The long march of truckers against the vaccine requirement finally arrived in Ottawa and the security alert was triggered in the Canadian capital. The “Freedom Convoy” protest will last all weekend and will be animated by at least 10,000 people. Those arrived, already in the thousands, swarmed the streets harnessed with Confederate flags and swastikas, marching towards Parliament after having parked the heavy vehicles in the War Memorial area. Under the gaze of the imposing police array deployed to stem the impact of the crowd in case of degeneration into violence. The alert level is very high. A parliamentary security officer explained that MEPs were advised to lock themselves up indoors as their homes could be a target. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself was escorted to a secret location far from Ottawa. The premier was already working remotely isolated because one of his children is positive for Covid. The population was asked to avoid going out.
Trudeau is not there, but he did not fail to make himself heard. “The Canadians – he declared – cannot be represented by this problematic, small but noisy minority that lashes out against science, the government, society, public health“. The reasons for the rally encompass a bit the whole galaxy of denial and no vax resistance: no to vaccines, no to masks, no to lockdown. But the truckers have only one goal: to question the law that came into force on January 15, according to which all transporters entering Cabada must be vaccinated. Across the border, the United States has also imposed the same requirements on incoming truck drivers. The Canadian haulers union has specified that most of the drivers are vaccinated and that a large number of those protesting in Ottawa today are not really attributable to the trucking industry.
Canada has one of the highest percentages of the population vaccinated in the world, but in the meantime the streets of Ottawa are occupied by the protest, while the organizers reiterate their desire to cancel all anti-Covid restrictions and the obligation to vaccinate until resignation. by Trudeau himself. Receiving the support of some Conservative MPs, they too took to the streets to distribute coffee to demonstrators. The protest did not go unnoticed even by Trump. “We want the brave Canadian truck drivers to know that we are with them – said the former US president during a rally in Conroe, Texas -. They are certainly doing more than their leaders for the defense of American freedom”.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman said the threat against democracy isn’t only happening in America.
“Both the use of the swastika and the confederate flag are symbols of hate. So very sad to see these symbols anywhere and especially in Canada,“ said Heyman, who was the U.S. envoy under former President Barack Obama.
The Parliamentary Protective Service expects as many as 10,000 protesters as part of a weekend-long rally.
“I’m locked into my own country right now,” said Tom Pappin, an unvaccinated man who came from just outside Ottawa. “I can’t go on a holiday. I can’t go to a restaurant, I can’t go bowling. I can’t go to a movie. You know, these are things that it’s just gotten out of control.”
The 52-year-old said attendees are likely to stay parked by Parliament until vaccine mandates are lifted.