The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who is suffering from Covid, reacted to the ongoing Freedom Convoy protests in capital Ottawa by saying that those protesting were ‘an insult to memory and truth’.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, however, is cornered as protesters and the opposition party, the Conservatives, see the mandate as an act of political overreach. The mandate required unvaccinated truckers crossing the US-Canada border to quarantine once they’ve returned home.
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“Freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy, but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery and desecration of war memorials are not,” Trudeau said before he got Covid and declined to meet the protesters.
The protesters have protested peacefully but claims have risen that some of the protesters were waving Swastika symbols, Confederate Flags and have desecrated the National War Memorial as well as danced on the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier – both symbols many Canadians associate with national pride.
Police forces deployed in the area said that protesters were noisy but not violent. However, Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly said the protests are still ‘volatile, polarising in terms of content and dangerous literally in every aspect,’ according to a report by the Ottawa Sun.
Sloly said that from 5,000 to 18,000 people have gathered to protest and thousands of vehicles remain in downtown Ottawa. He admitted that the crowds are largely beyond police’s control. Sloly also highlighted that a significant number of vehicles have left the downtown area, according to the update by the news agency Ottawa Sun.
The police chief also said that investigations into any wrongdoing will be undertaken and probes in cases of desecration and assault have already begun. “If you have come here and committed a crime, if you have committed a hate crime, you will be investigated. We will look for you. We will charge you. And if necessary arrest you and we will proceed with prosecutions against you,” Sloly was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, the head advocacy body for truckers, have disavowed the protests citing that 85% to 90% of the 120,000 Canadian truckers affiliated with it have been fully vaccinated.
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