OTTAWA – No longer with trucks but with Canadian flags and signs against the vaccination obligation. In the air only a chorus of voices singing O Canada. A group of no vax and no mask protesters returned to Ottawa on Saturday to reiterate their position and protest against the government.
From Confederation Park, protesters walked to Parliament Hill, this time with the approval of Ottawa law enforcement. “We spoke to the police in advance and were allowed to gather to protest in Parliament Hill – organizer Jerome O’Sullivan told CTV – we are just a group of Canadians trying to end all federal and provincial obligations for Covid and we protest in peace”.
On Thursday, Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell said “legal protests will continue to be allowed in Ottawa” and urged protesters to ensure that they remain “peaceful and respectful.”
A demonstration, this, which comes a week after the mass intervention of the police to remove the Freedom Convoy that had camped in the streets of downtown Ottawa for three weeks. To succeed in clearing the city of protesters, Prime Minister Trudeau had invoked the Emergencies Act, 200 people were arrested, over 100 trucks taken away. But this time, according to O’Sullivan, things are different. “We must make sure not to leave the boundaries established by law – said the organizer – we will be here every day during the week, perhaps from 9 am to 5 pm, but we will not honk or disturb the residents”.
The protest, in essence, continues but without creating inconvenience and upheaval for the citizens of Ottawa. “We want everyone to have freedom of choice and we are concerned that this right is jeopardized, that’s why we are here today – said Laura Clark present at the event together with her husband – we are here for children and to protect their future”.
It’s a different approach, this one of Saturday’s protesters, from those who held Ottawa in check until last week.
Meanwhile, after Tamara Lich, Pat King, one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy, was also denied bail. Justice of the Peace Andrew Seymour said the evidence presented by the prosecution depicts him as an individual who has the “clear intention to continue his protest and is indifferent to the consequences”. According to Judge King, there is a risk that King will continue to communicate with other protest leaders or with his 354,000 followers on Facebook.
Meanwhile, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted for Global News, The approval by Canadians of the management of the Freedom Convoy demonstration by Justin Trudeau was 43%. 36% supported the way truck drivers behaved during the occupation.
In contrast, the survey commissioned to Nanos Research by the Globe and Mail found that only 20% considered the way in which the prime minister dealt with the situation to be positive while 31% were not impressed by his work.
