Enterprise-Record (Chico)

Thousands in Ottawa protest COVID mandates

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OTTAWA, ONTARIO » Thousands of protesters gathered in Canada’s capital on Saturday to protest vaccine mandates, masks and lockdowns.

Some parked on the grounds of the National War Memorial and danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, others carried signs and flags with swastikas and some used the statue of Canadian hero Terry Fox to display an anti-vaccine statement, sparking widespread condemnati­on.

“I am sickened to see protesters dance on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and desecrate the National War Memorial. Generation­s of Canadians have fought and died for our rights, including free speech, but not this. Those involved should hang their heads in shame,” tweeted Gen. Wayne Eyre, Canada’s Defense Staff chief.

Protestors compared vaccine mandates to fascism, one truck carried a Confederat­e flag and many carried expletive-laden signs targeting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The statue of Fox, a national hero who lost a leg to bone cancer as a youngster, then set off in 1980 on a fundraisin­g trek across Canada, was draped with a upside down Canadian flag with a sign that said “mandate freedom.”

Trudeau retweeted a statement from The Terry Fox Foundation that said “Terry believed in science and gave his life to help others.”

Eric Simmons, from Oshawa, Ontario, said all vaccine mandates should be ended.

“They’re not effective, they’re not working. It’s not changing anything. We can’t keep living like

this. People are losing their jobs because they don’t want to get the vaccine,” Simmons said.

The convoy of truckers and others prompted police to prepare for the possibilit­y of violence and warn residents to avoid downtown. A top Parliament security official advised lawmakers to lock

their doors amid reports their private homes may be targeted.

Trudeau has said Canadians are not represente­d by this “very troubling, small but very vocal minority of Canadians who are lashing out at science, at government, at society, at mandates and public health advice.”

The prime minister’s itinerary for the day usually says he is in Ottawa if he’s at home, but on Saturday it said “National Capital Region” amid a report he’s been moved to an undisclose­d location. One of Trudeau’s kids has COVID-19 and the prime minister has been isolating and working remotely.

Canada has one of the highest vaccinatio­n rates in the world and the premier of the province of Quebec who is proposing to tax the unvaccinat­ed is popular.

Some are, in part, protesting a new rule that took effect Jan. 15 requiring truckers entering Canada be fully immunized against the coronaviru­s. The United States has imposed the same requiremen­t on truckers entering that country.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance said a great number of the protesters have no connection to the trucking industry, adding they have a separate agenda to push. The alliance notes the vast majority of drivers are vaccinated.

The organizers of the protest have called for the forceful eliminatio­n of all COVID-19 restrictio­ns and vaccine mandates and some called for the removal of Trudeau.

Some opposition Canadian Conservati­ve lawmakers served coffee to the protesters. Conservati­ve party leader Erin O’Toole met with some truckers. The protest has also attracted support from Donald Trump Jr. and some Fox News personalit­ies.

“Today the threat against democracy isn’t only happening in America,” former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman tweeted.

“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.”

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.

 ?? ADRIAN WYLD — THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? Protestors mingle around vehicles parked in front of West Block and the Parliament buildings in Ottawa on Saturday as they protest measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.
ADRIAN WYLD — THE CANADIAN PRESS Protestors mingle around vehicles parked in front of West Block and the Parliament buildings in Ottawa on Saturday as they protest measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.
 ?? JUSTIN TANG — THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? A person wearing a Monopoly Man mask holds a sign on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday during a rally against COVID-19 restrictio­ns.
JUSTIN TANG — THE CANADIAN PRESS A person wearing a Monopoly Man mask holds a sign on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday during a rally against COVID-19 restrictio­ns.
 ?? JUSTIN TANG — THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? Protesters walk in front of trucks parked on Wellington Street on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday.
JUSTIN TANG — THE CANADIAN PRESS Protesters walk in front of trucks parked on Wellington Street on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday.

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