HAIR-RAISING PROTEST THE MANE EVENT
OTTAWA: Among the trucks, placards and campfires at anti-lockdown protests in Ottawa that have brought the city centre to a halt stand makeshift hockey nets and even a kids’ playground.
Hundreds of protesters have occupied the Canadian capital for two weeks, and many have brought their children to see “history” in the making.
Outside the Canadian parliament building, a young mother walks with her ninemonth-old daughter in a baby carrier, holding a sign that reads: “Just an average mom teaching her girls to stand up to bullies.” Another woman, Katherine Welk, described herself as a “mom on a mission.” Welk, who has received two doses of Covid19 vaccine, says she has had “enough” of Covid rules.
The trucker-led protests have shut down central Ottawa for 14 days, trying to force the government to lift Covid-19 health regulations.
The so-called Freedom Convoy began last month in western Canada, launched in anger at requirements that truckers either be vaccinated, or test and isolate, when crossing the US-Canada border. Having snowballed into an occupation of Canada’s capital, the protest has sparked solidarity rallies across the nation and abroad.
But having seen the chaos it has brought to Canada, Europe is determined not to allow it to happen there.
French police warned on Thursday they would prevent so-called Freedom Convoys from blockading Paris, as protesters against Covid rules began to drive towards the capital.
Police said anyone blocking roads faced up to two years in jail, a fine of €4500 ($7200) and a threeyear driving ban.