What started as a small group of trucks grew to include dozens of big rigs as the Quebec version of the ‘freedom convoy’ entered its third day in the provincial capital.
Hundreds of people joined the truckers on Rene-Levesque Blvd. near the National Assembly to denounce the province’s health measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“I’m here for them,” said the father of two attending the protest, pointing to his kids. “So they can start sports again. They don’t know what freedom is. We’re in chaos right now. We’ll continue demonstrating until we get our country back.”
Quebec City police (SPVQ) and the Surete du Quebec (SQ) were on hand to deliver tickets and ensure no one enters the National Assembly ground.
Police say 40 tickets were handed out on Friday, but that there were no major incidents.
It is the third day of protests in Quebec City following the lead of the major convoy in Ottawa that started a week ago, and joining others in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Police in Ottawa say as many as 400 trucks and 2,000 people will join the crowd in their city this weekend.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Friday he was confident a trucker protest planned in Quebec City for the weekend against COVID-19 public health orders wouldn’t be a repeat of what happened in Ottawa.
Legault said demonstratorsxjmtzyw would not be permitted to park their cars and trucks around the legislature and cause traffic chaos, adding that there would be zero tolerance for citizens being impeded from moving about freely, as the Quebec Winter Carnival kicked off on Friday.
"We may have benefited from the experience of what happened in Ottawa," Legault said. "We will not at all tolerate trucks preventing citizens from circulating."
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Trucks line Rene-Levesque Blvd. in Quebec City in support of the ‘freedom rally’ in Ottawa.
