Raucous protests in the Canadian capital continued on Sunday on the truck driver vaccine mandate and other Covid-19 health restrictions, but the crowd slipped from his high day before after drawing the military and political reprimand for poor behavior.
The main avenue outside of parliament buildings in Ottawa remained blocked by a large rig line, and protesters spoke at the emergency stage said they did not intend to go in the near future. Canadian legislature has been going on in the winter since mid-December, but is scheduled to be continued by sitting on Monday.
The Trucker convoy has attracted unusual global attention, the last of Donald Trump. “We want the great Canadian truck driver to know that we are with them along the way,” said the former US president to a Rally Texas Saturday night. The protesters in Ottawa “do more to maintain American freedom than our own leaders so far,” he said.
But the pictures of the Nazi flag, along with vehicle footage parked at the commemoration of the National War with the protesters of drinking beer dancing on the tomb of an unknown army, giving a blow to the credibility of the convoy.
General Wayne Eyre, Canada’s top warriors, tweeted that he was “sick” by a recording on the warning of the war, which was a place for terrorist attacks in 2014 which killed a 24-year-old soldier.
“The generation of Canadians has struggled and died of our rights, including free speech, but no,” Eyre said. “Those who are involved have to hang their heads with shame.”
GridLocked Streets
Demonstrations have paralyzed traffic in the city’s core, but most of the peace so far. Ottawa police, who have not released the estimated size of the crowd, said Sunday morning they were investigating various incidents but so far there was no arrest.
Even so, protests have resulted in substantial controversy.
Pictures of Swikstas and the Confederation flag that appeared near the main demonstrations circulating on social media, and a public kitchen near parliament, said his staff was intimidated by several demonstrators to give them free food. The Statue of Terry Fox, an amputation that became a Canadian icon to try a cross-country trip to raise money for cancer research, wrapped in protest propaganda.
The liquor store in downtown Ottawa was closed at the beginning on Saturday and remained closed on Sunday. Other local businesses have been flooded with demonstrators against mask masks, and a large downtown shopping center closed after protesters refused to follow Covid-19 regulations.
Politically, protests have worsened long-term tensions in the main conservative opposition.
Leader Erin O’Toole has tried to walk with fine lines, embracing the cause of the truck driver who was harmed in general while distinging himself from the actual protest and rhetoric of inflammation, such as practicing vaccines to Nazism.
But some conservative parliamentarians have fully embraced protests and recording themselves present directly. Michael Cooper, representing a district in Alberta which produces oil, gives a TV interview on Saturday afternoon while a protester behind waving a Canadian flag was reversed with a swastika written on it. (Cooper then issued a statement that said he was not related to protesters and did not realize the flag.)
After the controversy in the warning of the war, O’Toole – which is a military veteran – condemning the behavior of the demonstrators.
“I support the right to protest peacefully but it should not be confused with disrespectfully blatantly for men and women who have served, inspired, and protect our country,” O’Toole said in a series of tweets Saturday night. “Individuals tarnish this warning must be shy and their behavior undermines the brave Canadians who have sacrificed for our country.”