Canada’s top doctor is urging Ottawa residents to follow COVID-19-related public health advice, as the so-called “freedom convoy” protest in the downtown core continues.
There have been numerous reports shared online by residents since the protest started detailing instances where they say people associated with the convoy tried to break into their homes, attacked them on the streets, and threatened them with rape or death for wearing masks.
Ottawa Police Services declined to provide any information when asked how many alleged death threats, rape threats or assaults by convoy members they have received.
As of Tuesday, the force’s Hate and Bias Crime Unit had three investigations underway related to the demonstration, according to a statement issued at the time.
“First thing is of course, follow the advice of Ottawa Public Health. They have the pulse on the ground in terms of what’s going on from a public health perspective and they would issue advice as needed,” said Dr. Theresa Tam during a Friday press conference.
“I think if you’re well-vaccinated, you’re wearing your mask, and you’re conscious of where you’re moving or gathering and take extra precautions, you can certainly reduce your risk of infection.”
What began as a protest against Ottawa’s vaccine mandate for truckers at the Canada-U.S. border has morphed into opposition to all public health measures including mask-wearing and vaccination, and now calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign.
For Ottawa residents who continue to follow public health advice, frustration with the ongoing protest has been mounting.
“All we hear are these horns, all night long. Driving us crazy. I haven’t slept in three days,” downtown resident Alan Gemmill told Global News on Tuesday.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney, whose ward is right in the thick of the protests, said their residents feel “abandoned.”
“The garbage, the urination, defecation, really takes its toll. (It) has a real mental health effect on people. You just feel uneasy,” McKenney says.
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Ottawa resident Tim Abray also told Global News he was assaulted by members of the convoy on Sunday while on a walk downtown.
He says he took out his camera to take some photos of the amassing encampment by Confederation Park, just across the road from Ottawa City Hall, when he was approached by one of the protesters.
“He was yelling right in my face, he had his hand on my chest and his hand on my arm … He was making it clear that this was their territory,” Abray told Toronto 640’s Greg Brady.
Two other men then approached him, he said, and physically picked him up to move him away from the park.
Ottawa police, meanwhile, have been facing much anger over their handling of the demonstration, which police services board chair Diane Deans described as a “living hell” for residents.
Tam said it’s important to ensure everyone is “well-empowered to wear masks” and “able to use all those layers of protection.”
“There’s still quite a high level of transmission going on right now, in most parts of the country, even though the cases are coming down. So, no matter where you are, I think this advice applies,” she said.
Meanwhile, some protestors have set their sights on Toronto — where residents are bracing for a potential influx of anti-mandate protests.
Multiple doctors tweeted identical images on Thursday of what they alleged was police advice to wear “street clothing” when they arrive at work, “not clothing which identifies you as a healthcare worker.”
Toronto police pushed back on the claim, saying they “would not direct healthcare staff on whether or not to wear uniforms.”
When Global News followed up with the police, they pointed back to their Twitter statement.
Tam fired back at any Canadians who might focus their discontent on health-care workers.
“We need to really be grateful and appreciate our health workers, and our public health workers, because they’ve been working day and night for over two years to try and keep all of us safe,” she said.
“It’s unacceptable – any kind of hate, any kind of violence, it should not be tolerated.”
Health-care workers aren’t only helping COVID-19 patients, she added, but others who need health interventions, too.
“These are the very people who are trying to help, not only to protect people against COVID-19, but to support the community in all sorts of health issues: if you had an accident, if you need surgical interventions, if you need cancer treatment,” Tam said.
“All these workers need to be able to have a safe passage to work. I think that’s critically important.”
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos added that late last year, the government put in place “severe criminal sanctions for those that are intimidating, threatening healthcare workers” in the form of a law passed in Parliament late last year.
“We are immensely grateful to them, and we depend on them,” he said.
“We are all in this together.”
— with files from Global News’ Amanda Connolly and Craig Lord
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