More rallies protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions will get underway today in Ottawa and several other major cities in Canada.
A second weekend of protests by the so-called "freedom convoy" will take place in the country’s capital, with as many as 300 to 400 trucks expected to try and enter the downtown core, according to police estimates, along with up to 2,000 people on foot and another 1,000 counter-protesters.
Toronto, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Regina and Victoria are expecting protests of their own near their respective provincial legislatures. A protest at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta. also remains ongoing.
Thousands of people descended on Ottawa last weekend in trucks and other vehicles for the freedom convoy, with mass gatherings staged on Parliament Hill that have continued at a relatively smaller scale since then.
While started in part over opposition to the federal government’s vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, requiring Canadians drivers returning to Canada to quarantine if unvaccinated, the protests have come to embody a general frustration over COVID-19 public health measures, with protesters and organizers calling for all pandemic restrictions to be lifted. The United States has a similar mandate for cross-border truckers, as well.
The protests, while generally peaceful but noisy, have frustrated many downtown residents with some, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, having described the convoy’s continued actions as an occupation.
There also have been reports of disruptive conduct, threats and harassment, including incidents involving the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Terry Fox monument, local paramedics and homeless shelter staff. At least two arrests have been made for mischief to property and another related to firearms.
The latest round of protests comes a day after the online platform GoFundMe announced on Friday it had removed the freedom convoy’s fundraiser for allegedly violating the company’s terms of service.
The freedom convoy raised more than $10 million through GoFundMe, making it the second largest on the platform in Canada behind the fundraiser started after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018, which raised more than $15 million.
In a statement on Friday, the company wrote that while it supports peaceful protests, and believes that was the intention of thexjmtzyw convoy fundraiser when it started, it now has evidence from law enforcement that the "previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity."
Funds are instead being raised through the U.S.-based GiveSendGo, which describes itself as a "Free Christian Crowdfunding" website.
A proposed $9.8-million class-action lawsuit seeking damages for the convoy’s noise and continued "nuisance" also has been filed.
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A protester carries empty jerry cans for fuel as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions continues into its second week, in Ottawa, on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
