Siam Spencer with AFP 08:18, February 10, 2022

In Canada, for more than a week, hundreds of truckers from across the country have occupied the Parliament district in Ottawa and other cities.

The movement quickly turned into a protest against health measures as a whole and against the government in general, which is beginning to give in to this protest movement.

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For 13 days, Canadian truck drivers have been waging an unprecedented rebellion in Ottawa and other cities across the country.

They are between 400 and 500, in their trucks, to protest against the sanitary measures imposed by the government.

A protest movement launched to protest against the obligation to vaccinate Canadian truckers to cross the border with the United States.

The demonstration quickly widened to all the measures to fight against Covid-19, from the vaccine to the wearing of the mask, considered to be draconian.

Some concessions in some states

Faced with the scale of the mobilization, the Canadian government began to make concessions.

For the first time since the implementation of new restrictions linked to the Omicron wave, Quebec has confirmed a detailed schedule of the relief to come.

Some provinces have announced new relief: Saskatchewan and Alberta will even give up the vaccine passport, believing that “the benefits no longer outweigh the costs”.

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A victory for these demonstrators, but which is not enough according to Simon Vallée, one of the leaders of the movement.

He would like all measures related to Covid-19 to be repealed.

This truck driver left Stanstead on January 28th.

His truck is parked in one of the streets of Ottawa, where he arrived among the first.

He is waiting for the announcement of the end of the restrictions to break camp, even if it means sacrificing his livelihood: “It is something that is close to my heart.”

Owner of his truck, this demonstration blocks any inflow of money for Simon Vallée for whom the game is worth the candle, as he explains: "My truck is not working, I have debts, but I don't care. ."

Truck horns silenced

Since Monday evening, in order for the city to regain a certain sound peace, horns have been banned after a court decision.

"We are still blocking the streets but we are not noisy as we were before," adds Simon Vallée.

And for good reason, some of these drivers have decided to make their voices heard differently: make the engines of their trucks roar, making the air unbreathable.

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In front of Simon Vallée's truck, a mailbox is placed, in which letters of support can be placed.

Support that is not lacking: nearly a third of Canadians support the movement and 44% of vaccinated people understand “the cause and the frustrations conveyed by the protesters”.

© Siam Spencer

The mailbox placed in front of Simon Vallée's truck.


Credits: Simon Vallée.

Encouragement confirmed by Simon Vallée on the spot: he even says he sometimes meets little boys who tell him that they want to be truck drivers to "become a hero".

This leader is moved when he addresses the issue of support: “I saw the love, the joy and the hope of people to live a future without Covid… These are emotions that cannot be explained”.

And these encouragements, the driver will need it, he affirms that as long as all the sanitary restrictions, from the wearing of the mask to the vaccination pass, are not repealed, he will not break camp.

Justin Trudeau: the right bet?

For his part, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, does not seem ready to change his position.

Remained silent for several days, he denounced the movement on Monday and felt that "it had to stop" before adding on Tuesday: "We are all tired of the restrictions, of having to make sacrifices almost every day, but our responsibility as a government is to ensure the health and safety of everyone" in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister who is betting on a movement that will run out of steam on its own.

A movement that goes beyond Canadian borders

The "freedom convoy" has been exported internationally: similar movements have been reported in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, England, New Zealand and even Australia without necessarily having such an impact.

In France, opponents of health restrictions met on Saturday in Paris.

The first convoys set off for the capital on Wednesday.