OTTAWA — The latest developments on Saturday’s planned protest by truckers of COVID-19 restrictions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government. All times local.
12:40 p.m.
A Conservative MP from Saskatchewan says he recently tested positive for COVID-19 and is now isolating at home until he is symptom-free.
Gary Vidal made the comment on Twitter as part of a statement on this weekend’s truckers’ protest.
He says he would have met with those peacefully protesting in Ottawa this weekend, had Vidal been in town.
Instead, he says he is still experiencing mild symptoms.
Vidal’s statement says he sympathizes with protestors’ calls for an end to vaccine mandates, believing they have contributed to some of the anger in the country.
Vidal says he is thankful for being vaccinated, pointing to it as a reason for preventing serious illness, and is encouraging those who aren’t to consider getting the jab.
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12:20 p.m.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance says it appears a number of protestors in Ottawa have no connection to the trucking industry, adding they have a separate agenda to push.
The group is telling Canadians that many of the people they may see or hear in media reports at the trucking protest on Parliament Hill do not speak for the industry or represent truckers as a whole.
About one-tenth of truckers that haul goods are estimated to be affected by requirements on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border for drivers to be vaccinated in order to cross freely.
The alliance says in a statement that the industry must adapt and comply with this mandate, noting the vast majority of drivers have done so.
For truckers protesting the vaccination mandate at the border, the trucking alliance is asking them to be peaceful and then leave the city.
The statement adds that truckers’ actions at the demonstration will have an impact on the image of their colleagues nationally.
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11 a.m.
The sounds of honking horns are echoing around Ottawa’s downtown core.
About 100 vehicles are idling around the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, with more trucks and personal vehicles packed on Wellington Street stretching west past Parliament Hill.
Hundreds of demonstrators are marching up and down Wellington Street, which runs right in front of Parliament Hill and the Prime Minister’s Office.
The national flag is flying from some vehicles, or draped around the shoulders of some protestors, many of whom appear to be unmasked.
Some are carrying copies of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
David Santos says he came from Montreal for the protest because he believes the vaccine mandates are not health-related but what he calls a “control thing” by governments.
The event is peaceful and Ottawa police say there are no incidents to report.
In a tweet, the force also says that police resources are in place and will remain downtown until crowds disperse.
Officers are keeping emergency lanes open and plan to continue to tow vehicles obstructing those lanes and any other places police need to keep clear for public safety.
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10:30 a.m.
Organizers have cancelled a planned in-person vigil in Ottawa to mark the fifth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting that left six men dead and five others seriously wounded.
A lone gunman shot and killed six worshippers shortly after the end of evening prayers on Jan. 29, 2017.
Canadians United Against Hate had organized an inter-faith candlelight vigil for tonight at a human rights monument by Ottawa City Hall, a few blocks south of Parliament Hill.
The group now says it will be holding a virtual vigil because of the truckers’ protest in downtown Ottawa and threats of violence emanating from some attendees.
The Ottawa event is one of several organized by community groups.
The events coincide with the first National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia, which was proclaimed last April.
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10 a.m.
A crowd of demonstrators is filtering on to Parliament Hill this morning ahead of a planned protest of COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government’s pandemic policies.
Many are standing along the snow-covered lawn of Parliament Hill near the centennial flame despite the frigid air hanging over the national capital.
Ottawa police aren’t reporting any issues related to the event as people slowly roll in to the downtown core and join trucks parked along Wellington Street in front of the parliamentary buildings.
Hundreds more vehicles from Western Canada, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces are expected to arrive in the next few hours to join those already in Ottawa.
The Parliamentary Protective Service expects as many as 10,000 protesters to be in attendance today.
Though the aim of the protest is ostensibly to oppose vaccine mandates for truck drivers crossing the Canada-U.S. border, attendees have said that is only a small part of their demands.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2022.
The Canadian Press