(NewsNation Now) — Police in Ottawa, Canada, are vowing to crack down on a protest by hundreds of truckers who have shut down the city for eight days in a demonstration against COVID-19 measures.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that a military response to the ongoing protests is “not in the cards right now.” On the other side of the country, a blockade in Milk River, Alberta, is choking off traffic and trying to cross into the U.S. Both groups of protesters are demanding an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
“If we let this go, where does it stop? truck driver Adam Stirr said. “What are they going to do next?”
Thousands of protesters railing against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions descended on the capital last weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill. Police estimate about 250 remain.
Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly said this week that all options are on the table, including calling in the military, to end the ongoing demonstration that was being called an “occupation” by some on the city council.
Police in Canada’s capital say about 150 extra extra officers will be deployed to central areas of Ottawa affected by the protest.
“We are planning for a range of potential risks, including but not limited to counter-demonstrations, blocking of intersections, interfering with critical infrastructures, and unlawful and violent activity,” Ottawa’s acting Deputy Police Chief Trish Ferguson said.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance is estimating that about 15% (about 16,000) of truckers in Canada are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
But those like Stirr, who said he is vaccinated, made clear that they are are protesting the mandate and not the vaccine.
“There are anti-vaccine people here, but that’s not the purpose of the protests,” Stirr said. “The purpose of the protests is to give people freedom of choice, freedom of bodily autonomy. People should be able to decide what medical procedures they undergo without fear of being having to be ejected from society.”
The protesters are also calling for the removal of Trudeau’s government, though it is responsible for few of the measures; most were put in place by provincial governments.
Hundreds more truckers are expected to enter Ottawa this weekend, with demonstrations also planned for Toronto and Quebec City.
Some have said they won’t leave until all COVID-19 restrictions and mandates are done away with.
Organizers, including one who has espoused white supremacist views, had raised millions for the cross-country “freedom truck convoy” against vaccine mandates and other restrictions.
A Facebook group organizing a U.S. convoy had amassed 130,000 members before it was removed from the social media platform.