Canada: Court upholds precautionary measures against anti-vaccine protesters

A Canadian court on Monday (7/2) approved an application for precautionary measures against the anti-vaccine protesters who have occupied the center of the capital for 10 days.

With the temporary precautionary measures, lasting 10 days, the goal is to stop the continuous honking of trucks in Ottawa. A lawyer had made the request in the context of a wider appeal by city residents.

The demand states that incessant honking is a basic tactic of the protesters, “organized and designed by the defendants so as to cause serious inconvenience” to the residents of the capital.

The police prevent the protesters from refueling

THE mayor of Ottawa on Monday (7/2) asked the Canadian government to appoint a mediator, who will undertake to talk to the protesters in order to put an end to the mobilizations that have paralyzed the federal capital for ten days.

On Sunday, judging that the situation is “out of control”, the Mayor Jim Watson declared the city a state of emergency, without specifying what measures it intends to impose.

The “freedom convoy” started as a protest movement of bus drivers against the measure that imposes vaccination on professionals who cross its borders Canada with USA to turn into a universal protest against the restrictive measures to deal with the pandemic and against his government Justin Trinto.

“Right now, we are trying to get in touch with all the federal parties so that we can start talks and see how we can proceed,” she said earlier on Monday (7/2). Tamara Leach, one of the organizers of the mobilization. “We want the abolition of compulsory vaccination, restrictions and the restoration of the rights and freedoms of Of CanadaHe added, arguing that authorities were trying to stifle the movement.

Her police Ottawa, after being criticized for failing to prevent the occupation of the city center, where many shops remain closed, is now blocking the refueling of protesters, mainly on fuel. “Anyone attempting to provide material assistance to the protesters is in danger of being arrested,” police said.

Seven arrests have been made so far, many vehicles have been confiscated and about 100 calls for traffic violations have been cut.

Its inhabitants Ottawain desperation of the chaos caused by this movement, filed a collective lawsuit against the organizers, demanding compensation of 10 million dollars Canada (approximately EUR 7 million).

Over the weekend, the demonstrations spread to other major cities Canadalike Toronto and Winnipeg. They are reminiscent in their form of the demonstrations of the “yellow vests” that in the winter of 2018 paraded every weekend in the centers of many French cities.

THE Prime Minister Justin Trinto, who has been positive for the new coronavirus for a week now and is therefore in self-isolation, did not comment on the weekend’s demonstrations. Last Thursday, however, he ruled out calling on the army to restore order.

“THE Τριντό “He has nothing to gain by talking to the protesters,” she said Genevieve TelierProfessor of Political Science at University of Ottawa. Her colleague Frederic Buatiτου University of Alberta, however, did not rule out the possibility that the mobilization could turn into a “political crisis”. “THE Τριντό reacted badly at first. “He reacted very strongly and abruptly when the demonstrations started, trying to present the whole mobilization as a demonstration of the extreme right,” he explained. And “he added fuel to the fire (…) by politicizing vaccination,” especially during the pre-election period last summer, the professor added.

Although the mobilization is not supported by the majority of Of Canada (Only 32% are in favor of truckers, according to a recent poll), this figure is much higher among the 10% of unvaccinated citizens.

This weekend the police measured about 1,000 trucks and 5,000 protesters in the city, a number declined significantly compared to the previous week when the vehicles arrived at 3,000 and concentrated around 10-15,000.

A small section of the street Metcalfe – where the Parliamentthe Central Bank and various government buildings, including his office Τριντό – smelled strongly of burnt wood on Monday (7/2). Protesters in trucks, cars and tractors had posted signs denouncing everything from vaccines and measures to the environmental carbon tax. Stacks of water bottles, briquettes and diapers could be seen next to open tents and dining tables.

But at the same time, there were indications of a “counterattack” by the residents. In the windows of the ground floor, in an apartment building a few blocks away, some people had placed small signs with the phrases: “Go home, idiots” and “Vaccines save lives”.