Trudeau Blames Increasing Protests and Disruptions on Conservatives

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks following a cabinet retreat in Ottawa on Jan. 26, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

As protests against COVID-19 restrictions increase across the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday the Conservative Party is to blame because it has encouraged the movement.

Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen said during question period on Feb. 10 that critical infrastructure has been restricted because of Trudeau’s failure to deal appropriately with the issue and asked if he would meet with opposition leaders to find a solution.

“The Conservative Party of Canada has spent the last two weeks endorsing and enabling these blockades across the country. The leader of the Conservative Party and her team have been their biggest champions,” Trudeau replied.

“The consequences of these actions are having dire impacts ... I hope the leader of the opposition will maintain her current position and continue to call for an end to these blockades.”

Earlier in the day, Bergen, who had been supportive of the movement, changed her tone, telling the protesters to go home.

“I believe the time has come for you to take down the barricades, stop the disruptive action, and come together. The economy you want to see reopen is hurting,” she said, adding that her party will carry on the work of fighting to end the COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.

“To the protesters here in Ottawa, you came bringing a message. That message has been heard. Conservatives have heard you, and we will stand up for you and all Canadians who want to get back to normal life. We will not stop until the mandates have ended,” she said.

Bergen presented a motion asking the government to table a plan by the end of the month to lift all federal mandates and restrictions, “given that provinces are lifting COVID-19 restrictions and that [Chief Public Health Officer] Dr. Theresa Tam has said that all existing public health measures need to be ‘re-evaluated’ so that we can ‘get back to some normalcy.’”

The motion was debated and not voted on, and a Bloc MP said his party would support it.

When Bergen asked Trudeau if he would support the motion, he answered that the “way through this pandemic is by listening to science, is by following public health advice, and indeed by getting vaccinated.”

Bergen responded by asking if Trudeau means that restrictions won’t be lifted until 100 percent of Canadians are vaccinated.

“You know what helps lift restrictions, you know what helps move beyond lockdowns? Vaccinations,” he replied.

Meanwhile, what started as a trucker convoy and a protest in Ottawa to call for an end to vaccine mandates and other restrictive measures continues to grow.

After the blocking of the Coutts border crossing in Alberta and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, the Emerson border crossing in Manitoba was blocked Thursday in solidarity by vehicles and farm equipment. Protesters also blocked highway lanes on Highway 402 in Sarnia on Feb. 9 and 10.