Canada convoy: Truckers ban media as Trudeau refuses meeting and calls protest an ‘insult to truth’

Canadian truckers convoy protest continues

Ottawa mayor condemns desecration of National War Memorial, Terry Fox statue

As the truckers’ convoy that descended on Ottawa a few days ago shows no sign of departing, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he has tested positive for Covid-19.

“This morning, I tested positive for Covid-19,” he tweeted. “I’m feeling fine – and I’ll continue to work remotely this week while following public health guidelines. Everyone, please get vaccinated and get boosted.”

On Monday, in an address to the nation, Mr Trudeau said Canadians were disgusted by the behaviour of some of the protesters.

“We are not intimidated by those who hurl abuse at small business workers and steal food from the homeless,” he said. “We won’t give in to those who fly racist flags. We won’t cave to those who engage in vandalism.”

Ottawa police say the number of protestors and vehicles has significantly reduced in the past 12 hours and there have been no deaths or injuries reported.

They have launched multiple investigations into the ‘desecration’ of monuments by the Freedom Convoy protesters, of hate crimes, and of other illegal behaviour. A hotline is being set up for residents to report any incidents to the authorities.

Key Points

• Protesters say they are not leaving Ottawa
• Ottawa major says residents feel like ‘prisoners’ in own city
• Ottawa Police launch investigations into Convoy ‘desecration’ and ‘illegal’ behaviour
• Trudeau blasts ‘fringe minority’ behind trucking convoy

[30 January 2022 07:45 · Graeme Massie]

VIDEO: Huge crowds on Parliament Hill as Canadian trucker convoy protests continue in Ottawa

ICYMI: Demonstrations kicked off in full force on Saturday from Canadian truckers and others against Covid mandates.

A video feed from Ottawa’s Parliament Hill captured the massive crowd.

[30 January 2022 13:28 · Harriet Sinclair]

Donald Trump gives shoutout to truckers

Former President Donald Trump gave a shoutout to protesting truckers as he held a rally in Conroe, Texas.

During a speech in which he also suggested he would pardon Capitol rioters if he ran and won the 2024 presidential election, Mr Trump said: “We want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way”.

Eric Garcia reports more on the rally, below

[30 January 2022 20:06 · Graeme Massie]

Protesters say they will stay in Ottawa ‘as long as it takes’

Organisers told a press conference, which some Canadian outlets were banned from, that they will continue protesting as long as they can fuel their trucks, according to CTV’s Glen McGregor.

The protesters have raised more than $8m in donations via a GoFundMe account.

[30 January 2022 20:31 · Graeme Massie]

Soup kitchen says donations have swamped website

The Shepherds of Good Hope said on twitter that one its community members had been assaulted and a security guard was threatened and called “racial slurs” during a “difficult 24 hours.”

After the report the soup kitchen’s website was reportedly inundated with people trying to donate money to the cause.

[30 January 2022 21:01 · Graeme Massie]

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center ‘disturbed’ at Holocaust symbols at protest

“We are disturbed by the appearance of Holocaust symbols at the rally in Ottawa yesterday protesting government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. These symbols of hate and genocide have no place in Ottawa or anywhere in Canada,” the group said on Twitter on Sunday.

Some protesters were pictured with Nazi Swastika flags during the demonstration in Ottawa.

[30 January 2022 21:33 · Graeme Massie]

Canada’s House of Commons will be at work Monday

“The House will reconvene at 11 a.m. tomorrow, as planned, in accordance with the Standing Orders,” the Speaker’s office confirmed on Sunday.

No comment has been made on what security arrangements will be in place with thousands of protesters expected to srtill be in Ottawa.

[30 January 2022 23:01 · Graeme Massie]

Professor says despite ‘misinformation’ most Canadians support vaccine mandates

Timothy Caulfield, a professor of health law and science policy, took to Twitter to say that “too often debates dominated by misinformation (which is strongly correlated with opposition).”

[31 January 2022 00:03 · Graeme Massie]

Ottawa Police launch investigations into Convoy ‘desecration’ and ‘illegal’ behaviour

ICYMI: Ottawa Police have launched investigations into the ‘desecration’ of monuments by the Freedom Convoy protesters and of ‘illegal’ behaviour.

“Several criminal investigations are underway in relation to the desecration of the National War Memorial/Terry Fox statue, threatening/illegal/intimidating behaviour to police/city workers and other individuals and damage to a city vehicle,” the force tweeted on Sunday.

“Illegal behaviour will not be tolerated and will be fully investigated. We have investigative and evidence-gathering teams in place to support the management of the demonstration. We cannot take reports through social media. Incidents must be reported to police.”

[31 January 2022 01:06 · Graeme Massie]

Soup kitchen says truckers ‘harassing’ staff for meals

ICYMI: A soup kitchen in Ottawa reported that members of the trucking convoy had been harassing its staff for meals. In a tweet, the Shepherds of Good Hope said meals had been provided to truckers after some issue but that it would not be providing food for the convoy going forward.

[31 January 2022 02:02 · Graeme Massie]

GoFundMe releases batch of donations

ICYMI: GoFundMe has released a batch of donations for truckers having put a hold on the money temporarily. According ot the fundraising page, where donations have now topped CAD $8 million, the money was put on hold due to banking regulations.

“We have some great news to share with all of you! We have received confirmation that GoFundMe has released our first batch of funds and is initiating our first transfer. We can’t thank you enough for your patience,” the post read.

“Sadly, the legacy media felt it was necessary to publish news articles implying that GoFundMe had frozen our funds for a variety of outrageous reasons. In reality, the temporary hold was due to international banking regulations which dictate many of GoFundMe policies. It is common practice with GoFundMe to conduct this kind of due diligence to ensure the funds are legitimate.“For our case, because of the overwhelming donations we have received, and we are currently the 8th fastest growing campaign in their history, the constant attempts by activists to flag our campaign as illegitimate exacerbated the already tedious process. The team at GoFundMe have been amazing to work with and we are very appreciative of their support.“The release of this first batch of funds will allow us to start processing registration forms and remittances to drivers who need our support. Initially, there will be a bottle neck because of the large number of requests we need to process, and because of payment processing times. Please bare with us as we are working as fast as we can to get this done.”