Ottawa: Hundreds of trucks and thousands of protesters, most of them Sikhs migrated from India, have blocked the streets towards downtown Ottawa to protest against the government's vaccine mandates required to cross the Canada-US border. The protest is part of a self-titled 'Freedom Convoy 2022', which started out as a rally of truckers against the requirement that Canadian truck drivers crossing the border into the US be fully vaccinated as of mid-January.
After being joined by thousands of other protesters, it then turned into a demonstration against the government's overall restrictive measures during the Covid pandemic. The crowd gathered around the Parliament Hill, waving flags and banners and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is self-isolating after one of his children tested positive for the coronavirus.
The increasing number of protesters prompted police to prepare for the possibility of violence. As of now, no injuries or deaths have been reported. Parliament members were advised by the head of House of Commons security, Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick McDonell, to "go somewhere else" if a demonstration occurred at their personal residences or constituency offices, and to "refrain from posting anything related to the demonstration on social media".
Due to security concerns, Trudeau and his family left their downtown Ottawa home, the CBC reported. His office said it does not comment on security matters. Ottawa’s mayor said the city’s residents were “prisoners in their own homes” as the Freedom Convoy trucker protests continued.
Leaders of the demonstrations vowed to stay in the Canadian capital “as long as it takes” for the government to fold and withdraw vaccine mandates.
Sikhs represent a major share of truckers in US and Canada, with estimates of 150,000 and 200,000 personnel commanding as much as 40 per cent of the enterprise. Lots of them are part of the US-Canada provide chain and they’re mentioned to be resentful of the vaccine mandates and different Covid protocols.
