With honking horns, Canadian flags and anti-Trudeau banners in abundance, supporters of the Ottawa anti-mandate protest poured into downtown Hamilton on Saturday.
Hamilton is just one of many Canadian cities that saw demonstrations in support of the so-called “trucker convoy” that began last week.
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The Hamilton protest began around 11 a.m. Saturday at Battlefield Park and continued down King Street to Dundurn, then from Dundurn to Main Street to City Hall.
There were heavy traffic delays downtown as police closed a portion of Main Street between Bay and McNab streets.
Just before 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, police posted on Twitter that the roads had reopened and the protest was over.
For the most part, the protest remained peaceful, except for some anger and hostility towards members of the media.
Most of the supporters declined to speak to CHML News. James of Burlington, who did not give his last name, was one of the few who allowed an interview.
The self-proclaimed farmer and owner of a local truck repair center said the atmosphere at the rally was very peaceful and said he was only here to show support for ending vaccine mandates and passports.
James said he stood up for all the unvaccinated people who lost their jobs, saying, “Let companies rehire them and don’t force the unvaccinated to lose their jobs, get rid of these mandates, get rid of these passports, because they don’t It’s work.”
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Harvey Peterson, one of the local protest organizers, said he decided to act when he didn’t see anyone else in Hamilton coordinating an effort to support ending the mandates. “I didn’t see anyone else in Hamilton jumping so I decided to do it, and the support I received almost immediately was overwhelming.”
“I seek freedom of choice; I want to choose what goes into my body, as if everyone has had that choice their whole life,” Peterson said.
Peterson is vaccinated but believes COVID-19 public health measures need to stop.
“End all mandates, give us back our freedom.”
As of late Saturday afternoon, Hamilton police have reported no arrests or violence.
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