Transport minister urges peaceful protest, will not meet with truckers
Posted January 28, 2022 12:49 pm.
Last Updated January 28, 2022 2:19 pm.
In a one-on-one interview with CityNews the federal transport minister is calling for a peaceful protest this weekend as the ‘freedom convoy’ of truckers rolls into Ottawa amid security concerns.
With a crowd of thousands expected in the nation’s capital on Saturday, Omar Alghabra is not backing down on the government’s vaccine mandate for truckers. But the minister says he hopes the convoy stays calm during the rally.
“I’m calling on all protesters to ensure that they protest in peace and respect,” Alghabra said.
Alghabra says he has concerns with the aggressive and violent rhetoric surrounding the protests but says he will not be intimidated from doing his job to serve Canadians. The Minister also indicates he has no intentions of meeting with the organizers.
“I will not give credence to extremist point of views or legitimize people who are calling for violence or hate,” he said.
Alghabra says he has been meeting with industry representatives and is prepared to talk with those who respectfully disagree with government policies.
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Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said Thursday that he would meet with some of the truckers, adding that he and his MPs have long stood against the vaccine mandate they now face. But he also denounced those involved in the convoy who are espousing racist and extremist ideas.
Rally organizers have attempted to distance themselves from some of the more extremist discourse. Organizer Tamara Lich posted a video to Facebook telling supporters to take down the license and truck numbers of any drivers hinting at violence.
“Nobody in this convoy will be inciting violence or uttering threats,” Lich said. “That is not what we are here to do.”
A large big rig displaying an expletive against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen parked in front of the Parliament on Friday morning.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino icallied on Twitter earlier this week to remove a recent tweet from independent Ontario MPP Randy Hillier who labelled Alghabra as a “terrorist.”
Hillier tweeted “a terrorist speaks out to condemn Canadians to starvation in the name of being safe.”
Mendicino called Hillier’s post “flagrantly abusive, offensive and Islamophobic.”
Canada’s Sergeant-at-Arms sent a note to Parliament members on Thursday warning them of doxing — a process of publishing personal information such as addresses — ahead of the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa.
The memo encouraged MPs to not get involved in the rally and to go somewhere safe, as well as to avoid physical altercations, “even if provoked.”
Jessica Davis with Insight Threat Intelligence told CityNews earlier this week that law enforcement would be monitoring any online chatter resembling extremist or violent rhetoric and monitoring individuals who appear to be interested in escalating the protest.
“Preparations have to be made to make sure that there are emergency exit routes available so if there’s a fire or some sort of other incidents that occur in downtown Ottawa that people can safely evacuate,” Davis said.
Police in Ottawa have said they are planning for as many as 2,000 demonstrators on Saturday. Local police have warned city residents to avoid travelling to the nation’s capital over the weekend and to be prepared for delays if they do.
Though many of the participants and supporters now insist the rally is about all government mandates, the rally was initially sparked by the federal government’s new cross-border vaccine rules that mean truck drivers need to be fully vaccinated to avoid a two-week quarantine and pre-arrival molecular test for COVID-19 before crossing into Canada.
Some drivers are arguing the mandate violates their freedom, prevents them from making a living and slows down the delivery of food and other products to parts of Canada.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has maintained its disapproval of the rolling protest.
With files from CityNews reporter Lucas Casaletto and the Canadian Press
