Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec: opponents of health measures in Canada, some of whom have occupied the city center of the federal capital for a week, gathered on Saturday February 5 to demand the lifting of restrictions.
This protest, part of a movement of truckers in the west of the country, has turned into an occupation of Ottawa: for eight days, the streets in front of Parliament and under the offices of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been occupied by dozens trucks and demonstrators.
In freezing cold, with temperatures predicted as low as -30C, protesters in the capital gathered around campfires, waving Canadian flags and signs in a more celebratory atmosphere than last Saturday, where Nazi flags had been observed. Some have started setting up makeshift shelters and have vowed not to move until restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus are lifted.
Up to 2,000 people could join the truckers already present in the streets of Ottawa, according to the police, who were also expecting a thousand counter-protesters. The organizers, for their part, assured Agence France-Presse (AFP) of expecting tens of thousands of people.
“Our Freedom”
On Friday, for the first time, the police got tough, promising to “put an end to this illegal and unacceptable demonstration”according to its leader Peter Sloly, without however providing a precise timetable.
Despite the exasperation of the people of Ottawa, the government ruled out the possibility of sending the army to dislodge the demonstrators. For the mobilization of the weekend, 150 additional police officers were however deployed in the streets of the capital. Doug Ford, the premier of the province of Ontario has again asked the demonstrators to leave Ottawa, denouncing a situation “unacceptable” – a petition to this effect gathered nearly 40,000 signatures on Friday afternoon.
So far, no appeal has yet reversed the determination of the demonstrators, initially mobilized against the obligation to vaccinate against Covid-19 for truckers crossing the border between Canada and the United States.
“We will stand up to them for as long as it takes to get rid of the restrictions”Jim Torma, one of the protest coordinators, told AFP. “The question is not that of the vaccine, it is that of our freedom”explained to AFP Kimberly Ball, who traveled five hours to come and demonstrate with her husband. “It’s really, really hard. (…) Some people we know, friends, have lost their jobs because of these obligations” vaccines, she regrets.
The movement is notably supported by billionaire Elon Musk and former US President Donald Trump.
” Seat “
Similar protests took place Saturday in southern Alberta (west), and in the cities of Winnipeg (central), Quebec and Toronto, where a man was charged with assault after throwing a smoke bomb into a crowd. In Winnipeg a motorist was arrested after charging protesters with his vehicle. Four protesters received medical treatment for minor injuries, police said.
Toronto police closed some downtown roads on Friday in an effort to minimize disruptions that could affect access to emergency services and hospitals.
At an emergency meeting Saturday night in Ottawa, Police Chief Peter Sloly asked “additional resources” in order to put an end to what a member of the city council, Diane Deans, described as ” seat “ of the capital. “This group is a threat to our democracy”said M.me Dean. “What we are seeing is more serious than a City of Ottawa problem, it is a national insurrection. This is madness “she hammered.
In Toronto, Mayor John Tory told him he hoped for a demonstration “respectful and peaceful”. “We all want to do everything we can to avoid [de nous retrouver] in the Ottawa situation”added the aedile.
Canadian authorities are now interested in those who “finance and allow this illegal and harmful demonstration”said the Ottawa police chief.
A crowdfunding campaign raised more than 10 million Canadian dollars (6.8 million euros) for the protesters, but the platform GoFundMe on Friday withdrew the kitty on the grounds that it did not respect its conditions of use, and indicated that the remaining funds will be redistributed to charities.
Even if the mobilization of truckers is only supported by a minority of Canadians (32% according to a recent survey), this still represents a larger segment of the population than the 10% of unvaccinated Canadian adults. .