The Washington Post - USA (2022-02-13)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A

BY MIRIAM BERGER

ottawa — Canada’s capital is
under two states of emergency,
one local and another provincial.
“Freedom Convoy” protesters are
being threatened with fines, pris-
on time, and the loss of their
licenses and possibly their liveli-
hoods for blocking roads and im-
peding transportation.
If the idea was to intimidate or
scare the protesters, it has not
been working. Their mood has
been unabashedly celebratory.
There’s a swagger in people’s
stride as they stroll through Otta-
wa for what they describe as a
gathering of the like-minded.
Many are unvaccinated. All are
unmasked. They are Canadians
with a shared vision of freedom
who are busting loose, and they
are undeterred.
Hours after the second state of
emergency was called Friday, pro-
testers held night raves in the
besieged streets of Ottawa, in be-
tween the tractor-trailers clog-
ging the city for the third consecu-
tive weekend.
“I don’t see any emergency
here,” said Daniel Alexandrov, 24,
as he looked around at the em-
boldened crowd and the police
keeping watch. The song “We’re
Not Gonna Take It” blared from
loudspeakers.
“Everybody’s having a good
time partying,” he said, noting the
jovial crowds despite the cold and
light rain.
Alexandrov, a father of one, in-
stalls siding on large homes
around his hometown near Niag-
ara Falls and came in for the week-
end with friends to protest. “Ev-
erybody’s smiling. It feels like, you
know, a friendly neighborhood.”
For many Ottawa residents, the
past two weeks of gridlock, horn-
blaring, intimidation, and reports
of vandalism and hate crimes
have been anything but friendly.
Bus routes have been rerouted.
Roads and businesses are
blocked. Confederate flags and
swastikas have made appear -
ances. Monuments have been de-
faced. Far-right extremist groups
and right-wing American media
have taken up the cause.
The protest was sparked by U.S.
and Canadian rules requiring
cross-border truckers to be fully
vaccinated. But it quickly expand-
ed into a movement against pan-
demic restrictions more broadly,
which are mostly imposed by

provinces, and against Canadian

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance,

an industry group, has de-

nounced the protest, noting that

the vast majority of Canadian

truckers are vaccinated and that

many of the convoy’s organizers

are not truckers.

But the protesters are confi-

dent in their righteousness. Dis-

missing polls and scientific stud-

ies, they say they are tacitly

backed by “the silent majority” —

as well as millions of dollars

raised online from donors, many

of whom remain anonymous and

some of whom have U.S. ties.

With a well-organized web

keeping food and jerrycans flow-

ing, they said they are fed up and

fueled up for the long haul.

On Friday evening in Ottawa,

Dean Kio received a fine of 80

Canadian dollars (U.S. $63) for

each of his three small trucks he

parked in the street outside a

hotel where some organizers were

staying.

It’s what “freedom costs,” said

the 33-year-old from the Niagara

region who works in the snow-

blowing business.

He said he could afford to pay

the fines — but also figured he

would not have to. He expects

truckers to contest the tickets

and, backed by lawyers, draw out

the process in court. In the mean-

time, he has kept his vehicles

parked in the road.

Many Ottawa residents have

criticized the police for allowing

protesters to continue to occupy

the city’s downtown. Critics have

cited cases in which protests by

Black and Indigenous Canadians

were met with a far swifter and

heavier police response.

The protesters see their occu-

pation not as a criminal enter-

prise, but as a massive block party

in the name of freedom.

Maurice Vanspronsen, 58, who

is from Beamsville in Ontario, has

been living out of his truck since

Jan. 28, the convoy’s first day. On

Friday he was flipping large pan-

cakes for passersby on a gas grill.

A young girl happily devoured

one.

Vanspronsen owns his vehicle,

like most of the truckers here, and

has worked for 15 years driving

long hauls between Canada and

the United States. Now he’s unvac-

cinated and unable to travel.

He is angry that truckers such

as him, once ranked as essential

workers, are now “blacklisted,” he

said. Here he has been welcomed.

“The propane just comes, noth-

ing has to be paid for,” Vansprons-

en said. “I haven’t had to spend

any money on anything since I

came.”

In the blocks leading up to the

convoy, Ottawa’s Rideau Center, a

large downtown mall, was closed

Jan. 29 after it was overrun by

protesters without face masks.

Many other stores were closed

Saturday along Rideau Street, a

major thoroughfare with high-

end clothing stores, tattoo parlors

and bubble tea shops. Protesters,

many draped in Canadian flags,

clearly stood apart from mask-

wearing residents.

Nearby, truck-clogged Welling-

ton Street was abuzz with blocks

of trucks, food stations and make-

shift stages. Homemade signs dis-

paraging Trudeau, the scientific

community and covid-19-related

mandates lined vehicles and con-

crete barriers alongside fluttering

Canadian flags.

Some protesters posted live

feeds on social media as they

walked. Others shouted “free-

dom” or “liberté” as a call and

response. Truck horns blared in

defiance of a temporary injunc-

tion granted Monday to silence

them. The smell of fuel filled the

air. At one stage, set up with the

Canadian Parliament as the back-

drop, a woman sang the Canadian

national anthem, followed by a

rendition of Beyoncé’s “Freedom.”

For Christina Poitras, 40, it was

a little liberated corner of her

country.

“It’s so awesome and peaceful,

and everyone’s so nice,” Poitras

said Friday. She was visiting for

the second weekend with her

three children, parents and hus-

band, a sheet-metal worker. “I

chitchat with new people.”

Poitras, who lives about 45 min-

utes outside Ottawa, home-

schools her children, ages 11, 7,

and 2, and she is opposed to the

coronavirus vaccines and mask-

wearing. She said she is worried

her children could miss out on

typical activities, such as playing

on sports teams, because of her

stances.

“They don’t get to go to restau-

rants and movies,” she said. Here

they can roam free.

That freedom has a cost for

others, including Ottawa resi-

dents such as Bobby Ramsay.

Ramsay, 47, has spent the past

four afternoons set up among the

truck convoy offering to engage

with demonstrators. He has come

with a sign with a blunt message:

“You are hurting the residents of

Ottawa. Please go.”

Most conversations, he said,

have been overall friendly.

“I came to bring the message

that there are quite a lot of people

living in the protest areas that

because of the convoy’s presence

have unfortunately been experi-

encing some malicious behavior,”

he said.

He cited residents complaining

about people defecating in their

gardens, harassing those wearing

face masks or following women.

He said some residents have felt

unsafe, afraid to walk around at

night because of the racist and

intimidating language of some

demonstrators.

He said he understands the

frustration with restrictions and

the pandemic itself. “But Ottawa

shouldn’t be collateral damage,”

he said.

Vanspronsen, the trucker mak-

ing pancakes, has heard this senti-

ment but is not deterred. For him,

that’s another cost of his “demo-

cratic right to voice an opinion.”

“It’s unfortunate with the ha-

rassment,” he said. “But there are

always bad apples in every basket.

... There are a lot of seriously

frustrated people.”

Undeterred by government threats, protesters celebrate in Ottawa

ED JONES/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Demonstrators sit in a hot tub between trucks during the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Ottawa on Saturday. The area is under two states of

emergency; hours after the second was declared, protesters held raves in the streets Friday night.

BY AMANDA COLETTA,

CLAIRE PARKER

AND ANDREW JEONG

ottawa — Canada’s capital saw
an influx Saturday of anti-govern-
ment and anti-vaccine-mandate
demonstrators for a third straight
weekend, while police in Ontario
moved in to clear protesters par-
tially blocking a vital U.S.-Canada
border crossing in defiance of an
injunction ordering them to leave.
Police in Windsor, Ontario, said
Saturday morning that they had
“commenced enforcement” at the
Ambassador Bridge, a key trade
corridor to Detroit. By late morn-
ing, police had begun steadily
pushing protesters away from the
bridge. Late Saturday night, pro-
testers and police were at a stale-
mate near the barricaded bridge.
Across the Atlantic, French pro-
testers, galvanized by their Cana-
dian counterparts, temporarily
blocked the fabled Champs-Ély-
sées, a central artery in Paris,
despite an order banning them
from entering the capital.
As another week drew to a
close, the global spread of a move-
ment that began with a minority
of Canadian truckers objecting to
vaccination requirements had
come into focus. From Europe to
Australia, demonstrations repli-
cating the tactics and slogans of
the Canadian convoy mounted
challenges to authorities. Politi-
cians and police sought to contain
protests with mixed results, as
threats of punishment did little to
deter demonstrators who vowed
to return in the weeks to come.
It was one of several warnings
issued Friday to protesters of the
self-styled “Freedom Convoy,”
which has taken over the capital
city. Protesters have blockaded
several U.S.-Canada border cross-
ings and inspired similar protests
abroad.
Protesters turned up anyway.
Police officers by the Ambassa-
dor Bridge on Saturday stood in a
line in front of blockaders on one
side, while some police vehicles
were stationed on the opposite
side. They were accompanied by
buses, including a school bus, and
ambulances.
Windsor police tweeted Satur-
day evening that they were towing
and ticketing vehicles there.
Some vehicles began moving
away from the area, while demon-

strators on foot displayed the Ca-

nadian flag and sang the country’s

national anthem, chanting “Free-

dom!” periodically. Protesters be-

gan dismantling tents at the site

and packing up grilling supplies.

A wall of police officers slowly

pushed protesters away from the

bridge, warning that demonstra-

tors would be arrested if they did

not leave.

But more people on foot had

swelled the protesters’ ranks by

early afternoon, with demonstra-

tors appearing to outnumber po-

lice officers, according to report-

ers from the Canadian Broadcast-

ing Corp. News, Canada’s public

broadcaster.

Hundreds of people joined a

counterprotest Saturday after-

noon in Ottawa, marching and

chanting “Whose streets? Our

streets!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, this

trucker convoy has got to go!”

An Ontario judge granted an

injunction F riday, ordering the

demonstrators to leave the bridge.

Auto industry groups, with the

backing of the city of Windsor,

sought the injunction. The judge

gave protesters until 7 p.m. Friday

to leave the area.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

called the blockade a “siege” and

declared a provincial state of

emergency Friday, warning pro-

testers of “severe” consequences,

including fines up to $78,500 and

prison terms. He said he would

convene a provincial cabinet on

Saturday to urgently enact mea-

sures to make it “crystal clear”

that it is illegal to block critical

infrastructure.

Still, hundreds of demonstra-

tors gathered on the grounds of

the Ontario legislature on Satur-

day, Canadian television network

Global News reported — even as

the city issued an extreme cold

weather alert. Temperatures were

expected to dip t o 5 degrees Satur-

day night.

In Nova Scotia, protesters on

Saturday blocked the Marine At-

lantic terminal in North Sydney —

the launch point for important

ferry routes to Canada’s eastern-

most provinces. Demonstrations

also have targeted border cross-

ings in Manitoba and Alberta, as

well as Sarnia in Ontario.

In Paris, protesters blocking

parts of the Champs-Élysées on

Saturday cut off traffic on parts of

the capital’s most recognizable

avenue and the roundabout that

encircles the Arc de Triomphe.

The protesters made it into cen-

tral Paris, despite an order ban-

ning them from entering the capi-

tal and the deployment of more

than 7,000 police officers. Author-

ities said earlier in the day that

they had prevented 500 vehicles

from entering and had penalized

hundreds of people.

Similar convoys headed to oth-

er European cities on Saturday. In

the Netherlands, traffic came to a

standstill in parts of The Hague,

the seat of the Dutch government.

Officials in the Belgian capital of

Brussels were bracing for convoys

that may arrive there Monday,

despite an entry ban.

Back in North America, the

Ambassador Bridge is a crucial

conduit for the auto industry on

both sides of the border, and the

blockade has disrupted auto

plants as far away as Alabama.

At least five automakers —

Ford, GM, Honda, Chrysler’s par-

ent company and Toyota — have

experienced production disrup-

tions at their U.S. or Canada

plants because of the protests,

according to news reports.

Ottawa police called for rein-

forcements this past week, saying

they lacked the resources to dis-

mantle the protests.

The Ottawa Police Service said

in a news release Saturday that it

had established a command cen-

ter to handle the influx of more

than 4,000 protesters. It noted

concerns about safety “arising

from aggressive, illegal behaviour

by many demonstrators.”

“We have a plan to end this

unlawful occupation and await

the necessary reinforcements to

do so,” the statement said.

Protesters draped in Canadian

flags stood in the snow in front of

the Parliament building on Satur-

day as horns blared from trucks

despite a court order forbidding

honking. The atmosphere was cel-

ebratory and defiant, with some

demonstrators dancing along to

upbeat music blasting from

speakers. Children bundled in

hats and coats held signs reading

“Go Truckers.” Police were scarce.

Trudeau on Saturday was slat-

ed to chair a meeting of the inci-

dent response group, an emergen-

cy committee made up of some

cabinet ministers and other sen-

ior officials, “on the ongoing ille-

gal blockades,” his office said.

The convoy started as a protest

of U.S. and Canadian rules requir-

ing truckers crossing the border

to be fully vaccinated. But it has

grown into a broader movement

against pandemic restrictions —

which are mostly imposed by the

provinces — and the Trudeau gov-

ernment.

Officials have noted that

90 percent of Canadian truck

drivers are fully vaccinated. The

Canadian Trucking Alliance, an

industry group, has distanced it-

self from the protests. Many of the

key organizers are not truckers

but figures in fringe extremist and

anti-government groups. Some

protesters have flown Confeder-

ate flags or flags with swastikas on

them, while some Ottawa resi-

dents say they have been intimi-

dated, subjected to racist vitriol

and harassed for wearing masks.

Troy Holman, a 32-year-old

Windsor resident who has pro-

tested this past week, told the

Associated Press that the govern-

ment overreached with its pan-

demic restrictions, which he said

hurt his wife’s small business.

“Unfortunately, we have to be

here, because this is what’s going

to get the attention of the govern-

ment,” Holman said at the Ambas-

sador Bridge, before the judge’s

ruling was announced.

Victoria Stecjuk, who made the

six-hour journey from London,

Ontario, to Ottawa for this week-

end’s protests, said the state of

emergency — and the frigid

weather — would do little to deter

demonstrators.

“We’re going to keep coming,

we’re here in this weather, we’re

not going to stop,” she told The

Washington Post. “We’re doing

this to get our freedom back, and

that’s why we’re here.”

Protesters in the capital ap-

peared skeptical that the police

would crack down.

“We are a peaceful bunch. I

don’t believe the police are even

going to make a move on this,”

Mike Cohen of Montreal said.

“The police are not going to come

here and arrest people when

there’s children here, there’s the

elderly, there’s people of all na-

tionalities.”

Protesters have tapped into

broader pandemic fatigue and

benefited in part from foreign

support. Trudeau said Friday after

a call with President Biden that at

least 50 percent of fundraising for

the convoy on some websites has

originated from the United States.

Toronto-Dominion Bank said

Saturday that it had frozen two

personal bank accounts into

which more than $1 million had

been deposited to support the

convoy protesters, Reuters re-

ported. TD asked Ontario’s high

court on Friday to take the funds

and to either send them to the

intended recipients or return

them to donors.

Keith Wilson, a lawyer for the

convoy, told Reuters that the pro-

testers would seek a court order

next week to release the dona-

tions to a new nonprofit organiza-

tion set up to manage them.

Right-wing political figures in

the United States continued to

express support for the Canadian

demonstrators. “Civil disobedi-

ence is a time-honored tradition

in our country,” Sen. Rand Paul

(R-Ky.) said in an interview with

the conservative website Daily

Signal. He added: “I hope the

truckers do come to America.”

Parker reported from Washington,

and Jeong reported from Seoul. Adela

Suliman in London, Rick Noack in

Paris, Meryl Kornfield in Washington

and Zoeann Murphy in Ottawa

contributed to this report.

Police try to clear protesters on Ontario border bridge

ED JONES/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Vaccine-mandate protesters demonstrate outside Canada’s Parliament in Ottawa on Friday. Protesters

have blockaded several U.S.-Canada border crossings and inspired similar demonstrations abroad.