Canadian truck drivers in Ottawa are calling for the end of all COVID-19 mandates. -AP
Truck drivers who have been blockading downtown Ottawa for six days say they have no intention of leaving the Canadian capital until the government scraps COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
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Despite increasing complaints from residents about noise, pollution and aggressive behaviour from some truckers, Ottawa police have declined to end the protest, citing the risk of aggravating tensions.
The demonstration began as a move to force the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to drop a vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers.Â
It has since turned into a more populist anti-Trudeau movement.
"We understand your frustration... but the responsibility for your inconvenience lies squarely on the shoulders of politicians," protest leader Chris Barber said in a statement to Ottawa residents.
"We are here and we are not going anywhere until we achieve our objective, to see an end of all COVID-19 mandates and with that a restoration of freedoms of all Canadians," he said.
Trudeau on Monday said Canadians were disgusted by the behaviour of some protesters and vowed not to be intimidated.
The inaction of the police in Ottawa - some of whom have posed for selfies with demonstrators - contrasts with more robust action by authorities in the western province of Alberta.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Tuesday moved in on truckers blockading the US border at the town of Coutts but pulled back after clashes with some drivers.
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