Toronto: Crowds cheer, flag and hoist signs in Ontario on Thursday as parts of a convoy of truck drivers headed to Ottawa to protest the Canadian government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for drivers across the border.
In a crowded mall parking lot north of Toronto, supporters threw cash and food at truck drivers in their vehicles on Thursday, while others held signs of protest against the government as transportation trucks rolled slowly. Some people harassed the journalists covering the rally. Others cheered the trucks from the overpass.
A convoy of truck drivers descended on the Canadian capital, prompting police to prepare for the potential for violence and politicians warning against rhetoric associated with the demonstration. A top parliament official has warned lawmakers to avoid protests and close their doors amid reports that their private homes were being targeted.
Truckers are, in part, protesting a new rule, which took effect on January 15, requires truck drivers entering Canada to be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States imposed a similar requirement on truck drivers entering that country on January 22.
Canada’s truckers rule, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in support of the convoy.
Some have come out against the mandate with ultra-right wing views. An online video includes a man expressing hope that the rally will turn into the Canadian equivalent of a January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Opposition conservative leader Erin O’Toole said she would meet the truck drivers but not the organizers of the convoy.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance estimates that 16,000 of the approximately 15% truck drivers in Canada have not been fully vaccinated.
Mike Fabinsky, a truck driver from Barrie, Ontario, said the mandate meant he would no longer be able to operate cross-border routes.
You want to get vaccinated, go ahead, your choice. I don’t want to get vaccinated, it’s my choice, he said.
Fabinsky said he has been driving the truck for 20 years, but hasn’t been able to travel to the US since January 15.
He said I was going non-stop till the beginning of last Saturday. Now I can’t go. I can’t work anymore.
The federal government ended the exemption of truck drivers from the vaccine mandate two weeks ago, meaning Canadian truckers need to be fully vaccinated if they want to avoid the two-week quarantine upon arrival in Canada from the US.
Police in Ottawa have said they are planning more than 2,000 protesters.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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