The convoy of motorcyclists in Ottawa against the few health restrictions still in place infuriates relatives of the 15,000 victims that COVID has made in Quebec.
• Read also: “Rolling Thunder”: a 2nd day of demonstration in Ottawa
• Read also: Convoy of motorcyclists: and here we go again in Ottawa
“What a stupid rally”, drops Jean-Paul Jacyk, doubly bereaved by the virus.
In January, he lost his partner of 45 years, Georgina, who had not received a vaccine, as well as his mother-in-law, a few weeks earlier.
Vaccinated and very cautious, the Montrealer describes as “babies” the participants of the rally who demand more “freedoms”.
On Saturday, hundreds of them were back in the center of the nation’s capital and marched in front of the Canadian war memorial, on foot or on motorbikes.
Speakers known for their conspiratorial or anti-vaccine positions took turns at the microphone all day, calling for the lifting of the few remaining health measures.
“These people don’t think logically,” Jacyk rages.
Several of the demonstrators, including those from the Quebec group Farfadaas, had also taken part in the trucking convoy that paralyzed Ottawa in February for long weeks.
take two
Visibly better prepared, the police this time issued 560 parking tickets and towed 39 vehicles as of Saturday noon, the Municipal Regulations Service said on Twitter.
Friday’s turbulent evening resulted in seven arrests.
However, these events which minimize the importance of the coronavirus are particularly confronting for those afflicted with COVID.
“It doesn’t help the grieving process at all, on the contrary. It keeps people in a form of anger and helplessness in the face of non-compliance with the measures, ”explains UQAM psychology professor Mélanie Vachon.
- Quebec crossed the 15,000 dead mark on Saturday, including more than 3,000 since January.