:format(jpg):watermark(cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/5IDEBLR7ERC5TMAPLOHS63MVNM.png,0,30,0)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/JTSPGYNRLZCCLGE3HZYYIVO5YM.jpg "“It’s been long enough”: tired and worried Ottawa residents after 12 days of protest")
For almost two weeks, the Canadian federal capital has been the epicenter of a large part of the country’s truckers opposed to the vaccination requirement to cross the US border.
Hundreds of trucks are occupying the streets of downtown Ottawa, a situation “out of control” according to the city’s mayor, who has declared a state of emergency.
“I was told: +You’ll see, Ottawa is a dormitory city compared to Montreal or Toronto!+,” Cédric Boyer tells AFP, smiling, while his adopted city is upside down and under the spotlight.
This Frenchman, who has been living in the Canadian capital for two years, “didn’t think it could happen like this” here.
On social networks, some are calling for “Make Ottawa boring again” to be returned to them, paraphrasing the campaign slogan of Donald Trump, who has given his support to the movement of Canadian truckers.
“In a democracy, everyone has the right to have a different opinion and the right to express it,” continues Cedric Boyer. “But where it starts to pose a small problem is from the moment when the freedom of some encroaches on that of others.”
He is especially worried about “people who are losing money”. In the center of this city of one million inhabitants, many shops and restaurants (which had just been allowed to reopen) are closed.
Lisa Van Buren, a 55-year-old resident of North Ottawa, worries about the level of “frustration” in the country. “There is a real anger, one should not underestimate this anger,” she says, worried.
“Noisy minority”
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson described an “aggressive and hateful occupation of our neighbourhoods”. “People live in fear,” he explained, referring to the “psychological warfare” of horns.
The legal action of some residents of the city put an end to this incessant noise of horns replaced since by the sound of whirring engines.
Residents have also launched a class action lawsuit against the organizers of the movement and the resulting chaos, demanding some 10 million Canadian dollars (7 million euros).
“They may say that they have the support of a large number, but I have the impression that they are just a noisy minority that makes us lose patience,” adds Patrick Lai, a 30-year-old doctor, ice skates in hand.
“I understand where their opposition comes from, but as a medical professional, when they say +I have done my research+, I feel that we are not talking about the same type of research,” he says, looking discouraged.
The Ontario resident has been worried about the blocking of the Ambassador Border Bridge, a vital trade route with the United States, since Monday.
“No matter what point they raise, they are doing the exact opposite,” he says, adding that the blockage harms trade more than the vaccination requirement for truckers wishing to cross the border, the trigger for the movement.
“I supported them at first, but now it’s been long enough,” said Cheryl Murphy, a 74-year-old retiree who lives downtown.
“If Trudeau had come to talk to them from the beginning, maybe all this wouldn’t have happened,” she notes, adding that “it wasn’t a good thing for him to hide”.
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