Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced during a Monday address that he will not meet with the Canadian protest trucking convoy due to “hateful rhetoric.”
Trudeau was asked during the briefing if he would be meeting with the leaders of the trucking convoy. Though he initially dodged the question, he said the reason he would not meet with the group was that he would not go anywhere near protests that express “hateful rhetoric” and “violence toward fellow citizens.”
“Canadians know where I stand,” Trudeau said. “This is a moment for responsible leaders to think carefully about where they stand and who they stand with.”
Trudeau said he had attended rallies when he “agreed with the goals” and supported the people expressing their concerns, listing Black Lives Matter protests as an “excellent example.”
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
The prime minister added that the concerns expressed by the truckers in Ottawa are not new but are instead a continuation of what we’ve unfortunately seen in “disinformation, misinformation,” and other things “that go with the tin-foil hats.” He also reiterated his support of the COVID-19 vaccine and how it will “get us back to the things we love.”
Trudeau said Canadians are “shocked and disgusted” by the behavior of the truckers protesting in Ottawa and that the Canadian government will not give in to people who engage in vandalism or those who “dishonor the memory of our veterans.” Citing a quote his friend Irwin Cotler said on Saturday, Trudeau added that “freedom of expression, assembly, and association” are “cornerstones of democracy,” but “Nazi symbolism, racist imagery, and desecration of war memorials are not.”
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Though he had already announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 hours before the briefing, Trudeau revealed he does not have any COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally, he confirmed that two of his three children had tested positive for COVID-19. It was reported on Thursday that he would be isolating after one of his children had tested positive.
