emergency Powers given to the Provincial Government of Ontario are, in fact, constitutional. (Though the Charter is riven with loopholes for extreme governmental conduct.) But the real question is whether Adam’s supporters can put people in the streets. They had a good hunch going to Doug Ford’s house after Adam was taken away today. Lots of tin pans and whistles later in the evening would be useful.
In a number of Canadian provinces and American states, COVID-19 has been used as an excuse to exercise powers which no one has consented to and which may well be unconstitutional. Pushing politicians into dialing all this back is not a public health issue (virtually none of the masking/lockdown measures has much to do with science) it is a civil society question. Where do governmental powers stop?
Here’s the Go Fund Me for Adam’s legal defence. I tossed the cost of a few ribs in: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/adamson-bbq-legal-defence-fund
Jay Currie 
Jay, most of what you write is your opinion and as such is valid as your opinion. You are entitled to your opinion and people are free to agree or disagree with it.
But then you state “virtually none of the masking/lockdown measures has much to do with science” and that is simply false. Both are shown to reduce the transmission of the virus in a society. I presented the evidence of the effectiveness of masks in your last post and if you want to see the effectiveness of a lockdown just look at Australia. They went into a several month severe lockdown which effectively flattened their curve to the point where they are getting about 10 cases a day.
You may feel that the severity of the lockdown in Australia did significant harm to the economy so that it wasn’t worth it. Or you may feel that the inconvenience of wearing a mask outweighs the health benefits. Both of these are opinion positions which people can agree with or disagree with.
However the effectiveness of masks and lockdowns is not an opinion. That they work is a fact that is backed up strongly with evidence. Ignoring this because it doesn’t back up your opinion is sloppy at the best and dishonest at the worst.
John, the Toronto lockdown is not remotely comparable to the lockdowns in Australia. As long as Costco is open it is not a serious lockdown. I agree with you that a lockdown with the stringency of the Australians might work to suppress the virus, but at this point I am unconvinced that Canada could sustain the economic effect of such a lockdown.
Jay,
Why is Costco not closed down and a smaller store closed? Is there a stated reason?
Phil
Ah, I understand. I took your statement at face value, but what I think you mean is that the policies were poorly implemented, not that masks or lockdowns don’t work.
My objection was to the idea that the science behind lockdowns or masks was wrong (it is starting to appear that masks are the most effective method of preventing spread). There is a wide range of policies that can be implemented, but I strongly object to science being distorted to make policies more palatable.
“Essential Service”
If you sell groceries or drugs or, well, booze, you are exempt from the lockdown.
It is idiocy all the way down.
Jay,
So this place is BBQ restaurant? We have the same rules in Minnesota – restaurants, bars, gyms are not essential and are locked down. Everything else is open.
Phil
[…] business in Etobicoke, intending to overawe any more potential lockdown opponents on Thursday. Jay Currie is of the “worse before better” school on this particular flare-up of public […]
“$225,155 raised of $10,000 goal/”
The proprietor is learning the Tommy Robinson/Ezra Levant life lesson: a career as a faux martyr is much more lucrative than a real job.