Manitoba presence remains on Parliament Hill as police move in

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This article was published 18/02/2022 (1366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The protest that has held Parliament Hill under siege includes hundreds of flags, a few barbecue sets — and more than a dozen Friendly Manitoba licence plates.

While the start of the so-called “freedom convoy” had people from across Canada descend on the capital, the keystone province has maintained an outsized presence, from southern Manitoba truckers to Winnipeg conspiracy theorists.

“All nations; all generations of the world are watching right now. Do not fear,” Winnipeg fitness trainer Shaun Zimmer told his Instagram followers Friday afternoon, livestreaming from the epicentre of a long-anticipated crackdown on protesters.

Police in riot gear stood shoulder-to-shoulder, stepping forward every few minutes, as the crowd sang O Canada in protest.

Zimmer said officers were intentionally separating protesters, to wear down their resolve and convince them to return home — which is an accurate portrayal of the Ottawa police’s stated approach.

He shouted at those officers, asking them to support the protesters.

“I ask all of you to dig down in your gut right now, and be true to what that is telling you right now, on where you’re standing,” Zimmer yelled, before gawking at armed officers standing on top of the surrounding buildings.

“You’ll be telling your children of what you did on this day,” he screamed. “I hope you feel good about the stance you take, as we go down in history here.”

Up the road, trucks painted with decals from Winkler, Morden and Ste. Anne were among those parked on Wellington Street, just outside the West Block, where MPs had the House of Commons suspend for the day on the advice of security officials.

A handful of those trucks are purple tractor-trailers owned by Bartel Bulk Freight, whose president argues the Trudeau government wants Canada to become a dictatorship.

“It’s complete mayhem. It’s a way to destroy the country; that’s what the current government is doing,” said company head Chester Bartel, who spoke from his office in Morris.

He criticized the media at length, citing the example of the Free Press’ extensive coverage of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in the province’s south region. He argued the focus on Southern Health’s mounting case rate in December was framed as a regional problem, but cases peaking in Winnipeg got less scrutiny.

“Once we get justice back into Canada I believe there is going to be a lot of media that is going to pay for this; they’re going to hopefully get jail time,” he told the Free Press.

On Friday, it was police arresting protesters, particularly outside of the Château Laurier hotel, 400 metres from Parliament Hill.

Officers gradually penned in a few dozen demonstrators, while offering small groups a chance to leave. They announced through loudspeakers that everyone who didn’t go would be arrested.

Winnipeg blogger Todd McDougall found himself up close with armed Quebec police wearing riot gear.

“That is some pretty heavy artillery on those boys back there,” he said on an afternoon livestream. “What kind of country are we handing to our kids?”

For days, McDougall, had wandered the capital wearing a toque from Monstrosity Burger, the Corydon Avenue restaurant that has repeatedly run afoul of Manitoba public health rules.

On Thursday, he got in a shouting match with a fellow convoy supporter from Alberta who wore a fluorescent rain coat, which McDougall claimed was a uniform.

“Are you looking to get people f—-ing hyped up?” the man told McDougall, as multiple people filmed the interaction on Parliament Hill, which somehow ended in a hug.

“Is it gonna settle you down?” the man asked.

Some from the middle province have been at the convoy since shortly after it got underway Jan. 28.

Winkler man Karl Krebs came to Ottawa months after launching a Manitoba group that argues COVID-19 restrictions are an affront to God-given rights.

On Friday, he livestreamed as protesters build a barrier out of snow in an futile attempt to prevent officials from towing tractor-trailers.

“These are the new walls of Jericho,” referring to the Old Testament story of the Israelites toppling city walls by circling ramparts and praying.

Krebs advised his fellow protesters to keep a level head.

“Try to leave with your dignity intact, and that your cause was honoured; that we don’t end up in a riotous state,” he told a stranger.

Hours later, police deployed horses and tear gas after some protesters reportedly attempted to grab firearms from officers.

One protester was arrested for throwing a bicycle at the feet of a horse, resulting in a charge of intentionally harming a police service animal.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca