Thousands participate in Canada anti-vax protests, swastika flags raised
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Canada's anti-vax community has been clashing with officials recently due to increased vaccine mandates.
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Thousands of trucks drove into the Canadian capital to protest vaccine mandates (AFP)
On Saturday, thousands of protestors rallied in Canada's capital to oppose vaccination requirements, masks, and lockdowns. Some carried posters and flags with swastikas, and others utilized the monument of Canadian hero Terry Fox to demonstrate anti-vaccine sentiment, eliciting widespread outrage.
Protesters equated vaccination requirements to fascism, as one vehicle hoisted a Confederate flag and several held posters including expletives aimed at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Eric Simmons of Oshawa, Ontario, believes that all vaccination requirements should be repealed.
He said he believed they were ineffective and not working. "It’s not changing anything. We can’t keep living like this. People are losing their jobs because they don’t want to get the vaccine,” Simmons said.
Authorities braced for violence and advised locals to avoid the area and MPs were instructed to secure doors of their private homes.
Trudeau has stated that Canadians are not represented by the “very troubling, small but very vocal minority of Canadians who are lashing out at science, at government, at society, at mandates and public health advice.″
Reports have indicated the PM may have been transported to an unidentified location. His son currently has COVID-19, and the PM has been in isolation and working remotely.
Although Canada has one of the greatest immunization rates in the world, some are protesting a new law that went into effect on Jan. 15 that requires trucks entering Canada to be completely vaccinated against the virus. A similar condition has been placed on trucks entering the US.
A questionable agenda
According to the Canadian Trucking Alliance, many of the demonstrators have no link to the trucking business and are pushing a different agenda. According to the alliance, the great majority of drivers are immunized.
The protest organizers have demanded the immediate repeal of all COVID-19 limitations and vaccination requirements, and others have called for Trudeau's resignation.
Erin O'Toole, the leader of the Conservative Party, spoke with several truckers while former US President Donald Trump and certain Fox News personnel have vocalized support.
“We want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way,” Trump said at a rally in Conroe, Texas. “They are doing more to defend American freedom than our leaders by far.”
Former US Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman stated that the threat to democracy is not limited to the United States.“Both the use of the swastika and the confederate flag are symbols of hate. So very sad to see these symbols anywhere and especially in Canada,” said Heyman, who was the US envoy during Obama's administration.
The Parliamentary Protective Service anticipates up to 10,000 demonstrators throughout the course of the weekend.
