Trucks rolled into Canada’s capital Ottawa yesterday to stage what police say will be a massive protest against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine mandates in front of parliament on a frigid winter day.
The so-called “Freedom Convoy” – coming from east and west – started out as a rally against a vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a demonstration against government overreach during the pandemic with a strong anti-vaccination streak.
Flying the Canadian flag, waving banners demanding “Freedom” and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the truckers joined thousands of other protesters angered by what they see as unfair Covid-19 restrictions.
More than two hours before the protest was officially to start, the streets of Ottawa’s city centre were packed with trucks as the blaring, non-stop honking of dozens of air horns filled the air, an AFP journalist reported.
“We shouldn’t be forced to get vaccinated, regardless of the vaccine,” Quebec resident Louise – who had come to support the truckers but declined to give her full name – told AFP. “It should be a personal choice.”
She said vaccine passports “represent an intrusion in our personal lives”.
“I want it all to stop – these measures are unjustified,” said one protester, 31-year-old businessman Philippe Castonguay, outside the Parliament building.
He had driven seven hours from northern Quebec province to make his feelings known: “The vaccination requirements are taking us toward a new society we never voted for.”
“It’s not just about the vaccines. It’s about stopping the public health mandates altogether,” said Daniel Bazinet, owner of Valley Flatbed & Transportation in Nova Scotia on the Atlantic coast.
Bazinet is unvaccinated, but operates domestically and so is not affected by the cross-border mandate.
He is in a convoy of some 200 trucks slowly arriving from the east, and says public health policies pushed by Trudeau’s government have gone too far.
“Where’s it all going to end? That’s how a lot of people feel,” he said in a telephone interview.
Already dozens of trucks were lined up in front of parliament yesterday morning, blowing their horns, as thousands of people gathered peacefully on the snow-covered lawn of parliament.
Few wore masks, but many were in balaclavas as the temperature with windchill was -21° Celsius (-6° Fahrenheit).
By the end of the day, some 2,700 trucks are expected, a federal government source said.
The violent rhetoric used by the some of the promoters on social media in the run-up to the protest has worried police, who were out in force.
“We are prepared as best as we possibly can for those who chose to come here to do harm or cause others to do harm,” Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly said on Friday, adding the demonstration would be “massive in scale”.
He described the situation as “unique, fluid, risky and significant”.
“Let me be very clear,” Sloly told reporters on Friday. “We are prepared to investigate, arrest if necessary, charge and prosecute anyone who acts violently or breaks the law.”
Trudeau and his family have left the home where they live in downtown Ottawa due to security concerns, the CBC reported.
His office said it does not comment on security matters.
On Friday, Trudeau told the Canadian Press that he was worried about possible violence connected with the demonstration.
Earlier this week he said the convoy represented a “small fringe minority” who do not represent the views of Canadians.
About 90% of Canada’s cross-border truckers and 77% of the population have had two Covid-19 vaccination shots.
Trudeau announced a vaccine mandate for federal workers in October on the eve of the election, and then last month both Canada and the United States imposed one for cross-border truckers.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole opposes vaccine mandates and expressed support for the protest after holding talks with some of the truckers on Friday.
“I support their right to be heard, and I call on Justin Trudeau to meet with these hard-working Canadians to hear their concerns,” O’Toole said after the meeting. “Please protest safely this weekend.”
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, a major industry group, said the vast majority of the country’s truck drivers are vaccinated.
It has “strongly disapproved” of the gathering in Ottawa.
Trucks sit parked on Wellington Street near the parliament buildings in Ottawa as truckers and their supporters take part in a convoy to protest coronavirus vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers.
