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Written by an eyewitness in Canada exclusively for SouthFront
Saturday (February 12) morning here in Montreal was a cloudy day with the threat of freezing rain and snow later in the afternoon as the temperature was to drop from 2 degrees C to -19 C. Not as cold as in Ottawa in the first days of the protest.
When we arrived, my friend and I ended up in the counter-protest by mistake and the people were nice enough to let us know that the pro-convoy protest was further ahead! There were no harsh words, everything was done respectfully.
Once we have reached the Freedom Convoy march, the crowd was around 4,000 people and we were here to support those that were leaving for Ottawa after our march through the streets. Many passing cars and pedestrians were cheering us on. I have not seen so many Canadian flags in this French speaking province in a very long time. Young families with small children came in droves and were seen opening their doors to cheer. Police presence was high at the back of the marchers and were blocking traffic so we could cross the roads safely.
The speakers included the organizers, community leaders and the leader of the political party PPC (People’s Party of Canada) to great cheers from the crowd.
The focus of this convoy was the children as they are the most affected by the lockdowns, restrictions and mandates. There was the extremely sad story of a 5-year-old boy who threw himself from the 3rd floor of his school because he couldn’t take the restrictions anymore. Luckily, he survived but just to think that a child was pushed to such a state of mind was, not only mind-boggling, but horrendous. It was the most heart wrenching story I have heard of this past two years of restrictions. A convoy is being organized this coming Friday to cheer the little boy with all the big trucks to pass in front of his home to cheer him up.
A swimming instructor was telling how it is not normal that children were not interested in doing any activities and she was having a hard time accepting this. The governments that have imposed these restrictions do not realise the damage that they have caused the children. There is no reason to keep these restrictions. Here in the province of Quebec, we had many curfews, and the so-called authorities always called them just before the holidays so that families could not meet and enjoy the company of their loved ones. More cruel they could not be!
Many in this province divide their time between Ottawa (2-hour drive from Montreal) and Quebec City (3-hour drive from Montreal) and there are many truckers protesting in Quebec City (as in many provincial capitals) which is just as noisy but the police are rather more strict and less friendly than the Ottawa police and all the other forces that were sent there to support them.
This movement is growing, there is no letting up. Enough is enough! FREEDOM!
