Trucks block major intersection in Toronto as hundreds demonstrate against vaccine mandates
CBC
A major intersection in downtown Toronto is being blocked by trucks as hundreds of people demonstrate on Saturday against COVID-19 measures and vaccine mandates.
Trucks are parked in the middle of Bloor Street West and Avenue Road, an intersection just north of the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum.
Toronto police say they have arrested a man, 22, as part of the protest on the north side of Queen's Park. He has been charged with assault with a weapon, administering a noxious substance — which in this case was a smoke bomb — and public mischief.
Police said Peel Regional paramedics were slowed down at the intersection because of trucks and protesters.
"Vehicles and people must make room for emergency vehicles to pass through," police said in a tweet. "This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. There are traffic delays across the city due to protests."
Protesters also gathered a couple of blocks away on the north lawn of Queen's Park, which is located at the back of the provincial legislature building. Flyers advertising a "convoy for freedom" against COVID-19 measures have circulated on social media.
A counter protest in support of hospital workers is being held on Saturday in the area of University Avenue and Gerrard Street West in front of Toronto General Hospital.
Toronto police have closed the southbound Don Valley Parkway at Richmond Street, which heads into the downtown core, and the eastbound Gardiner Expressway at Lake Shore Boulevard.
Police have closed other roads in the downtown area to most traffic to ensure access to hospitals near Queen's Park.
Earlier, protesters gathered in spots across Toronto, including at Yorkdale Shopping Centre near Highway 401, where a few trucks and dozens of vehicles stayed in the corner of a parking lot, waving Canadian flags and honking.
Toronto officials have said they are hoping to avoid the kind of blockade seen for the past week in Ottawa, where demonstrators in trucks have occupied key areas of the downtown.
Toronto police Chief James Ramer said his force is looking to Ottawa and relying on "intelligence" from other police forces in forming its plans.
"Given the information that we've received, we feel these steps are appropriate," Ramer told a Friday news conference.
The police service has also sent extra officers to the core in an effort to keep the peace, should the situation devolve.
G.E. Barbour may be best known for its King Cole tea, but the Sussex company’s peanut butter is apparently what everyone wants overseas.
Seven years into an early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Sandra Demontigny's home is full of reminders.
A blizzard gusting across southern Manitoba is leaving a long list of highway and school closures.
While a blizzard threatened outside, Saskatoon city council endured an icy blast inside city hall from a Riversdale business leader over its homeless initiatives.
This is a story about fire, faith and marshmallows.
Alberta’s population bucked the trend that almost every other Canadian province and territory experienced last quarter, Statistics Canada population estimates suggest.
A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan from enforcing a 2020 order to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, ruling that pipeline safety is a federal responsibility.
When retired RCMP constable Jason Hydamacka heard the news that the insurance money for his amputated leg was coming, he sat in his truck and cried.
As Neskantaga First Nation’s youngest band councillor, Lashaunda Waswa says she wants to inspire the next generation to protect the community’s land, water and wildlife.
Toronto has seen a drop in crime rates across the city, but its police chief says youth crime rates continue to be a cause for concern.
Cambridge council has voted to request a pedestrian safety review of Cedar Street from the region after two back-to-back collisions last week, one of which killed a three-year-old girl.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation has received a $1-million donation to create an endowment fund that it will use to upgrade common areas at the Charlottetown hospital.
A new study by the Center for European Policy Analysis suggests Russia and China are pulling ahead of NATO nations, including Canada, in the race to develop and field drones capable of operating in harsh Arctic conditions.