With the wind howling, occasional whiteouts and temperatures hovering around minus-9 Celsius on Saturday, protesters staging in the Sadlon Arena parking lot in Barrie's south end mostly remained in their vehicles relying upon the now-distinctive horn blowing as their main form of communication.
Happily joining the disparate cacophony with the occasional honk this morning was an Orillia couple demonstrating their displeasure with pandemic regulations.
“We need to fight for our freedoms because this is turning communist very quickly,” said the Orillia man with the last name Robillard, but whose first name was lost in the wind gusts during the recorded interview.
Robillard said he had been a truck driver for 43 years. He added that he and his partner have decided against having COVID-19 vaccinations because they feel they were rushed and are not comfortable about their long-term effect.
In the passenger seat, Maureen Taylor said restrictions have proved a real impediment in her life.
“I have grandchildren in the States that I haven’t been able to see in three years and it’s just ridiculous,” she said. “I used to go three times a year. The emotional state that it’s putting them in is heartbreaking.”
As more vehicles joined the protest, they were directed by one man in a neon vest to line up neatly in rows facing the exit of the parking lot. He was among a handful of people approached by BarrieToday who declined to be interviewed.
Like the past three weeks, Saturday’s gathering was peaceful. However, Barrie police — who suggested people stay off the roads if possible given near-zero visibility with the blowing snow — warned that they expect traffic disruptions as the convoy of dozens of vehicles makes its way through the city.
“We will continue to monitor these events and work with organizers to ensure that there is safety and well-being for all people in our community,” Police Chief Kimberley Greenwood told the Barrie Police Services Board during its monthly meeting on Thursday.
The chief also referred to federal and provincial emergency measures.
Ontario imposed a state of emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act on Feb. 11 to address the blocking and impediment of the movement of goods and people along critical infrastructure — which has proven problematic at border crossings.
The federal government followed, declaring a public order emergency under the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 to deal with national security threats posed by the blockades, particularly in Ottawa.
“We do not anticipate the need to utilize this legislation here in Barrie at this point,” the chief told the board.
At Saturday’s protest, a man who asked that he only be referred to as 'Brent' and wearing military regalia, said he’s a veteran who retired in 2015, lives in Minesing and has his own business in Barrie.
“I’m disgusted with the country right now,” said Brent, adding he believes his freedoms are being restricted and he’s unhappy with controls, but added that the complaints of the protests are varied.
Lee Standingready, who identifies as Indigenous, said his rights and those of other Indigenous people have long been overlooked and he says that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
“Our people have been completely ignored,” Standingready said.
A woman named Anzelyka, who asked her last name not be used, said she believes the freedoms she came to Canada for have disappeared with the pandemic.
“I feel demonized here,” said the Angus woman, who said she opted not to be vaccinated because of a history of bad reactions to vaccines. “It actually makes my life really hard.
“A person needs to have a choice, the choice to choose how he wants to live his life," she added.
Anzelyka said she almost lost her job, but was able to get a religious exemption from her church. She said she works in a Toronto store where she has been ostracized and people refuse to talk to her.
Meanwhile, she said she's not able to go to restaurants and other businesses that ask for proof of vaccination.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit says the COVID-19 vaccine remains "the best defense" against the virus, including the Omicron variant. Getting vaccinated reduces the risk of becoming seriously sick or hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection. It can also increase protection for others in your household, at work or in the community, and is "especially important to protect those who are elderly or immunocompromised," the health unit says.
