OTTAWA, Jan 30, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Hundreds of trucks and thousands of people
blocked the streets of central Ottawa on Saturday as part of a self-titled
"Freedom Convoy" to protest vaccine mandates required to cross the US border.

  Flying the Canadian flag, waving banners demanding "Freedom" and chanting
slogans against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the truckers were joined by
thousands of other protesters angered not only by Covid-19 restrictions but
by broader discontent with the government.

  An enormous clamor rang out as hundreds of big trucks, their engines
rumbling, sounded their air horns non-stop.

  Closer to Parliament, families calmly marched on a bitterly cold day, while
young people chanted and older people in the crowd banged pots and pans in
protest under Trudeau's office windows.

  Canadian media said the prime minister and his family had been escorted out
of their home and taken to a secret location in the capital, with much of the
protesters' wrath directed at Trudeau.

  "I want it all to stop -- these measures are unjustified," said one
demonstrator, 31-year-old businessman Philippe Castonguay, outside the
Parliament building.

  He had driven seven hours from northern Quebec province to make his
feelings known: "The vaccination requirements are taking us toward a new
society we never voted for," he said.

  The protest originated last week in western Canada, where dozens of
truckers organized a convoy to drive from Vancouver to Ottawa to demonstrate
against Covid-related restrictions, particularly a vaccination requirement
for truck drivers.

  Both Canada and the United States imposed that requirement in mid-January,
affecting drivers who cross the 5,500-mile (9,000-kilometer) border -- the
world's longest.

  The movement rapidly gained steam as the original cross-country convoy was
joined by others en route to the federal capital.

  Their rallying point was Parliament Hill, in the heart of Ottawa.

  - Government 'intrusion' -

  Stephen Penderness, an unvaccinated 28-year-old trucker from Ontario, said
he was protesting for all Canadians, not just his fellow drivers.

  "It's actually for every single person... everybody on the road," he said.
"It's all about your free choice."

  Angela Bernal, a 67-year-old retired teacher said she wanted "governments
to lift the measures," adding that "maintaining the restrictions is useless."

  With a strong police presence around the federal capital the protest went
off without major incident despite initial fears there could be violence.

  The zone around Parliament was closed for the weekend, and Ottawa police
chief Peter Sloly described the situation on the ground as "unique, fluid,
risky and significant."

  Police said they fear some demonstrators will stay beyond the Saturday
protest, snarling traffic further.

  Trudeau, who is currently in isolation after a Covid exposure, on Wednesday
defended the vaccination mandate, noting that 90 percent of drivers are
already vaccinated.

  He called the truckers headed for the city a "small fringe minority" who do
not represent the majority of Canadians.

  Trudeau said Friday that the truckers' views -- which he described as anti-
science, anti-government and anti-society -- posed a risk not only to
themselves but to other Canadians as well.

  The leader of the Conservative opposition, Erin O'Toole, urged the
protesters to remain peaceful. He has promised to meet with the truckers.

  The movement received an endorsement Thursday from Tesla and SpaceX founder
Elon Musk, who tweeted, "Canadian truckers rule."

  To date, 82 percent of Canadians aged five or older have been vaccinated
against Covid-19. Among adults, the figure is 90 percent.

  The Canadian Trucking Alliance, a major industry group, said the vast
majority of the country's truck drivers are vaccinated. It has "strongly
disapproved" of the gathering in Ottawa.