Demonstrators participate in a cross-country truck convoy protesting measures taken by officials to prevent the spread of COVID and vaccine mandates near Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Highlight
- Thousands of protesters rail against vaccine mandates and other COVID restrictions in Ottawa
- They are deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill
- Some urinated and erected at the National War Memorial during the protest
In a scene at odds with Canadians’ reputation for goodness and rule-abiding, thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital over the weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill.
Some urinated and parked it at the National War Memorial. One danced at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There were symbols and flags with a swastika in a number.
In the aftermath of Canada’s largest pandemic protests ever, protesters have found little sympathy in a country where more than 80% of vaccinations have been done. Many were outraged by some indecent behavior.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Ottawa protesters a “fringe minority” and said they were “disinformation and misinformation online, about conspiracy theorists, about microchips, about the god who goes with tinfoil hats.”
Read also: COVID: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau tests positive, breaks down anti-vaccine demo
Organizers, including one who supported white supremacist views, had raised millions for a cross-country “Freedom Truck Convoy” against the vaccine mandate. It drew support from former US President Donald Trump and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk.
Trudeau and his family were taken to an undisclosed location during the protest. (Two of his children tested positive for COVID-19, and a test on Monday showed he was also infected. He said he was fine and working remotely.)
A small but still significant number of protesters remained in the streets on Tuesday, saying they would not leave until all vaccine mandates and other restrictions are in place. They are also calling for the removal of Trudeau’s government, although it has accounted for some of the measures, most of which were implemented by provincial governments.
“It is time for Canada and the rest of the world to find other ways to deal with this virus,” said defender Michelle Kloet, 47, of Canmore, Alberta.
During the display, a statue of Terry Fox, a national hero who lost a leg to bone cancer as a youth and on a fundraising trek across Canada in 1980, is installed on an upside-down Canadian flag. and was wrapped with a sign that read “Mandate Freedom.”
“My kids were shocked. Like all Canadian youth, they grew up with Terry Fox as a hero,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. “This is not the Canada we want to be. And I really proudly believe, and I know, this is not what Canada is.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was “extremely upset” to see people “desecrating our most sacred monuments and waving swastikas and other symbols of hatred and intolerance”.
The explosion was seen as so out of character for Canada that an American scientist was forced to apologize for portraying him as an American influence.
“Canada gave us kindness, tolerance, poutine and hockey, and in return we exported this horrific fake health freedom movement, linked to right-wing extremism, that caused so much loss of life in America and now the same thing there. Maybe,” Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. “our apologies.”
Many protesters refused to wear masks in hotels, malls and grocery stores. A homeless shelter reported that protesters had demanded to feed them.
Ottawa Police Chief Peter Slowley said several investigations are underway and a tip line has been established for demonstration-related hate crimes, threats and attacks. Slowley said one person had been arrested in connection with the protest.
Tim Abre, a Ph.D. The candidate said he was attacked by “so-called freedom fighters” while taking photographs of protests in his neighbourhood.
The most visible contingent of protesters were truck drivers who parked their large rigs on Parliament Hill. Some of them were protesting a rule, which took effect on January 15, required truck drivers entering Canada to be fully immunized against the coronavirus.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance estimates that 85% of truck drivers in Canada are vaccinated.
Meanwhile, police stepped in on Tuesday to end a protest convoy of trucks and other vehicles crossing a major US border in Coutts, Alberta. It turned violent after some protesters broke police barriers to join the protest, officials said.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said, “I have received reports in the last hour of people aligning with protesters attacking RCMP officers, with one example trying to ram members of the RCMP, who later became a civilian. Caused a collision with the vehicle.” “Such conduct is completely unacceptable. Without hesitation, I condemn those actions and I call for calm. ,
Some opposition Conservative lawmakers took part in the protests in Ottawa, and Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, who is facing rebellion among her lawmakers, met with some truck drivers.
Phil Hagert, a protester, said he was there to show that there are voices in favor of public health measures.
“Masks are important, vaccines are important, and mandates are important only because we don’t need them to survive and fill our hospitals,” he said.
The rise of the highly contagious Omicron variant has led to record cases and lockdowns in Canada’s most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec. Vaccine mandates imposed by provincial governments remain in place.
But restaurants reopened on Monday with 50% capacity, and Quebec’s premier, François Legault, announced on Tuesday that he was abandoning his threat to tax without vaccination, saying the proposal left Quebecers divided. Have given.
“I have to protect the health of Quebecers, but I also have to protect the peace in our society,” Legault said.
Nelson Wiseman, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, said the misinformation rabbit hole in Canada is not as deep as it is in the US for several reasons, including less political polarization north of the border.
“That leaves little sympathy or tolerance for unaffiliated people among Canadians. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis couldn’t get too far in Canada. A Donald Trump would be left out even in Conservative Party circles,” Wiseman said. .
He added: “The protesters in Ottawa have not supported their cause as the demonstrations continue.”
Read also: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau moves to secret location in Ottawa after thousands protest COVID mandate
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