Freedom Convoy Protesters Demonstrate Against Mandates, Trudeau At Canadian Capital On Canada Day

Credit to Vox
Article by Haddon Lockyer

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On Friday, in the Canadian capital, demonstrators associated with the Freedom Convoy gathered to protest Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his COVID-19 mandates.

Friday was Canada Day, a holiday celebrating the anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Thousands of Canadians flocked to Ottawa, the country's capital, to recognize the importance of the day. This included a large group of pro-freedom protesters that had also participated in the Freedom Convoy earlier this year. During the original Freedom Convoy protests, thousands of Canadian truckers (along with many more regular citizens) drove into downtown Ottawa and peacefully made their voices heard. The protesters occupied the streets of the city, handing out free food to passerby while simultaneously cleaning and keeping order downtown. The demonstration lasted several weeks before Canada's police force became violent with the peaceful protesters. Although the protesters remained peaceful until the end, the situation escalated. As the situation grew more and more tense, police became more violent. Eventually, in February, police officers on horses trampled an elderly woman, sending her to the hospital.

​Remnants of the Freedom Convoy could be seen in last week's Canada Day protests, with a "freedom dance party" and a march to Parliament Hill taking place. The protesters were also in contact with the police before their event to make sure they would be allowed to demonstrate without any trouble.

Much of the event was planned by Veterans 4 Freedom, a group of former Canadian servicemen who have taken an avid stance against COVID mandates. Andrew MacGillvray, a V4F member, explained the nature of the event to CBC on Thursday before the protests took place. He said:

"We are going to be peaceful. We are going to be lawful. And if [police] want to try and crack down on us for peacefully protesting on Parliament Hill, then there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to deal with it at that time."

"But from us, it's going to be nothing but peace. And we're going to be lawful. And our organization has a code of conduct and we are not going to be breaking the law in any shape or form."

"We're Canadians as well. We are going to be celebrating Canada on that day. We have the right to be able to do that and we have the right to be able do that where we want."

"We are not coming to occupy your city. You just happen to live in our nation's capital."

A photo of protesters on Thursday.
Credit to CBC

The protests come as several of the original Freedom Convoy organizers, including Tamara Lich and Pat King, are facing charges for their involvement in the planning of the demonstrations. Both King and Lich are currently in jail.

One of Friday's protesters, Jerome O'Sullivan, told CBC why he was at the protest:

"We just want to keep the momentum rolling and make people aware that, you know, there's a lot of issues in this country and we don't want to go down the road to communism."

The Freedom Convoy protesters did have their fair share of counter protesters as can be seen in the photo below.

​Credit to CBC

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