Some of the main organizers for the “Freedom Convoy” decried Thursday that they had been painted as “racists, misogynists…and even terrorists,” and that no one from the federal or provincial government had met with them.
Tamara Lich, one of the leaders of the convoy, read a prepared statement “calling on all levels of government to lift all COVID-19 restrictions and mandates,” and vowed to stay xjmtzywon until there is a “solid plan” to see action on their demands.
Speaking at a press conference, Lich said lawyers for the convoy had sent GoFundMe “all the details they had asked for” in regards to the money raised for the truckers’ protest on the platform and how it would be dispersed.
“We want to thank the hundreds of residents of Ottawa who have stepped forward to show us support, provided accommodations, food and just plain friendship to members of our convoy,” she said. “This love of community is what Canada is all about.”
Convoy lawyer Keith Wilson answered reporters’ questions regarding the suspension of the convoy’s GoFundMe funds, saying the bulk of the money is still held by the fundraising platform, but that the group has taken “appropriate steps” to ensure the legal and accounting boxes are checked, including audit procedures, and that they hope to open the flow of donations again soon.
The group did not answer reporters’ follow-up questions.
Meanwhile, Ottawa is bracing for the upcoming weekend and the possibility of an influx of trucker convoy protesters as the demonstration enters another day in the nation’s capital.
Parts of Ottawa’s downtown core remain inaccessible to the public as a scaled-down, core group of protesters continue to occupy the areas surrounding Parliament Hill, with transport trucks and personal vehicles encamped on the streets.
Ottawa Police Service estimates the remaining group of protesters includes approximately 250 people.
In a statement issued Thursday, police said officers have issued 30 traffic tickets and charged one man criminally in relation to the protest.
“Police laid eight charges for unnecessary noise (honking horns), one for transporting dangerous goods (insecure fuel cans), one for improper muffler, four for disobeying signs, two for driving the wrong way in one way traffic, one unsafe lane change, one distracted driving, six speeding, one running a stop sign and five document offences,” the statement said.
One driver was charged for allegedly driving while criminally prohibited, and had their vehicle impounded for 45 days.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Thursday that he has no plans to call in the military to help Ottawa police contain or disperse the protest.
“One has to be very, very cautious before deploying military in situations engaging Canadians,” Trudeau said.
- Read more: No plans to call in military, or meet with trucker convoy protesters: PM
The organizers of the convoy have scheduled a news conference Thursday at 1 p.m. EST to “address various issues surrounding their protest.”
A tractor convoy is being planned from Alexandria to Ottawa on Saturday in support of the truckers, according to a Facebook group with more than 1,900 followers.
Similar convoys are allegedly being planned this weekend in Toronto and Quebec City.
At a Wednesday briefing, Ottawa Police Service Chief Peter Sloly said the situation is “intolerable” and “unprecedented,” and that “all plans are on the table” to remove the protest: from a court injunction, to calling in the RCMP, and potentially requesting the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
However, in a statement emailed to CTV News late Wednesday, a spokesperson for the minister of national defence said “the Canadian Armed Forces are not involved in this situation, and there are no plans for such CAF involvement.”
- Recap: Day five of the trucker convoy protest
The director of communications for the minister of public safety has said that “the federal government has financial support available for the City of Ottawa in these types of situations through the Nation’s Capital Extraordinary Policing Costs Program.”
The program sets aside $15 million over five years to help cover policing costs incurred in the course of duties specific to Ottawa.
Deputy Chief Steve Bell said the remaining demonstrators were “highly volatile,” signalling a shift away from initial “demonstration-based activities.”
Residents of Ottawa fed up with the disruption have begun counter-protesting, aiming their frustration at the city, the police and the trucker convoy.
More serious reports of residents being harassed and threatened with rape and violence for wearing masks or being physically assaulted while walking in their neighbourhoods have caused uproar on social media and led to tense questions in Wednesday’s briefing between city councillors, the police and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
Watson slammed several Conservative politicians on Twitter for supporting the convoy, calling their actions an “absolute disgrace.”
The Cornerstone Emergency Shelter for Women released a statement Wednesday outlining the trauma their clients and front-line support staff are facing due to the protest.
“Women and staff are scared to go outside of the shelter, especially women of colour, being able to go outside is the only reprieve many women experiencing homelessness have and they cannot even do that,” the statement reads. “The incessant honking and noise from the trucks have caused significant anxiety and distress for staff and shelter residents. Women have admitted themselves into hospital due to the increased trauma from the noise and fear.”
On Wednesday, Chief Dylan Whiteduck posted a statement on Twitter on behalf of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation and the Kigitgan Zibi Anishinabeg about the convoy and protest taking place in their traditional and unceded territory, calling it “unacceptable.”
“For those who are participating in these actions, the Algonquin Nation does not support the set up of a teepee, the pipe ceremony and a sacred fire in Confederation Park in support of the “Freedom Convoy.”
There have been several instances of protesters either claiming to be a part of a First Nation, wearing regalia and lending their support to the convoy, or using sacred items like drums and taking part in ceremonies that have caused significant backlash on social media.
The statement said the Algonquin Nation did not give consent for their ceremonial practices to be used and warns those actions could cause more harm to “who we are as First Nations [and] Algonquin People.”
The statement was echoed by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) on Thursday. They said the convoy is “an insult to our Chiefs, our communities and to the hundreds of loved ones we’ve lost through this pandemic.”
Citing the “ignorant acts of cultural appropriation of First Nations culture and spirituality,” the statement decried the disrespect of “traditional drums, pipes and medicines” used by protesters.
“It’s a disgrace to see our culturally sacred items being used improperly, without proper protocol, in support of anti-vaccine protests” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said in the released statement. “The FSIN condemns such open acts of racism and ignorance which are being committed across our traditional Treaty territories.”
Speaking on CTV’s Your Morning Thursday, Liberal MP Greg Fergus decried the hate symbols that have been on display throughout the protest.
“It is totally unacceptable to me, it was shocking, it was frightening to see people who would carry those symbols…we have to go beyond calling it a symbol,” Fergus said. “The swastika and the Confederate flag really represent probably two of the worst eras in human history — how we killed people through state-sponsored terrorism, to really dominate one group of people over another – it’s an unacceptable demonstration of that symbol in a public space and on Parliament Hill.”
Fergus said that while he thinks it is a very small minority of protesters who carry and believe in those symbols, it “disturbed” him that there was “no condemnation of those symbols while they were being carried and proudly displayed on the Hill.”
Fergus said the events left him wondering who would come to his rescue if adherents to those hate symbols decided to “act out” on him.
TRUCKER CONVOY GOFUNDME SUSPENDED
Online fundraising platform GoFundMe has suspended the “Freedom Convoy” fundraiser for the second time and is now under review, according to a pinned post on the fundraiser Wednesday night.
“This fundraiser is currently paused and under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations,” the post said.
Last Thursday, an initial $1 million was released to the organizers by GoFundMe after they received a plan for the money’s distribution to truckers to cover the cost of gas for the Parliament Hill protest.
By Wednesday, the fundraiser had attracted more than $10 million in pledges.
Donations for the convoy are still being collected through other platforms, but it is unclear who receives the money and how it is being spent.
COUTTS BLOCKADE PARTIALLY LIFTED – ANOTHER APPEARS
Meanwhile in Alberta, the RCMP managed to negotiate a partial lifting of the Canada – U.S. border blockade at Coutts Wednesday night, with many of the protesters remaining in the area, but moving their vehicles to the side of the highway.
After that partial reopening, however, a second blockade was set up 18 kilometres to the north near Milk River.
"The RCMP have made some progress to re-open Hwy 4 from Milk River to the border. Currently travel is impeded at the north part of Hwy 4 where motorists can expect an RCMP escort to the border," the Alberta RCMP said in a tweet.
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Joint Press Release Re: the Confederation Park and Truckers Convoy pic.twitter.com/rXv5wYB4g7
— Chief Dylan Whiteduck (@DylanWhiteduck) February 2, 2022
Correction:
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
A protester stands in front of vehicles parked in the downtown core, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022 in Ottawa. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
