Blair Gable, Anna Mehler Paperny

TORONTO/OTTAWA – Canadian cities, including Toronto, were braced to experience disruptions as protests against vaccination mandates spread out of Ottawa. This raised fears about clashes and counter-protesters.

While the “Freedom Convoy”, originally started as an opposition to cross-border truckers needing a vaccination, it became a strong point for those who oppose public health and Justin Trudeau’s government.

Protesters have shut down downtown Ottawa https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ottawa-police-promise-tougher-action-against-blockading-truckers-2022-02-04 for the past eight days, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they wanted to dissolve Canada’s government.

According to police, the blockade was well organized and partly supported by US sympathizers. Protesters brought portable saunas into the protest area on Saturday in an effort to beat frigid temperatures.

GoFundMe disapproved of Freedom Convoy’s donation page, claiming it had violated its terms due to unlawful activity.

The website stated that it will refund those who ask by February 19, and then work with organizers in order to distribute any remaining funds to charities.

GoFundMe announced that it will refund donations after Tesla (NASDAQ) on Saturday. Elon Musk, the CEO, called Tesla “professional thieves”, and Rick DeSantis the Republican Governor of Florida promised to investigate.

Toronto police indicated that there would be a heightened presence over the weekend in response to expected protests. Because protesters could block access to a number of hospitals in downtown Toronto, police closed down a main avenue. The only people allowed into the hospital were staff and patients.

Toronto Mayor John Tory declared that “if anyone plans to arrive here for a peaceful protest, I urge them, on behalf all Toronto residents, and businesses, to stay home.”

Health workers plan a demonstration in Toronto for their services on Saturday, and protesters have gathered earlier.

A few protest vehicles made it to Quebec City Thursday night in support of a Saturday demonstration, which coincided with Quebec City’s annual winter carnival. On Friday, trucks blocked traffic in the vicinity of Winnipeg’s Manitoba provincial legislature.

Some Ottawa residents, subjected to near-incessant honking, smashed windows and harassment for wearing masks, criticized Ottawa Police earlier this week https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ottawans-fed-up-with-trucker-blockade-blame-police-inaction-2022-02-03 for not doing more to end the blockade.

Ottawa police issued a warning Friday about a crackdown against “increasingly deadly” protests and assigned 150 officers to the task of “patrolling, addressing unlawful or threatening conduct within the most affected neighbourhoods.”

On Thursday, several Toronto hospital workers stated that they had been advised by their doctors not to wear hospital scrubs outside in protest. This was not the advice of police.

Raghu Venugopal, an emergency doctor, said to Reuters, “The idea that we must somehow skunk or be afraid about who we are and how we were doing it, I believe, is offensive, regrettable, and, I think…a sad commentary of our society.”

Venugopal indicated that while he was supportive of peaceful demonstrations, he hoped police would allow patients and staff to access the hospital.