Demonstrators invite themselves to the final assembly of the “for freedom” trucking convoy with the intention of remaining several days or even weeks in Ottawa, in the hope that their disruption of the capital will make the Trudeau government capitulate on the set of health measures related to COVID-19. Safety experts are concerned about the risk of skidding.
Organizers and participants of small Quebec convoys which must join that of truckers from the West on their way to Ottawa on Saturday describe the event as a “historic movement” and even a “revolution”. Its objective, broader than the question of the vaccination of truckers, would be the definitive abandonment of all measures to fight against the pandemic.
“I think the truckers are going to stay for 14 days, after the quarantine at [Justin] Trudeau,” chanted a participant in the informal meeting of the Quebec organization of the “convoy of freedom”, on the voicemail application Zello, Thursday.
“I hope he’s doing his pants,” added someone else, quickly brought to order by a participant sensitive to the risk of bad press for the convoy.
Many groups opposed to health measures have tried to co-opt the movement of truckers traveling from British Columbia, found The duty. In Quebec, Steeve Charland, a well-known figure in the anti-mask movement and ex-leader of the identity group La Meute, suggested on Sunday the organization of his own convoy. Other similar projects were then set in motion throughout the province.
Self-proclaimed convoy organizers released their own list of demands on Thursday. This includes the revocation of the vaccine passport and the ArriveCan application, as well as the end of “all vaccination obligations” against COVID-19. The press release announces the mobilization of 50,000 trucks.
“I think what they really want is to take control of Ottawa. Block all entrances, all exits, ”explained Sylvain Allard, a trucker interviewed by the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, on Tuesday.
Instead, the Ottawa Police Service said Wednesday it expects to see between 1,000 and 2,000 heavy goods vehicles arrive. The convoy would stretch for about 20 kilometres, the RCMP estimated when it passed through Manitoba on Wednesday.
“It’s not true what they say, they say nonsense”, indicated to the Duty a volunteer who asked that her name not be published, since the organization of Quebec convoys does not speak to the media. “It will be a historic moment, it will be so big […] I might be stuck on the freeway for ten hours, because it’s going to be so congested. »
The woman, who says she was discriminated against for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination, summed up the convoys’ demands as follows: “We don’t want to kill anyone, we’re not anti anything. We just want the freedom we had before. »
The convoy goes international
In the United States, viewers of the Fox News network heard ex-Canadian hockey player Theo Fleury on Wednesday announcing 1.4 million protesters in Ottawa. “Right now in Canada there is one of the biggest revolutions. [Les camionneurs] will stay until [Justin] Trudeau resign or give us back our rights and freedoms,” he told host Laura Ingraham.
Donald Trump Jr., son of the former US president, called the convoy participants “patriots” against “medical discrimination”. Billionaire Elon Musk also praised Canadian truckers on Twitter. A Facebook group related to the initiative has also been founded in Australia. The page had 42,000 members early Thursday evening.
” [Ce qui se passe au Canada] could very well spread to other countries,” according to Stephanie Carvin, security expert and associate professor of international relations at Carleton University. “One of the key elements of this movement against sanitary measures is that it is transnational. »
Former Canadian Security Intelligence Service agent Michel Juneau-Katsuya is adamant: “Making the connection with what happened at the Capitol on January 6 is not at all far-fetched.”
The presence of disruptive elements attracts the attention of security and intelligence services, he says. “Most people in the procession are reasonable. The problem is that we find more and more hotheads who use a certain momentum. On January 6, 2021, a mob encouraged by former President Donald Trump rioted on the grounds of the US Capitol.
“The government will not be dismissed. [Donc] how long will it last, and will people become desperate? It could become violent later,” notes Stéphanie Carvin. The security service of the Parliament of Ottawa has also warned elected officials in the capital region that demonstrators could go to their residence or office.
On Thursday, the GoFundMe platform donated one million to the nearly six and a half million dollars raised for the convoy by a controversial organizer. Proof of good management of the peaceful demonstration is required for access to the rest.
“I was proud of that, to be a trucker,” says long-distance truck driver Frédéric Bisson, who does not intend to participate in the convoy. He is sorry for the harm that the event can do to the image of his profession. “The speech really started to go wrong. […] Because of that, we pass for a gang of cowboys. »