Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced B次元官网网址渉ateful rhetoricB次元官网网址� from the trucker convoy currently protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions during a press conference Monday (Jan. 31).
Trudeau held his press conference from isolation after he and two of his children tested positive with the virus. The prime minister said he felt fine and would continue to work while following public health guidance.
Trudeau said he understood that it was frustrating for all Canadians that COVID-19 was still affecting their lives to such a great degree nearly two years into the pandemic but that some of the hate seen at the protest, including swastikas, Confederate flags and the desecrating of memorials was unacceptable.
Some protesters jumped on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and covered the Terry Fox statue with anti-vaccine mandate posters and an upside down Canadian flag, drawing criticism from many officials. B次元官网网址 posted to social media showed protesters cleaning up the Terry Fox statue after it the flag and posters were hung on it.
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B次元官网网址淔reedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy but Nazi symbolism, racist imagery, and desecration of war memorials are not,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said. B次元官网网址淚t is an insult to memory and truth.B次元官网网址�
He took aim at politicians who have been seen at convoy locations across the country, urging them to B次元官网网址渢hink long and hard about the consequences of your actions.B次元官网网址�
Trudeau singled out Conservative Leader Erin OB次元官网网址橳oole. Some Conservative MPs have met or expressed support for the truckers convoy, although OB次元官网网址橳oole himself has denounced the B次元官网网址渂latant disrespectB次元官网网址� of those who desecrated memorials in the capital.
B次元官网网址淲e have seen over the past many, many months Conservative politicians sharing disinformation about vaccines, encouraging conspiracy theories online and I think Erin OB次元官网网址橳oole is going to need to reflect very carefully on how heB次元官网网址檚 walking a path that supports these people who do not represent truckers, let alone the vast majority of Canadians,B次元官网网址� he said. The Canadian Trucking Alliance denounced the desecration of monuments in the capital and has said in the past that 90 per cent of truckers are fully vaccinated, a rate that mirrors that of the general population.
The prime minister said he would not meet with these protesters as he has in the past with Indigenous groups and Black Lives Matter, citing the hate symbols and rhetoric espoused by some members of the truck convoy and their supporters.
B次元官网网址淚 have attended protests and rallies in the past when I agreed with the goals, when I supported the people expressing their concerns and their issues,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said. B次元官网网址淏ut I have also chosen to not go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric, violence towards fellow citizens, and a disrespect not just of science, but of the frontline health workers and quite frankly, the 90 per cent of truckers who have been doing the right thing to keep Canadians safe to put food on our tables.B次元官网网址�
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