Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ruled out, Thursday, February 3, the possibility of sending the army to dislodge truckers who oppose sanitary measures and have occupied the federal capital Ottawa for several days.

Ottawa has been the scene since Saturday of a protest movement, initiated by truckers to denounce the health restrictions and the policy of the government of Justin Trudeau in the face of the pandemic.

“There is no question for the moment of sending the army”, declared the Canadian Prime Minister, considering that it was necessary to be “very, very careful before deploying the army when Canadian citizens are involved” .

But the latter, currently in solitary confinement because he tested positive last Monday, again called on the demonstrators to leave the premises, an option rejected by the latter ready for a showdown with the government.

Several busy downtown streets

"Our departure will be when the Prime Minister does the right thing and puts an end to all obligations and restrictions," said Tamara Lich, one of the leaders of the party movement in the west of the country, at a press conference on Thursday.

Carrying the Canadian flag on their shoulders, or anti-Trudeau signs, the most determined demonstrators still occupied several streets in the city center on Thursday, noted an AFP journalist.

On Saturday, there were hundreds of trucks and 15,000 people.

In front of Parliament on Wellington Street, closed to traffic, Shannon Laurent was busy installing a grill to feed the demonstrators.

“I do not agree with the vaccination obligation because we should be able to choose”, explains to AFP the resident of Ottawa, who does not believe in the effectiveness of vaccines against the coronavirus.

Bal Tiwana traveled thousands of miles from Calgary (west) to loudly proclaim his opposition: "me and my wife used to travel all the time, and we can't sit on a plane anymore", he explained to AFP, revolting against this measure which "impairs (his) freedom of movement".

Since November, in Canada, it is imperative to be vaccinated to take a train or a plane.

Saturday will be crucial

The mobilization of truckers is only supported according to opinion polls by a minority of Canadians, 32%, according to a recent poll.

In Canada, the health measures established by the provinces remain very restrictive, among the most restrictive in the West.

The province of Quebec is notably one of the regions in the world which has imposed the most days of confinement on its population.

"The majority of the population does not seem to follow (the movement of truckers), but there is still a significant minority who identify with it" now, commented political scientist Daniel Béland referring to the "divisions of Canadian society".

This now represents a larger fringe of the population than just the unvaccinated, which corresponds to 10% of Canadian adults.

The next crucial day in this tussle will be Saturday as protesters hope to once again be joined by crowds in the streets of Ottawa and similar demonstrations are planned in Toronto and Quebec.

The truckers, originally mobilized against the vaccination obligation to cross the Canada-US border, promise to hold out over time, in particular thanks to a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe which has enabled them to raise more than 10 million Canadian dollars. (7 million euros).

With AFP

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