Premier of Alberta shares his message for the 'Freedom Convoy'
Premier Jason Kenney discusses the protest, Justin Trudeau's comments and what he thinks of vaccine mandates.
As Canadian truckers protest the country’s COVID restrictions in the nation’s capital, Alberta’s Premier Jason Kenney told Fox News Digital the "Freedom Convoy" had legitimate concerns, but they should express them respectfully.
"People do have a right to peaceful protest, I just always encourage them to do it in a way that’s respectful, make their point, and certainly not to dishonor our war dead in the process," Kenney said.
The "Freedom Convoy" left Vancouver, British Columbia on Jan. 23 and traveled to Ottawa on Saturday, where they were joined by thousands of citizens in protesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s pandemic policies.
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Kenney said he believed the protesters had a legitimate concern, and he agreed with those who oppose "unnecessary quarantine requirement[s] for cross-border truckers."
"But obviously there are some folks involved with some symbols of hatred, some people outrageously dishonored the tomb of the unknown soldier in our national war memorial, and that’s just outrageous," Kenney added.
While local news reports and videos of the scenes in Ottawa show mostly peaceful protests, police did say they are investigating possible criminal charges after protesters allegedly urinated on the National War Memorial, danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and used the statue of Canadian athlete Terry Fox to display a sign reading, "Mandate Freedom."
Trudeau criticized the protesters as a "very small, very angry, group of Canadians" and said they hold "unacceptable views."
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Kenney acknowledged that some have attached themselves to the protest with "extreme, potentially even hateful views" and should be "completely repudiated by the organizers of all this."
"If they’re opposed to the quarantine requirement imposed by the two federal governments for unvaccinated truckers, I hear them. I think it’s not necessary for public health reasons, and it does make a bad situation worse," he said.
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Kenney added the protesters should "respect the rules of the road, not block roads, be safe and be respectful."
Kenney asked that the U.S. and Canadian federal governments "apply some common sense" in finding solutions to rules that prevent unvaccinated truckers from crossing the U.S.-Canada border.
Fox News’ Emma Colton and Brandon Gillespe contributed to this report.
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