FILE PHOTO - Kamloops-Thompson Cariboo MP Frank Caputo isn’t entirely condemning the Freedom Convoy protest that descended on Canada’s capital this past weekend, but he is speaking out against the actions taken by some of those involved.
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February 01, 2022 - 8:43 AM
Kamloops-Thompson Cariboo MP Frank Caputo isn’t entirely condemning the Freedom Convoy protest that descended on Canada’s capital this past weekend, but he is speaking out against the actions taken by some of those involved.
Thousands of people and vehicles packed in tight near the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, protesting the federal government’s mandate that all truck drivers crossing the Canada-U.S. border be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
They were also protesting other pandemic-related vaccine mandates and health orders.
Alongside big rigs blasting their horns came some displays of racist symbols, such as swastikas and the Confederate flag, and controversial incidents involving Canadian memorials. The Terry Fox statue was covered in anti-vaccination signs and there were reports and video of people dancing and jumping on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and National War Memorial.
Later in the weekend, protesters were seen cleaning the Terry Fox Statue, while a group of attendees formed a cordon around the war memorial to keep it free of people.
During the House of Commons sitting on Monday, Jan, 31, Caputo made a statement condemning those who disrespected the war memorial.
“The people who did this missed a clear point,” he said. “The Unknown Soldier and all of those who served for this country served so that we could have the very freedoms that we enjoy today, like the right to peaceful assembly and the right to free speech.”
Caputo, the Conservative party’s Veterans Affairs critic, noted Canadian soldiers fought for freedom against Nazism, making the use of those symbols during the protest so repugnant.
“That freedom was abused by the actions of a few,” Caputo told the House.
He also thanked those who laid flowers at the National War Memorial and Terry Fox statue and shamed those who desecrated the monuments.
Caputo visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday and said a prayer “to beg forgiveness for any time we, as Canadians, have forgotten that freedom wasn’t free.”
Caputo said it had been an emotional past 24 hours for him, noting his visit to the memorial had him in tears.
He said he didn’t have any issues getting to the House of Commons on Monday, noting that while there were still some vehicles on the street, it was apparent the protest had “dramatically thinned out.”
Asked for his opinion on the Freedom Convoy, Caputo said he supports the constitutional right to protest legally, but condemned those that expand to “violence, intimidation or racist rhetoric.”
The rookie MP was in Ottawa over the weekend, but wasn’t present for any of the protest, nor did he meet with any protesters.
“I obviously could hear it,” Caputo said, referring to the large number of semi-trucks, many of which would blast their horns in unison, and describing the demonstration as being large in scale.
Asked why he didn’t speak with any protesters when some Conservative MPs have, Caputo said each MP will decide how they conduct themselves.
“Any meeting I do has to relate to a constituent or a constituency issue,” he said.
Asked if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should meet with the protesters, Caputo said the government and all members of parliament should meet with their constituents, in particular those who bring such issues to them.
Asked if the protesters have any legitimate arguments, Caputo said he believes the protesters are “universally saying what a lot of Canadians are saying, which is we all want to be done with COVID-19.”
Asked if he supports the federal government’s mandating vaccines for truck drivers to cross the border, as well as for people boarding planes and trains, Caputo said he encourages everyone to get vaccinated, as he has, but maintained his view that the government cannot compel a heath-care decision.
— This story was originally published by Kamloops This Week.
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