The ongoing trucker convoy protest has brought downtown Ottawa to a standstill. Amid the DIY signs and banners decrying Canada鈥檚 COVID-19 response, demonstrators have also been waving factory-made flags that bear obscene political slogans.
These flags and other offensive merchandise are available online from sellers on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace and more.
鈥淐orporate greed has no moral compass, so of course businesses will take advantage of an opportunity like this,鈥� Barbara Perry told 麻豆影视. Perry directs the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University.
鈥淲e've seen that in the U.S. in response to Trumpism where all manner of paraphernalia were produced not just for protest but for profit,鈥� Perry said.
Many of the flags are nearly identical: the words 鈥淔*** TRUDEAU鈥� in white all-caps on a black background, the offending 鈥淯鈥� swapped with a red maple leaf. Some designs feature a raised middle finger. One includes a maple leaf merged with an assault rifle. Similar images and messages are available on everything from coffee mugs to sweatshirts, and even on facemasks. Fox News firebrand Tucker Carlson has also jumped on the protest merch bandwagon by offering a simple 鈥淚 HEART TRUCKERS鈥� shirt on his website for more than CA$40.
On Amazon, some 鈥淔*** TRUDEAU鈥� products have achieved 鈥淏estseller鈥� banners and racked up hundreds of positive reviews. They are also easily found on eBay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace and other e-commerce sites. While there are online sellers in both Canada and the U.S., the vast majority of items appear to be manufactured and shipped by companies in China.
鈥淚n a democracy, we tolerate political expression from a variety of perspectives, but I wonder if consumers have considered how their purchase of these products supports a country where citizens do not have the same rights to political expression,鈥� Shelley Boulianne told CTVNews.ca.
Boulianne is an associate professor at MacEwan University in Alberta who cowrote a 2020 , which is 鈥渢he deliberate purchase or avoidance of products, goods, or services for political reasons.鈥� Boulianne calls the Trudeau merchandise part of 鈥渁 long history of consumption of products鈥� to express one's political views.鈥�
鈥淚 think Canadians consuming these flags and related products should consider how the purchase of these products conflict with their own core democratic values related to freedom of expression,鈥� Boulianne said.
At the Ottawa protests, others waved apparently off-the-shelf flags bearing Confederate, Nazi and far-right symbols. Some demonstrators claimed they were trying to draw comparisons between current public health measures and Nazi Germany.
鈥淵ou either have that stuff because you鈥檙e a Nazi already, or you paid somebody who鈥檚 a Nazi to buy it,鈥� Canadian Anti-Hate Network Executive Director Evan Balgord told CTVNews.ca. 鈥淭here are some symbols that just so obviously mean one thing: that you are for the subjugation and destruction of another group of people.鈥�
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network wants to ban such symbols from public spaces. While the that incites or promotes hatred against identifiable groups, there are no federal laws that specifically prohibit Nazi and similar symbols.
鈥淛ust having a Confederate flag is not illegal,鈥� James Turk, the director of Ryerson University鈥檚 Centre for Free Expression, told CTVNews.ca. 鈥淚t鈥檚 offensive, it shouldn鈥檛 be done, we have every right to express outrage with somebody who does it, but it鈥檚 not a violation of the law.鈥�
Like Boulianne, Turk points out that offensive political products have a long history in democratic societies.
鈥淎mazon certainly makes the manufacturing and distribution and selling of those products easier than ever before,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut the phenomenon isn鈥檛 new.鈥�
In a statement to CTVNews.ca, an Amazon spokesperson said the company supports COVID-19 vaccination efforts and complies with local health and safety measures.
鈥淭he products you reference are sold in Amazon鈥檚 online store by third-party sellers,鈥� they explained. 鈥淎mazon does not allow products that promote, incite or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views.鈥�
According to a spokesperson from Facebook鈥檚 parent company Meta, 鈥渧oicing opposition to government leaders or mandates is not against Meta鈥檚 policies.鈥�
鈥淲hat we don鈥檛 allow is the sale of violent or hateful products on our platforms, or the sharing of content that makes harmful claims about vaccines,鈥� Meta added. 鈥淲e鈥檒l continue monitoring our platform and will enforce against any content that violates our policies.鈥�
Etsy and eBay did not respond to requests for comment.
Turk from Ryerson University says that in these times of 鈥渆xtreme polarization,鈥� it鈥檚 more important than ever to protect Canadians鈥� rights to freedom of expression鈥攅ven perhaps if that right is crudely being exercised with 鈥淔*** TRUDEAU鈥� flag.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 resolve these things by trying to silence the opposition,鈥� Turk said of the ongoing protests rattling Ottawa. 鈥淚t鈥檚 far better to criticize, protest, object to and so forth. But bad ideas and bad behaviour don鈥檛 go away because you censor them.鈥�
