TORONTO – NEWS – The trucker’s convoy is headed to Toronto.
Toronto Mayor John Tory has issued this statement: “This morning, I met with City Manager Chris Murray, Chief Matthew Pegg and senior City staff, and Police Chief James Ramer and senior officers to receive an update from Toronto Police on a possible ‘Convoy for Freedom’ protest in Toronto this weekend.
“I support the right of all Canadians to peaceful, respectful protest and the City of Toronto has been no stranger to protests of all kinds throughout the pandemic.
“Police are continuing to gather information about this possible protest and will have a public update for residents and the business community tomorrow.
“I want to be absolutely clear that I support Toronto Police taking necessary action to prepare for this protest with a focus on doing everything they can to protect the safety of Toronto residents and businesses and to minimize any disruptions to Toronto residents and businesses as much as possible.
“Any protest in the area of Queen’s Park absolutely cannot block off access to the hospitals around the legislature – people should not be blocked from receiving emergency care or any medical care and hospital workers, who have been frontline heroes throughout the pandemic, should be able to freely and safely come and go from their workplace.
Furthermore, this weekend marks the first weekend that many businesses are able to be open, including restaurants and indoor dining. The notion that any protest would keep these businesses – hit hard by the pandemic – from being open or drive customers away is unacceptable.
“As Mayor, I cannot direct police enforcement – no elected official can – but I have made it clear to Chief Ramer that we must do everything we can to avoid the type of situation currently faced by Ottawa residents and businesses”.