Rally against vaccine mandate draws hundreds

Lots of of individuals gathered Sunday for an anti-vaccine rally in Waterloo Public Sq..

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WATERLOO — Lots of of individuals defied chilly temperatures — and mask-wearing necessities — to attend an anti-vaccine rally in Uptown Waterloo Sunday.

The Sunday afternoon rally in Waterloo City Sq. featured Maxime Bernier, the previous Conservative cupboard minister who now leads the Individuals’s Celebration of Canada, which has no seats in Parliament however garnered 5 per cent of votes in final 12 months’s federal election.

He denounced vaccine mandates, and mentioned Canada ought to as an alternative emulate Britain, which, beginning Wednesday, will not require masks on public transit and in shops, or using vaccine certificates.

“We wish to be in Canada in a free nation, and we're saying, ‘No, no and no!’ ” Bernier informed the cheering crowd. “Sufficient is sufficient!”

Impartial MPP Randy Hillier, who represents the japanese Ontario using of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, additionally spoke. He denounced governments, public well being authorities and enterprise homeowners who implement masks guidelines and vaccine mandates as “enemies of freedom.”

Hillier has been condemned within the Ontario legislature, primarily for his posting of images of individuals he claimed, with out proof, had died due to COVID-19 vaccination. One of many images posted was of a Cambridge girl whose loss of life “was utterly unrelated to COVID,” her household mentioned.

The rally in Waterloo was one among a number of held this weekend to oppose COVID restrictions and lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and to help truckers, who this week have been required to be vaccinated to cross the Canada-U.S. border.

Unvaccinated truckers against the brand new vaccine mandate are planning a mass convoy that’s anticipated to reach in Ottawa subsequent weekend. The Canadian Trucking Alliance mentioned it doesn't help anti-vaccine protests on public roads, and that truckers “should adapt and comply” to the brand new vaccine requirement. The alliance says about 80 per cent of truckers are vaccinated, just like the nationwide charge.

Waterloo’s peaceable rally drew not less than 500 folks, who introduced their youngsters, canine and home made indicators to Waterloo Public Sq., the place they stood in temperatures that felt like -16 C with the wind chill.

Beneath present public well being tips, organized public occasions don't have any limits on the variety of attendees, however masks should be worn when folks can’t keep two metres aside. Solely a handful of individuals on the occasion have been seen carrying masks, and dozens of rally attendees wandered unmasked via the shopping center at Waterloo City Sq., ignoring requests from safety to placed on face coverings.

Police monitored the rally from the sidelines to make sure the occasion was peaceable, however mentioned they weren't there to implement public well being tips.

Related protests have been held on the sq. in spring; some attracted a few dozen folks, whereas a rally in October drew virtually 1,000.

This story’s headline has been edited for readability.