In a scene at odds with Canadians' reputation for niceness and rule-following, thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital over the weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill.
Some urinated and parked on the National War Memorial. One danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A number carried signs and flags with swastikas.
In the aftermath of Canada's biggest pandemic protest to date, the demonstrators have found little sympathy in a country where more than 80% are vaccinated. Many people were outraged by some of the crude behavior.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Ottawa protesters a 바카라fringe minority" and said they reflected the proliferation of "disinformation and misinformation online, conspiracy theorists, about microchips, about God knows what else that go with the tinfoil hats.바카라
Organizers, including one who has espoused white supremacist views, had raised millions for the cross-country 바카라freedom truck convoy바카라 against vaccine mandates. It attracted support from former US President Donald Trump and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk.
Trudeau and his family were moved to an undisclosed location during the protest. (Two of his children tested positive for COVID-19, and a test Tuesday revealed he, too, was infected. He said he is fine and working remotely. )
A smaller but still significant number of protesters remained on the streets on Wednesday, saying they won't leave until all vaccine mandates and other restrictions are gone. They are also calling for the removal of Trudeau's government, though it is responsible for few of the measures, most of which were put in place by provincial governments.
바카라It's time for Canada and the rest of the world to find other ways to deal with this virus,바카라 said protester Michelle Kloet, 47, of Canmore, Alberta.
During the demonstration, the statue of Terry Fox, a national hero who lost a leg to bone cancer as a youngster and set off in 1980 on a fundraising trek across Canada, was draped with an upside-down Canadian flag and a sign that read "Mandate freedom.바카라
바카라My kids were shocked. Like all Canadian young people, they have grown up with Terry Fox as a hero,바카라 Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
바카라This is not the Canada who we want to be. And I really proudly believe, and I know, this is not what Canada is.바카라
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was 바카라extremely disturbed바카라 to see people 바카라desecrate our most sacred monuments and wave swastikas and other symbols of hate and intolerance."
The outburst was seen as so out of character for Canada that one US scientist felt compelled to apologize for what he portrayed as America's influence.
바카라Canada gave us kindness, tolerance, poutine and hockey, and in turn we exported this awful fake health freedom movement linked to far right extremism that caused so much senseless loss of life in America and now might do the same there,바카라 tweeted Dr Peter Hotez, an infectious-disease specialist at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
바카라Our apologies.바카라
Many of the demonstrators refused to wear masks in hotels, malls and grocery stores. One homeless shelter reported protesters had demanded it feed them.
Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly said several investigations are underway and a tip line for hate crimes, threats and assaults related to the demonstration has been set up. Sloly said one person had been arrested in connection with the protest.
Tim Abray, a PhD candidate, said he was assaulted by 바카라so-called freedom fighters바카라 while taking pictures of the protest in his neighborhood.
The most visible contingent of protesters were truck drivers who parked their big rigs on Parliament Hill. Some of them were protesting a rule that took effect Jan 15 requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully immunized against the coronavirus.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has estimated that 85% of truckers in Canada are vaccinated.
Meanwhile, police on Tuesday moved to end a protest convoy of trucks and other vehicles that had been blocking a major U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, since Saturday. Sam Chahal, a vaccinated trucker, said a cross-border trip that normally takes two to three hours could take two days if it doesn't end.
Some opposition Conservative lawmakers attended the protest in Ottawa, and Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole, who is facing a revolt among his lawmakers, met with some of the truckers.
Phil Haggart, a counter-protester, said he was there to show that there are voices in favor of public health measures.
바카라Masks are important, vaccines are important, and mandates are important only because we need them to stay alive and not fill our hospitals up,바카라 he said.
A surge of the highly contagious omicron variant has led to record cases and lockdowns in Ontario and Quebec, Canada's most populous provinces. Vaccine mandates imposed by the provincial governments remain in place.
But restaurants reopened Tuesday with 50 per cent capacity, and Quebec's premier, Francois Legault, announced Wednesday he is abandoning his threat to tax the unvaccinated, saying the proposal has divided Quebecers.
