The Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension borough in Montreal was energetic Saturday as protests and counter-protests passed off in relation to the 'freedom convoy' in Ottawa.
The group Quebec Professional Choix is amongst people who organized the "Unis Dans L'Amour Pour La Liberte" (United in Love for Freedom) that drew 1000's to Jarry Park in solidarity with the Ottawa trucker convoy, following the Quebec Metropolis convoy final weekend.
To counter that protest, No Borders Media and Parc-ex/Villeray inclusifs staged an "Anti-racist mobilization in opposition to the far proper" demostration on the identical park that drew a number of hundred individuals against the above protest and supporters of the 'Freedom Convoy' in Ottawa.
"We're against this convoy as a result of it's a clear entrance for the far-right," the group wrote. "Whereas some individuals attending the Freedom Convoy protests are simply against vaccine mandates or lockdowns, it’s inexcusable to be expressing these views alongside recognized far-right actors, together with conspiracy theorists selling debunked and false viewpoints."
No Borders identified that members of the anti-immigration nationalist Quebecois group La Meute have been noticed on the Quebec Metropolis protests. La Meute has posted assist for the convoys on its Fb web page.
A counter-protest was organized in Montreal's Jarry Park in opposition to the 'freedom convoy' protest in the identical space. (Ian Wooden/CTV Information)
The creator of the Quebec Professional Choix Fb web page Jonathan Sirois-Bouvier inspired restraint amongst these attending the protest.
"I ask you please do not reply them or give them significance," he wrote. "Keep peaceable with love and respect please."
Maxime Bernier, chief of the Folks’s Occasion of Canada, made an impassioned speech on the occasion.
“Two doses, three doses -- everybody can get COVID, everybody can transmit it. But we proceed to segregate and to discriminate right here in Canada,” he mentioned, standing earlier than a crowd of cheering demonstrators.
Montreal police (SPVM) spokesperson Veronique Comtois mentioned there have been no incidents to report and no tickets have been handed out.
The protests have been held the day the province relaxed extra restrictions associated to the pandemic together with the variety of individuals permitted at personal gatherings, which Quebec recommends at 10. Gyms and spas can reopen Monday at half capability.
Mayor Valerie Plante mentioned earlier than the protest that the town wouldn't tolerate any roads being blocked, as occurred in Ottawa.
"We're nonetheless in a state of emergency right here in Montreal, so for me, it is crucial that folks can come and protest peacefully, however I do not need vehicles to dam streets and the operation that must be carried out," mentioned Plante.
A couple of dozen semi vehicles together with a whole bunch of automobiles and pickup vehicles loaded with jerry cans filled with gasoline met exterior of Montreal at Freeway 50 and continued to Ottawa to hitch the principle 'freedom convoy'.
-- With reporting from CTV Information' Ian Woods.
Protesters in opposition to COVID-19 restrictions march by the streets of Montreal on Saturday, February 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe
Protesters in Montreal that assembled in opposition to the COVID-19 measures. (Ian Wooden/CTV Information)
A Montreal protest in solidarity with the Ottawa 'freedom convoy' assembled in Jarry Park, a counter protest passed off in the identical park. (Ian Wooden/CTV Information)
A counter-protest was organized in Montreal's Jarry Park in opposition to the 'freedom convoy' protest in the identical space. (Ian Wooden/CTV Information)
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