After Ottawa and Quebec, the movement of truckers intends to demonstrate on Saturday in the streets of Montreal, but Valérie Plante warns that she will not tolerate road blockages.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Groups opposing health measures have called on their supporters to gather in the morning at Jarry Park, before marching through the streets of the Villeray district. They propose to then take the road to Ottawa.
“Leaving the March at 10 a.m. to walk in the residential streets”, indicates the Facebook event, to which nearly 10,000 Internet users reacted. “We will be seen by those who do not see us when we walk downtown. »
The invitation, titled “United in Love for Freedom,” was issued by nine collectives that support the truckers’ movement.
“We’re going to walk in the residential neighborhoods around Jarry Park. We want to disturb people, we want to be seen, ”added an organizer, Jonathan Sirois-Bouvier, of the Quebec Pro-Choix group. Mr. Sirois-Bouvier recently made headlines for having organized food distributions to the homeless while preaching his conspiratorial creed. He did not respond to an interview request from The Press.
Carl Giroux, another of the organizers, promised a demonstration “short, but intense, [où] there are going to be a lot of people,” in a video posted to social media. “There are a lot of people waiting for the demonstration,” he added.
As of 11:30 a.m., demonstrators are invited to head northwest to Lachute to catch a “historic convoy” from the rest of Quebec to Ottawa.
“It’s peaceful,” added Sébastien Desautels, a third organizer. We invite people to have red and white pennants for Valentine’s Day. In another video, Mr. Desautels attacks elected officials and the media. “You are all going to pay. And we’re going to do it peacefully, just out of our love. We’re going to take to the streets because we have our children at heart, you don’t. You have your wallet at heart, ”he shouts, visibly angry. “You’ll see what a people does when it’s all united. »
IMAGE FROM FACEBOOK
Route announced by protesters
The route of the demonstrators is already known: they will parade in rue Jarry westward to rue Berri, which they will descend to rue De Castelnau, then go back to their starting point by avenue De Gaspé and Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
Blocking “not tolerated”
In the middle of the day, Valérie Plante warned in a firm tone that Montreal would not accept to see its streets blocked by truckers dissatisfied with the sanitary measures.
“To block streets with trucks […]it will not be tolerated, ”said the mayor, on the sidelines of a press conference on rue Saint-Denis.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
The Montreal police are used to managing demonstrations. We are a territory where many [gens] make their voices heard and we are very comfortable with that.
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
But there is no question that Montreal will be plunged into the situation in which downtown Ottawa currently finds itself.
Local authorities are “closely monitoring” what is happening in the Canadian capital, revealed Mme Plant. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) also dispatched observers to Quebec City last weekend to learn how to deal with this type of demonstration.
Police “ready to intervene”
The SPVM, precisely, said that it was closely monitoring the organization of this event.
The organization “is well aware of the situation and provides a lookout. Our police are ready to intervene if there should be traffic issues on our territory of jurisdiction, ”said the police force in an email.
“Our police officers are also ready to intervene if there were to be excesses linked to gatherings,” added the SPVM. Citizens have the right to demonstrate, but they must do so while respecting the laws and regulations in force. »
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ), on which the highway network providing access to the island of Montreal depends, also indicated that it was monitoring the preparations for the demonstration.
“As a police organization, it is normal to be attentive to our environment and to prepare for the impact that certain events could cause,” said Stéphane Tremblay, spokesperson for the SQ.