Police aware of trucker protest planned for Toronto this weekend
Toronto police say that they are aware of a planned trucker protest against vaccine mandates set for the city this weekend and are monitoring the situation.
A flyer circulating on social media suggests that a Toronto "Convoy for Freedom" demonstration will take place at Queen's Park, beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Organizers are asking supporters to show up at one of seven Greater Toronto Area meeting points before making their way downtown.
CP24 has reached out to those behind the event for comment but has not heard back.
“The service will have a policing operation in place to ensure public safety and keep emergency access routes to hospitals clear,” Toronto police said in a statement provided to CP24 on Wednesday afternoon. “Over the coming days we will continue to liaise with organizers and partner agencies. Any updates, including disruption to travel, will be communicated to the public at the earliest opportunity.”
News of the planned demonstration comes as a convoy of truckers and their supporters continue to protest vaccine mandates at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The demonstrators have been parked illegally on roads leading to Parliament Hill since Friday, causing gridlock throughout the core. There have also been reports that some of them have engaged in threats and harassment. Three participants have been charged criminally.
Speaking with CP24 on Wednesday, Toronto Mayor John Tory said that individuals do have the right to protest but he said that he is hopeful that the Queen's Park event will not have the same "extremist" rhetoric that has been associated with the rally in Ottawa.
Police in Ottawa have previously said that they have seen “multiple cases of disruptive, inappropriate and threatening behaviour from demonstrators.”
“All I can hope is that what we don't see this kind of extremist, you know, sort of activities and statements that can border on and be actually sort of hateful in their nature,” he said. “You just hope that those who are protesting, you know, sort of have a measure of common sense and consideration for others in exercising their rights.”
The protesters in Ottawa have vowed to remain in the area for an extended period, unless governments scrap all public health measures.
So far a number of politicians have urged the protestors to go home, including Premier Doug Ford who during a press conference on Tuesday pled with them to “let the people of Ottawa live their lives.”
Speaking with CP24, Tory said that he hopes anyone who chooses to participates in this weekend’s demonstration is “considerate” of others, which would include ensuring the “duration of the protest is reasonable within the context of the impact it has on other people.”
The Ottawa protest is in its fifth day, though police have said that crowds have thinned considerably.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Consumers will receive a temporary tax break on essential items and common stocking stuffers heading into the holiday season, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday, alongside a spring $250 rebate for 18.7 million Canadians.
Mother charged after infant dies in midtown Toronto: police
The mother of an infant who died after being found at an apartment building in midtown Toronto on Wednesday has been charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life.
2 arrested during Greenpeace protest outside Stornoway residence in Ottawa
Two people have been arrested following a protest outside Stornoway, the official residence of Canada's leader of the Opposition.
Arrest warrant issued for suspect charged in Toronto airport gold heist
Peel police say a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of one of the suspects charged in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Son of Norway crown princess detained for one week in rape probe
The son of Norway's crown princess will be jailed for up to one week while police investigate accusations of rape made against him, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
Watch Dramatic video shows officers save driver from burning truck after brakes fail
Stunning video shows officers in Columbus, Ohio jumping into action to save a driver from his burning pickup truck.
Jussie Smollett's conviction in 2019 attack on himself is overturned
The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor Jussie Smollett's conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police.
Canadian painting found in barn, purchased for US$50 sells for hundreds of thousands at auction
An Emily Carr painting that sold for US$50 at an estate sale has fetched C$290,000 at a Toronto auction.
1991-2024 Sea Bears player Chad Posthumus dies at 33
Sea Bears centre Chad Posthumus has died at age 33.