(Quebec) A few hundred people demonstrated for the second day in a row, Sunday, their opposition to health measures during a festive rally in front of parliament. During this second weekend of the “freedom convoy” in Quebec, the police made 4 arrests and issued 167 statements of offence.
Posted at 12:08 p.m.
Updated at 5:59 p.m.
The mayor of the capital, Bruno Marchand, said he was satisfied with the conclusion of the demonstration. “The overwhelming majority of protesters did what was expected of them,” he said outside City Hall, pointing out that the municipal 311 phone line had received fewer noise complaints compared to to the first weekend of protests, two weeks ago.
Mr. Marchand, however, hopes that the organizers of the convoy will take a break before bringing their trucks back to Quebec. “We may be a national capital, we may be ready to host demonstrations, every weekend, it is really disproportionate. […] I hope we will be able to give ourselves time between the demonstrations to be able to catch our breath, ”he said.
PHOTO PATRICE LAROCHE, THE SUN
The City will know during the month of March “all the costs” caused by these two weekends of demonstrations against health measures.
Dance and meditation
The family atmosphere on Parliament Hill was in stark contrast to the violence that marked the dismantling of the convoy over the weekend in Ottawa. In Quebec, trucks were parked along René-Lévesque Boulevard – in agreement with the police – and honked for much of the day. These heavy vehicles displayed signs announcing a “freedom convoy”, flags of Quebec, Canada and the Patriots, as well as slogans inveighing against Prime Ministers François Legault and Justin Trudeau.
PHOTO PATRICE LAROCHE, THE SUN
Bernard Gauthier (right) poses with a protester.
The demonstrators then gathered in front of the Tourny fountain, a crossroads located between the gardens of the Parliament and the Esplanade park, facing Old Quebec. Dressed warmly – the place is located in a windy corridor – they took part in a collective meditation session on Sunday, then they danced in front of a small stage where a host was playing French-speaking, rock and electronic music.
In a festive atmosphere, the demonstrators waved signs to demand the end of what they consider to be “the dictatorship” imposed by the state of health emergency. “It’s been two weekends since we [manifeste]. This week, we will wait to see what will happen,” said one of the organizers of the demonstration, Bernard Gauthier.
“The rest of us will react if it doesn’t work. We’re going to find other things, that’s for sure. I know you’re all going to be there,” he added to protesters chanting the word “freedom.”
PHOTO CAROLINE GRÉGOIRE, THE SUN
Demonstrators demand the end of the wearing of masks for children and the definitive abandonment of the vaccine passport.
families present
Around the stage, hundreds of children’s stuffed animals were hung on the fountain installations and on the neighboring trees. This symbol is used by protesters to ask the Legault government to remove sanitary measures in schools.
Children accompanied their parents for this second weekend of demonstrations against health measures in Quebec. “We are here to defend freedom, it is an extremely important issue,” said a father to his son who was running on the many snowbanks.
The Quebec City Police Department made four arrests over the weekend, one for assault, the other for indecent action and two “in connection with the peace and good order regulations. “. The police also distributed “63 tickets under the peace and good order regulations, 75 tickets under the Highway Safety Code and 29 parking tickets”.