The truckers who stormed the area around the Parliament of Canada have no intention of retreating so soon. The group of Quebec truckers set up a makeshift “supply center” in a baseball stadium about 6 kilometers from Parliament Hill to hold a long siege.
Posted at 4:51 p.m.
Throughout the day, the Quebec organizers have launched calls on their communication channel in the Zello application for supporters to deliver diesel to refuel the trucks whose engines have been running all weekend in order to maintain the warm cabins. They have also demanded firewood, gas burners to prepare food, plates and cutlery, as well as portable toilets which they want to deploy near the Parliament.
Anti-sanitary measures activists announced on the movement’s chat channels that they were leaving Trois-Rivières, Montérégie and Greater Montreal to provide food and meals to prolong the siege. Farmers in the Ottawa and Gatineau region have also started to clear portions of their land to allow the next generation to park on the outskirts of the city.
At the end of the afternoon, other demonstrators were preparing to take over from the truckers to ensure a presence in their heavy vehicles immobilized near Parliament while they were taking part in a meeting at the refueling centre.
At this time, the Ottawa police do not appear to have any intention of forcing the demonstrators to leave the scene. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson urged them to break camp peacefully. “You had very good media coverage – I completely disagree with your message – but you had your 15 minutes of fame. It’s time to move on, you’re making the trucking industry look very bad,” he said.
“We had to close businesses, daycare centers, vaccination centers. Our hotel employees have had to deal with aggressive behavior from some demonstrators,” lamented the mayor.
He also denounced the “disgusting displays” of homophobia, racism and anti-Semitism reported throughout the weekend.
The Ottawa Police Service says the “unprecedented” police deployment necessitated by the blockade is costing more than $800,000 a day. The demonstration has “decreased in intensity”, but still monopolizes a lot of police, said police chief Peter Sloly. As of Tuesday, part of the troops will be redeployed elsewhere in the community,” he said, while acknowledging that the situation remains “very difficult to manage.”
More details to come.