Wishbones block Canada’s capital

The center of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, is in the grip of truck drivers protesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s Covid policies. Downtown residents suffer from the aggression of numerous protesters. The police are holding back because they want to avoid further escalation.

Hundreds of trucks have been clogging important roads around Parliament since Friday. Drivers from across the country and supporters drove to Ottawa over the weekend. They call for the lifting of all protective measures in the fight against the Covid pandemic. The trigger for the protest was the government’s decision that since January 15, only fully vaccinated truckers are allowed to cross the border without having to go into quarantine.

The protesters threatened to paralyze the city for months if necessary. They don’t want to withdraw until all of their conditions are met. In an interview with the conservative daily National Post, one of the organizers of the protest called for the Trudeau government to be overthrown.

Premier Trudeau infected with Covid-19

He announced on Monday that he had tested positive for Covid-19 but had no symptoms. He will remain in quarantine and attend meetings and sessions of Parliament virtually. “This is a big challenge for my family and me. But this is a challenge familiar to many Canadians and people around the world,” he explained.

The police say that the protest initiated by truck drivers is peaceful. But many in Ottawa see things differently. “Peaceful only in the sense that no one was hurt,” a resident told CBC. A group of protesters forced food to be given to them at a homeless shelter over the weekend.

Business owners report aggressive behavior by protesters in their shops, in defiance of Covid regulations. People who wear masks are bullied. A school and two day-care centers have been closed over concerns for the safety of the children.

Call for murder against Trudeau

Dancing and urinating near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sparked nationwide outrage. “Fuck You Trudeau” signs can be seen on many trucks and pickup trucks. According to observers, it is a sign that it is not primarily about politics, but rather about hatred of Trudeau.

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Some demonstrators carried flags and banners with Nazi symbols. There was also a poster that labeled the Prime Minister as a murderer with the words “Assassin Trudeau”., with the SS runes instead of the double S.

Trudeau sharply criticized some of the protesters and made it clear that he would not be impressed by threats and obscene abuse. He called on the majority of the demonstrators to speak out clearly about this “unacceptable behavior”.

Canadians are outraged

He also declined to meet with protest organizers and discuss their concerns. While Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson spoke of “thugs” coming to Ottawa to make a riot and lamented “bullying” by the protesters, Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole and his colleague Candice Bergen described them as ” peace-loving and patriotic” people.

The behavior of numerous truckers and demonstrators outraged many residents of the capital. They also criticize the police for allowing hundreds of heavy-duty trucks to enter the city center and now blocking the roads, running their engines and polluting the air, and blaring their fog horns in inner-city residential areas in the middle of the night make trucks.

Is there a social split?

A week ago, the protest action dubbed the “Freedom Convoy” began in Vancouver. The initiators include people from the separatist scene in western Canada as well as forces that have attracted attention in the past with racist slogans. They received verbal support from former US President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Junior.

In Canada, a good 80 percent of the population is vaccinated. However, the recurring restrictions frustrate many people. The protesters are not generally opposed to vaccination.

Several truck drivers stated that they had been vaccinated, but rejected a “compulsory vaccination”. Observers fear that these are the beginnings of a split in society like in the USA.