Quebec Conservative Party leader supports truckers, defends their right to protest

Quebec Conservative Party (QCP) leader Eric Duhaime says he supports truckers and other protesters who have gathered in Ottawa to demand an end to public health restrictions.

In a press conference at the National Assembly on Monday -- on the eve of the return to Parliament -- Duhaime said he supported many of their demands.

He applauded the truckers for doing "what others should have done long before," including business groups, the courts and civil rights advocates, he said.

"If truckers are on the streets today ... it's because we have bulwarks in our democracy that were supposed to defend ... our rights ... that have failed miserably," he said.

"There are very few people who have stood up to the drift that Quebec has undergone in the last two years."

Duhaime said he condemns the desecration of the National War Memorial, where demonstrators danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier over the weekend.

He said that these were only a few isolated cases and "congratulated" people for exercising their "fundamental right" to demonstrate in a "mostly peaceful" manner.

Duhaime called the press on Monday to ask for clarification on the administration of the third dose of the vaccine to those who contracted COVID-19.

He recalled that the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, recommended that these people get their third dose immediately after their symptoms disappear.

However, on the government's website, it is also recommended to wait at least eight weeks, he pointed out, saying he himself contracted the coronavirus during the holiday season.

"The government is losing the confidence of the population with its repeated contradictory messages," said the Conservative leader.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 31, 2022.