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Then there are the ruinous implications of the blockades, which doubtless influenced the Teck decision. The prime minister looked like a deer in the headlights when protesters blocked train tracks, bridges and highways, seriously impeding trade and travel and creating a national crisis. When he finally came home to address the crisis, he could not clearly communicate what if anything he would do, beyond “dialogue.” While Trudeau fiddled, the country burned.

Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

No democratic government can long maintain its legitimacy if it countenances blatant disregard for the rule of law based on identity or belief, however politically correct. Justice must be blind, both impartial and objective.

Today the demand for special treatment before the law is from a few dozen Ontario protesters who claim moral standing based on their support for hereditary chiefs, extreme environmentalism and anti-free enterprise ideology — which are opposed by elected Wet’suwet’en band councils, many First Nations leaders, a strong majority of British Columbians and most Canadians. Despite their supposedly noble cause, the non-Aboriginal protesters are just radical scofflaws.

Last Friday, the prime minister finally managed to state the obvious: protesters are hurting Canadians and the barricades must go. He needs to articulate the primacy of the rule of law directly to the RCMP and to the premiers, who have authority over the provincial police. He cannot order the RCMP or police to intervene, since they determine the rules of engagement. But their responsibility is to enforce a court order, which should be done after fair warning and with no more force than necessary. The illegal blockades must be removed and very soon. If the police do not act, legislation may be needed.