At least 50,000 truckers in a 45-mile long ‘Freedom Convoy’ are heading to Ottawa to protest the Canadian government’s mandate for drivers crossing the US-Canada border to have the covid vaccine – and they’re being cheered on by Elon Musk.
Truckers left from British Columbia on Sunday and will be met in the nation’s capital on Saturday by other protesters driving from the east and the south of the country. The convoy has been joined by US truckers.
‘It’s 70 kilometers long,’ Benjamin Dichter, a spokesman for the Freedom Convoy 2022, told the Toronto Sun after it passed Calgary heading west on Wednesday.
‘I have seen footage from an airplane. It’s impressive.’
By Friday morning, the drivers were in Kingston, Ontario, which is about 110 miles from the capity. Several thousand people are expected to gather in the capital, and some of the group´s leaders are calling for a peaceful event, but statements from some associated with the group have included threats of violence.
The road in front of Parliament Hill is to be closed to general traffic. Buildings in the Parliamentary district are being closed and locked except for essential staff as of Friday and workers warned of threats of physical damage.
The convoy of truckers set to descend on the city has prompted police to prepare for the possibility of violence and politicians to warn against escalating rhetoric linked to the demonstration. A top Parliament official warned lawmakers to avoid the protest and to lock their doors amid reports their private homes may be targeted.
The truckers are, in part, protesting a new rule that took effect January 15 requiring truckers entering Canada be fully immunized against the coronavirus. The United States has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering that country January 22.
Elon Musk also tweeted praise for the truckers, saying: ‘If you scare people enough, they will demand removal of freedom. This is the path to tyranny.’
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