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Trudeau slams 'unacceptable' protests as police warn truckers
Published7 hours ago
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60327794
Trudeau speaks in parliament
IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has hit out at protests by truckers around the country as "unacceptable".
Speaking to parliament in Ottawa, he defended the Covid restrictions that have prompted truckers to converge on the nation's capital.
Ottawa police meanwhile warned protesters could be arrested, and a conviction might cost them their jobs.
The protests in Ottawa and at two Canada-US border crossings have been going on for two weeks."...
The truckers are protesting against a rule requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully immunised against coronavirus. The demonstrators have also voiced opposition to Covid passports and mask mandates.
Mr Trudeau has refused to budge on federal Covid measures, even as provinces begin lifting their restrictions.
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Prince Edward Island have all announced plans to lift most mitigation measures this month. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are also easing some restrictions.
On Tuesday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said pandemic-related rules had "disrupted and even destroyed livelihoods" in the province.
In Coutts, Alberta, on the border with the US state of Montana, RCMP officers began issuing tickets on Wednesday to remove dozens of trucks that have been blocking that international crossing for about two weeks. No arrests have been reported, and authorities said that enforcement would take place in "stages" beginning with information gathering.
"Really it's going to be up to them," said RCMP Superintendent Roberta McKale, calling on them to move on their own.
"Up until this point it's been us asking them and this afternoon we don't have an option, we're going to have to use our enforcement options to have that happen."
Mr Trudeau has faced criticism from within his own party over his handling of the protests, which come as infections from the Omicron variant decline significantly.
Truckers cooking food near the Canadian parliament
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Quebec MP Joël Lightbound, a fellow Liberal, criticised the prime minister this week for "demonising" groups that disagree with Covid mandates.
"It's becoming harder and harder to know when public health stops and where politics begins," Mr Lightbound said. "It's time to stop dividing Canadians and pitting one part of the population against another."
Interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen accused Mr Trudeau on Wednesday of wanting a "permanent pandemic".
"The prime minister needs to put his ego aside," she said. "He needs to do what's right for the country. He needs to to end the mandates. He needs to end the restrictions."
Night falls on the Ambassador Bridge with protesters in the foreground
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Protests continue at the Ambassador Bridge
At a news conference on Wednesday, organisers of the Freedom Convoy said protesters were "upbeat". They added that the truckers were resting so as to be "re-energised" for weekend protests, which they likened to a "festival".
Reacting to the police warning, a lawyer for the protesters maintained in a statement that their actions were lawful.
"Noisy, inconvenient or unwanted protests are protected and must be facilitated," the lawyer said.
The protesters have raised $7.8m on website GiveSendGo as of Wednesday after GoFundMe cancelled their fundraiser and began refunding some $10m in donations.
Republican officials in at least two US states - Texas and Missouri - have opened investigations into GoFundMe over the decision.
The protests in Canada have inspired similar events around the world from Australia and New Zealand to France. Online chatter is building for a trucker protest in Washington DC."
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