Several thousand truckers and their supporters took over Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday while braving -30C temperature to protest vaccine mandates..But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t be hearing their voices — the RCMP whisked him to a secret location, CBC reported..Trudeau normally stays at Rideau Cottage, about four kilometres from the epicentre of the protest. He’s currently in self-isolation after one of his children reportedly came down with COVID-19..Despite fears of violence being ratcheted up by the mainstream media, the protest has so far passed peacefully..“The truckers I’ve met today have been peaceful, kind and patriotic,” said Ottawa Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre..“I’ve not seen anyone dressed up in blackface or other racist costumes.”.People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier tweeted: “This is just another peaceful rally like dozens of others I have attended in the past two years, with patriotic Canadians braving the bitter cold. Not a violent insurrection.”.By mid-afternoon, many of the protest organizers hadn’t made it to the Hill yet and were still making their way through gridlocked streets..Police estimated there will be 10,000 protesters at the height of the rally..On Friday, Canadian icon Don Cherry threw his support behind the truckers..“I am 100% behind the truckers,” Cherry told the Toronto Sun..“They are salt of the earth and the heartbeat of the country.”.“(Vaccination) should always be a person’s own choice. I have had three shots, but it was my own decision. I did not tell anybody else what they should do and would never tell anybody what they should do. It’s up to them.”.Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe issued a statement saying the cross-border vaccine requirement for truckers makes no sense. He pledged to end his province’s proof-of-vaccination policy “in the not-too-distant future.”.more to come…
