In her latest social media post, Peterborough-Kawartha Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with protesters to end the ongoing anti-COVID-19 restriction demonstrations in Ottawa.
On her Facebook page on Wednesday, the MP said she has met with protesters and Ottawa police to discuss the impasse that entered into its sixth day. She also said she has “listened” to emails from Ottawa residents calling for an end to truck air horns and from those “who want their city back.”
And she says she heard from supporters of the demonstration.
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“The paradox of the situation is the disruption these protestors have created is the essence of what they are protesting: a disruption to their lives,” wrote Ferreri.
“Does two wrongs make a right?”
Ferreri says she’s seen “unity” at overpasses as truckers headed to the nation’s capital and seen “far right extremists on the ground which I openly condemn.”
“I’ve seen Albertan separatists unite with Quebec separatists,” she said.
Ferreri said the protest was “inevitable.”
“I think we had to hit this boiling point because of the divide and mental health crisis,” she wrote. “This protest started as one thing and quickly grew into something entirely different. What I hear from protesters is that they want all sides to be considered.
“They’ve asked me that we do not look just at public health when making decisions but that we include mental health and the economy.”
The demonstrations have sparked some outrage including incidents of individuals sporting Confederate or Nazi flags on Parliament Hill, harassing business owners and media, defecating on residential lawns, urinating on the National War Memorial, dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and stealing food from the homeless.
On the day many protesters arrived on Parliament Hill, Ferreri in social media posts said the truck convoys were bringing “hope.”
“What I see happening – that I have not seen in over two years – is hope,” she said on Friday, Jan. 28. “That is the thing we need so desperately. And you are giving hope. ”
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On Jan. 30, Ferreri tweeted “Real Canadians, do not let the few ruin the many” in response to a tweet from Global News’s Ottawa bureau chief David Akin who reported on some protesters cleaning up trash on streets.
Ferreri on Wednesday said the only resolution is for Trudeau to “acknowledge them” and to negotiate.
“I remember the best advice I heard in business and I think it needs to apply here as well. Negotiation, ”she said. “A great negotiation is when both parties leave feeling like they should have gotten a bit more.”
“We need a great negotiation here, but if the Prime Minister refuses to meet, there is no option to negotiate. Many of you have asked me to provide solutions. My proposed solution is that the Prime Minister act as a leader and meet with these protesters ASAP. ”
Trudeau on Tuesday said he “will not give in” to the so-called “freedom convoy” protest in downtown Ottawa.
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