OTTAWA, ONTARIO — Fist-bumping their way down Ottawa’s slushy streets, supporters of the truckers’ protest who showed up in Canada’s capital city Saturday pushed back on threats made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, denounced aggressive action taken against supporters in Windsor, Ontario, and vowed to keep bringing supplies to truckers who have been stationed near Parliament Hill for more than two weeks.
“If we don’t stand up now, what’s next? This is worth fighting for,” supporter Alice Belanger, draped in a large red and white Canadian flag, told the Washington Examiner.
Mother of two Mary Herbert, who lives in Toronto but came to Ottawa with her two young children and husband, called Trudeau’s tactics “disgusting.”
“It’s disgusting what Justin Trudeau and his thugs are doing,” Herbert told the Washington Examiner. “We are here to support our truckers, but we are also here to fight for our freedom. We have the right to protest. We have the right to stand up for what we believe, so why is Justin Trudeau saying we can’t? Why is he trying to shut down a protest just because he doesn’t like the message?”
Ottawa police on Saturday said its officers were easily outnumbered by demonstrators who “exhibited aggressive behaviour towards law enforcement including refusing to follow directions, overwhelming officers, and otherwise subverting enforcement efforts.”
“All available officers were deployed last night,” the statement read. “We have a plan to end this unlawful occupation and await the necessary reinforcements to do so.”
Officials in Ottawa, where the largest protest in the country is taking place, said Friday the city would seek its own injunction “to address the actions of the protesters.”
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“These unlawful demonstrators are executing a very complex, very fluid, very sophisticated operation,” Ottawa Police Chief Peter Soly told reporters, adding that the number of trucks and protesters expected to show up Saturday are likely to rival those that showed up last weekend, when about 5,000 people and 1,000 trucks brought the downtown area to a standstill.
“Our message to you is do not come,” he said. “And if you do commit unlawful acts, there will be consequences.”
Trudeau on Friday issued his most strongly worded statement to date aimed at protesters, telling truckers and their supporters to stand down or face “severe consequences.”
He threatened to suspend commercial trucking licenses and said the government would pursue charges that could come with jail time and hefty fines. The punishments would also prohibit protesters from ever traveling internationally again.
“Everything is on the table because this unlawful activity has to end, and it will end,” he said. “We hope these people will decide to go home. Otherwise, there will be increasingly robust police interventions.”
Izzy Drake, who also lives in Toronto, echoed Belanger’s comments. He told the Washington Examiner that Trudeau’s threats won’t intimidate supporters.
“He’s upset at the people, calling us racists when we have the right to protest,” Drake said Friday. “We are making a moment here, and we’ve got to keep staying strong and call for more reinforcements down here to Ottawa so that we can all stick up together as Canadians.”
Holding up a handmade “Hey Trurudeau Hide and Seek Is 4 Kids” sign, Drake pushed back on Trudeau’s concerns about the protests on Parliament Hill becoming dangerous and said he has only witnessed a country coming together in solidarity.
On Saturday, a tense standoff at the U.S.-Canadian border seemed to come to a peaceful end after Canadian police moved the blockade without much resistance.
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The demonstrations at Ambassador Bridge, downtown Ottawa, and other parts of the country have targeted vaccine mandates and other coronavirus restrictions. Trudeau has become public enemy No. 1 after slamming protesters, their efforts, and calling them a “fringe” of Canadian society.
Shannon Charlabois of Kitchener, Ontario, said she also took issue with Trudeau’s description of the demonstrators.
“This is our heartland,” she told the Washington Examiner. “This is the first time in a long time that Quebec has joined the rest of Canada in standing in solidarity, so historically, this is going to be seen as a time of Canadian reclamation. It’s a time when Canadians are reminding ourselves what freedom means.”
