Police prepare for possible violence as fringe groups latch onto truckers’ convoy
A convoy of truckers set to descend upon Ottawa to protest a vaccine mandate for cross-border drivers is prompting police to prepare for violence and politicians to warn against escalating rhetoric linked to the demonstration.
Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly told a police services board meeting Wednesday that officers had been in been in contact with protest leaders whom he said have been co-operative and shared their plans.
But Deputy Chief Steve Bell voiced concern about “parallel groups” that intelligence suggests will also turn up to the protest. The police are trying to reach these groups — as well as counterprotesters — to discuss their aims when they arrive in Ottawa.
At the meeting, police disclosed they are preparing for a range of scenarios including the potential for violent outbreaks. Police say they are planning for the arrival, as soon as Friday, of between 1,000 and 2,000 demonstrators, but say the situation is “fluid” and changing by the hour.
Sloly told the board and councillors on that he is working with the RCMP and intelligence bodies to prepare for the protests.
While police support the right to peaceful protest, officers would be prepared to move protesters out of the demonstration zone should the situation become violent or threatening, he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was a “small fringe minority who are on the way to Ottawa who are holding unacceptable views.”
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the prime minister said the vast majority of truckers are vaccinated.
“What we are hearing from some people associated with this convoy is completely unacceptable,” he added.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has estimated that about 15 per cent of truckers — as many as 16,000 — are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It has strongly denounced any protests on public roadways, highways and bridges and has urged all truckers to get inoculated.
Some with extreme, farright views have latched onto the protest. One online video includes a man expressing hope the rally will turn into the Canadian equivalent of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former president Donald Trump.
Kayla Preston, who studies the far right in the University of Toronto’s sociology department, said the truckers were a magnet for white nationalists with extreme right-wing views, as well as people who oppose vaccine mandates.
“Some in the far-right have latched themselves onto the convoy,” she said. “The convoy is tapping into the national frustration right now. They are also attracting people who are not part of the far right or white nationalists who are frustrated with COVID.”