Canada: Alberta Premier Kenny calls for calm following border blockade
Feb 02, 2022
Alberta [Canada], February 2 : Motorists travelling to and from the United States have been caught in a large vehicle blockade, tied to the nationwide protest in Canada against coronavirus restrictions, choking the Alberta border crossing since Saturday.
The demonstrations are over federal rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated truckers entering Canada from the U.S, reported CBC News.
The rule mandates that truckers who are not fully vaccinated must get a PCR test and quarantine.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta (RCMP) carried out an action against the blockade.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney described the blockade as an attempt to "ram members of the RCMP".
"Assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply doing their job to maintain public safety and the rule of law is completely unacceptable," he added and called for calm following the incident.
RCMP also commented on the incident in a press release saying that it is unlawful to willfully obstruct, interrupt or interfere with the highway's use or operation, reported CBC News.
Kenny said the about 100 individuals are preventing thousands of truckers from doing their job of delivering food, goods and medicine to Albertans and Canadians, emphasizing that blocking a key piece of infrastructure is against the law.
The United States implemented a similar mandate on January 22 requiring that all US-bound travellers, including truckers, show proof they've had the required shots.
Following the protests, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney commented on the situation saying, "This kind of conduct is totally unacceptable."
In another key development, Quebec's premier Francois Legault said on Tuesday that his province would scrap any attempt to tax people who have not gotten their Covid-19 vaccinations, as his government proposed just weeks ago, citing concerns about dividing people and straining their mental health.
Meanwhile, the trucker protest against coronavirus restrictions continues in Canada's capital, Ottawa.
Notably, Trudeau and his family were moved to a different location from their home in the capital city amid the trucker protest, according to Canadian media reports.
