OTTAWA – Hundreds of vehicles and thousands of demonstrators blocked the lanes leading to downtown Ottawa on Saturday in a show of opposition to the government's vaccine mandates for crossing the Canada-US border.
According to reports, the demonstration is part of a self-described "Freedom Convoy 2022," which began as a trucker rally against the demand that Canadian truck drivers crossing the border into the US be completely vaccinated as of mid-January.
It developed into a demonstration against the government's general restrictive actions during the Covid-19 outbreak after being joined by thousands of other demonstrators. The throng gathered around Parliament Hill, waving flags and banners and chanting anti-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slogans after one of his children tested positive for the new coronavirus.
As the number of demonstrators grew, authorities were forced to prepare for the risk of violence. No injuries or deaths had been recorded as of Saturday night.
Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick McDonell, the head of House of Commons security, instructed members to "move somewhere else" if a demonstration took place outside their homes or constituency offices, and to "refrain from publishing anything relating to the demonstration on social media."
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