Key takeaways:
- March organizer charges Quebec City police of being too rigid in preventing vehicles from stopping.
- Quebec City police are getting some larger trucks parked along René Lévesque Boulevard, beside the National Assembly. Still, they have been pushing other vehicles to circulate since the first protesters came Thursday.
Quebec city prepares for noisy demonstartions:
As more trucks and smaller vehicles pour into Quebec City from across the region to demonstrate against COVID-19 limitations, Quebec City police are running traffic to stop the protest from turning into a siege.
While protesters have had smaller protests, bigger crowds assemble today about the National Assembly.
Convoys of drivers have been coming from other parts of the region, including the North Shore, Lower St-Lawrence, Saguenay, and Beauce provinces.
Groups of protesters, including some households with kids, have been cheering and waving posters calling for the end of vaccine passports and other public health measures as rows of vehicles drive by the National Assembly, honking their horns.
Also read: Protest convoy reaches Quebec City ahead of rally at the regional legislature
Protesters passing Canadian and Quebec flags and “freedom” signs from their cars followed a convoy of heavy trucks into the city from Saint-Lambert de Lauzon on the south shore. Some jovial supporters met them on overpasses on Hwy 73.
A small group of counter-protesters is also in the region about the National Assembly, with some of them urging drivers to honk if they have been vaccinated.
Quebec officials have stated while protesters have the freedom to demonstrate, they will not accept vehicles clogging roads. Quebec City Police (SPVQ) gave out almost 50 tickets during smaller protests on Thursday and Friday evenings, mainly for road safety breaches.
In a Tweet Friday, the SPVQ stressed that nobody could camp or take shelter near the National Assembly or other public areas, including waiting in campers or trailers.
