They call themselves “Freedom Convoy” (“Freedom Train”) and have been protesting for a week against the mandatory vaccination of truckers crossing the border between the United States and Canada.
Faced with the chaos caused, the mayor of Ottawa, Jim Watson, declared a state of emergency in the capital this weekend.
Watson said the city was “completely out of control,” with protesters outnumbering police.
He also stressed that the protests represented a “threat to the security” of residents. Authorities have received reports of racial attacks.
Speaking to Canadian radio station CRFA, Watson said the protesters were behaving increasingly “insensitive” way by “blowing horns and sirens at full volume, (launching) fireworks and turning (the situation) into a party”.
“Clearly, we are outnumbered and we are losing this battle,” he said. “This has to be reversed, we have to take back our city.”
The mobilizations arose from the introduction in January of a new rule that establishes that all truck drivers must be vaccinated to cross the border between the United States and Canada, but those who protest now are also protesting against other restrictions due to covid.
Since then, protesters have gathered in downtown Ottawa, near Parliament Hill (home of the Parliament of Canada), and their demands have been growing to include an end to all measures across the country and opposition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Police had launched investigations after several incidents, including the appearance of flags with swastikas and images of a woman dancing on the grave of an unknown soldier.
Trudeau and his family had to leave their home in Ottawa on Saturday 29 from January for security reasons.
Defense Minister Anita Anand said the incidents were “more than reprehensible”.
State of emergency
The mayor did not give specific details about the measures he could impose, but the police said this Sunday that would intensify the response, including possible arrests of those seeking to help protesters by bringing them supplies such as fuel, toilet paper and food.
The state of emergency grants additional powers to the capital authorities, including access to equipment required by frontline workers and serv emergency services.
Many Ottawa residents reject the protests and complain about trucks blocking traffic and barriers installed in various city parks, as well as loss of income, and They speak of the fear of harassment of those who participate in the mobilization and of violence.
Police have said they are concerned about how the demonstration has attracted far-right groups and confirmed on Sunday that there are more of 60 ongoing criminal investigations for acts including robberies, hate crimes and property damage.
“There have been racist signs, there have been many reports of people being assaulted and harassed for wearing a mask,” Stephanie told the BBC Carvon, resident Ottawa and former Canadian government national security analyst.
He added that some protest organizers have views that he called extremist, but “successfully framed their actions in the name of the pandemic and the end of the measures, so they endeared themselves to many Canadians who don’t necessarily realize how far this has gone.”
A female protester who drove for hours to join the protest in Ottawa, Kimberly Ball, told the AFP news agency that the protest was “about freedom”.
“A couple of people we know, friends, lost their jobs because of these measures,” he said, adding that he was concerned about the safety and efficacy of covid vaccines.
Side Consequences
Canadians broadly support vaccine mandates ( more than 80% of the population eligible is fully vaccinated. But the protest has received some support from conservative politicians who say it has become a “symbol of the fatigue and division” felt in Canada after two years of the pandemic.
Around of 90% of the 120.000 Canadian cross-border truckers are now vaccinated in line with the country’s adult population.
And while truckers are frustrated with covid measures they see as government overreach, Trudeau’s new cross-border mandate has raised concerns for other reasons.
Like many countries, Canada is grappling with rising inflation and a supply chain already strained by the pandemic, labor shortages and bad weather.
- 4 questions to understand why inflation is increasing so much all over the world
Prices are on the rise, including food and gasoline. Some products are becoming harder to find on grocery store shelves, and Canada’s economy relies heavily on the men and women who transport the vast majority of the country’s food and goods to the other side. of the border.
Truck drivers working on cross-border routes had previously been exempt from mandates, considered essential workers.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance estimates that between 85 and the 90% of the 120. Canadian truckers who work on cross-border routes are vaccinated and said on Saturday that it seemed that many of the protesters in Ottawa had no connection to the industry.
Although the alliance does not support the protest, and has said that the industry must adapt to the mandate, it is said that the measure could eliminate up to 16. drivers of those routes.
Numerous business groups have also said they are concerned that the mandate will only exacerbate existing problems in the supply chain.
“Everything that Canadians depend on, food, clothing, electronics, everything arrives” in the back of trucks, Ambarish Chandra, associate professor at the School of Management, told the BBC. Rotman studying the US-Canada border
With information from Jessica Murphy.
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