Freedom Convoy sparks global protests

Roughly 1,000 protesters are still in Canberra, Australia, after copying Canada’s convoy protest a week ago. New Zealand police on Thursday detained more than 50 protesters camped outside Parliament in demonstrations that began Tuesday. Two more convoys of about 400 people total set out from southern France on Wednesday on their way to Paris. A pan-European caravan of protesters from the 27-country European Union bloc is expected to descend on Brussels by Feb. 14. Inspired by the Canadian truckers, American organizers, with help from right-wing groups, are scheduling a protest convoy to drive from California on March 4 and end in Washington, D.C.

Has anything changed in Canada? Four provinces announced plans on Tuesday to roll back several pandemic measures. Alberta, Canada’s most conservative province, dropped its vaccine passport requirement for places like restaurants and is lifting its mask mandate by March 1. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended federal mandates such as requiring all truck drivers to be fully vaccinated, and the Freedom Convoy refuses to leave Ottawa until it is reversed. Pickup truck drivers have blockaded the Ontario-Detroit border crossing, which carries 25 percent of all U.S.-Canada trade, for three days. More than 400 trucks remain in downtown Ottawa, which is under a state of emergency. Police are seizing fuel from the parked trucks and have opened more than 80 criminal investigations.

Dig deeper: Read Maria Ferraro’s article in World Tour on how Canadian pastors are reacting to the protests.