(Québec) The organizers of the convoy against sanitary measures congratulate themselves on having been more popular than the Carnaval de Québec and its figurehead, Bonhomme.
Posted at 10:34 a.m.
“Carnival of Quebec in blue. The carnival of freedom in red. […] In the end, the Carnival guy ate a chunk of it, ”said Kevin “Big” Grenier, commenting on an aerial photo of the demonstration on Saturday.
SCREENSHOT
The photo posted by Kevin “Big” Grenier
His sidekick Bernard Gauthier, who calls himself Rambo, also shared this image “which is worth a thousand words”.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Bernard Gauthier
The figure of Bonhomme Carnaval, “the representative and king of the biggest Winter Carnival party in the world” according to his LinkedIn page, has been mentioned for several days by politicians to invite demonstrators to avoid slippages.
Prime Minister François Legault said Friday that “many tow trucks are ready” to free the trucks, if necessary, inviting Quebecers to come in large numbers to the Quebec Carnival, which opens this Friday. “Go to Carnival as a family, go to restaurants in Quebec. […] What we want is for citizens to continue to live normally,” he added.
The Minister of Public Security and responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, Geneviève Guilbault also mentioned the Carnival. “It depends on what you mean by jamming a city, but if we intend to prevent people from moving around, prevent people from living normally, prevent children and parents from going to see Bonhomme and doing their business, I think that no, it is not acceptable”, she had said.
The demonstration against the sanitary measures must resume Sunday during the day, at the invitation of Mr. “Big” Grenier. In the morning, about forty trucks were still parked on René-Lévesque Boulevard. Police were on site handing out courtesy notices.
“Demonstration: the police distributed courtesy notices to vehicles immobilized on the outskirts of the National Assembly. In the next few hours, the parking tolerance in connection with the demonstration will be lifted, ”said the Quebec City Police Service on social media.
Saturday, the incessant sound of horns was heard in the heart of downtown Quebec. Heavy goods vehicles on the side of the track spent the night there while thousands of demonstrators on foot occupied René-Lévesque Boulevard for nearly a kilometer for long hours.
A little before 10 p.m., the SPVQ confirmed that the presence of the convoy at this location would be tolerated for the night. However, the police will not hesitate to take action in the event of an infraction, it was indicated in a press release. A single van, whose driver refused to yield a lane of traffic, was towed at the end of the evening.