Bitcoin & The Canadian Truckers with Greg Foss & NobodyCaribou
Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio
Download Episode MP3 File
The file will open in a new window. Click down arrow to download the file.
Location: Remote
Date: Friday 4th February
Project: @HonkHonkHodl
Covid-19 mandates have evolved across the world over the past few years. Such mandates involve limitations on what many previously assumed to be universal freedoms. Whilst restrictions were widely and voluntarily accepted in the early phases of the pandemic, people across the world are now starting to question their efficacy and fairness.
Rules imposed by bureaucrats are increasingly being viewed as myopic to wider societal impacts and seemingly slow to account for the latest science. This is resulting in growing dissent. The rejection of government-directed coronavirus measures is arguably most ardent when it affects people's livelihoods.
Canada in January imposed a new rule requiring that truckers must be vaccinated to cross the US-Canadian border. Given the geography in Canada, trucking invariably requires trips to and from the US. So, for unvaccinated truckers, this rule would effectively mean they couldn't work.
A resultant protest lit the flame for wider discontent about Covid-19 health restrictions. This rapidly spread such that a nationwide protest movement has been ignited, centred on the nation's capital Ottawa.
The two sides are becoming increasingly entrenched: truckers are preparing for a long period of resistance, whilst the government is increasingly using more draconian measures to break up the protest. The most contentious action, though, has been GoFundMe withholding millions of dollars raised for the truckers.
Bitcoin is now being used to support the truckers: the utility of uncensorable money has perhaps found its most important use case yet in a democratic state.
In this interview, I talk to Bitcoin Strategist Greg Foss, and NobodyCaribou who is documenting the growing trucker protest movement. We discuss the genesis of the protest, Canadian rights and freedoms, the importance of non-violent resistance, the scale of the movement, and how Bitcoin is a vital tool in this fight for freedom.
00:03:56: Introductions
00:04:56: The background story
00:12:21: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
00:13:49: Canada's geography
00:19:06: The Canadian winters
00:21:11: Zero arrests
00:24:06: Protest vs non-violent resistance
00:34:28: Laws, mandates and the scientific truth
00:41:59: Trudeau supporters and Canadian politics
00:47:08: The scale and strategy of the protest
00:52:56: The impact of the protest on Canada's logistics
00:55:14: GoFundMe versus Bitcoin funding
01:00:29: HonkHonk Hodl
01:02:28: A message from Nick
01:05:36: Final comments
SUPPORT THE SHOW
If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:
Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute
Make a tip:
Subscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | TuneIn | RSS Feed
Leave a review on iTunes
Share the show and episodes with your friends and family
Subscribe to the newsletter on my website
Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTube
If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.
SPONSORS
Connect with Nick and Truckers:
Connect with Greg:
On Twitter
Mentioned in the interview:
Ministers plan to scrap vaccine mandate for NHS staff in England - The Guardian
Denmark becomes first EU country to lift all Covid-19 restrictions - CNN
Canada is a huge country. Most of it is unfit for human habitation - Vox
How TD's 'Red Ed' Clark became a force in Canada - The Globe and Mail
Greg Foss on Twitter: “Please Retweet. Jeff Booth and I are multi-sig…”
Trudeau says he can't recall how many times he wore blackface makeup - The Guardian
Johns Hopkins University study finds lockdowns only reduced COVID deaths by 0.2% - ABC Action News
RCMP union will support Mounties who shun COVID-19 vaccination despite federal order - CTV News
Protesters build wooden structure in downtown Ottawa park - CTV News
Crowds of demonstrators join rallies across Canada as Covid-19 trucker protests spread - CNN
Protesters migrate to crypto fundraising platform following GoFundMe ban
Other Relevant WBD Podcasts:
WBD454: The Breakdown of Trust with Balaji Srinivasan & Glenn Greenwald
WBD449: Chaos in the Bond Market with Greg Foss & Lawrence Lepard
WBD438: Separation of Money & State with Matt Stoller & Peter Van Valkenburgh
WBD373: Lightning Series: Why Bitcoin is Global Money with Jack Mallers
WBD266: How Bitcoin is Helping Protesters in Belarus with Alex Gladstein & Jaraslau Likhachevski
WBD239: #Unity2020: Ending the Two-Party System with Bret Weinstein
WBD208: A Libertarian Response to Coronavirus with Scott Horton
WBD205: Coronavirus: The State vs Civil Liberties with Aleks Svetski
WBD197: Part 14: Bitcoin Things You Need to Know with Peter McCormack
WBD191: Beginner’s Guide #10: Buying, Spending and Earning Bitcoin with Matt Odell
WBD182: Part 1: Why We Need Bitcoin with Andreas M. Antonopoulos