The latest on the anti-vaccine mandate protest happening on Parliament Hill
Published January 29, 2022 at 10:38 am
OTTAWA — The latest developments on Saturday’s planned protest by truckers of COVID-19 restrictions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government. All times local.
10:30 a.m.
Organizers have cancelled a planned in-person vigil in Ottawa to mark the fifth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting that left six men dead and five others seriously wounded.
A lone gunman shot and killed six worshippers shortly after the end of evening prayers on Jan. 29, 2017.
Canadians United Against Hate had organized an inter-faith candlelight vigil for tonight at a human rights monument by Ottawa City Hall, a few blocks south of Parliament Hill.
The group now says it will be holding a virtual vigil because of the truckers’ protest in downtown Ottawa and threats of violence emanating from some attendees.
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The Ottawa event is one of several organized by community groups.
The events coincide with the first National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia, which was proclaimed last April.
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10 a.m.
A crowd of demonstrators is filtering on to Parliament Hill this morning ahead of a planned protest of COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government’s pandemic policies.
Many are standing along the snow-covered lawn of Parliament Hill near the centennial flame despite the frigid air hanging over the national capital.
Ottawa police aren’t reporting any issues related to the event as people slowly roll in to the downtown core and join trucks parked along Wellington Street in front of the parliamentary buildings.
Hundreds more vehicles from Western Canada, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces are expected to arrive in the next few hours to join those already in Ottawa.
The Parliamentary Protective Service expects as many as 10,000 protesters to be in attendance today.
Though the aim of the protest is ostensibly to oppose vaccine mandates for truck drivers crossing the Canada-U.S. border, attendees have said that is only a small part of their demands.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2022.
The Canadian Press
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