FREDERICTON — A small group of about 60 demonstrators were all that remained Monday afternoon of a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Fredericton, which was inspired by the trucker convoy in Ottawa.
That's down from about 700 people and 300 vehicles on Saturday at the peak of the noisy protest in front of the provincial legislature.
Protest organizer Mitchell Albert of Moncton, N.B., said Monday he planned to stay until all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the province are dropped. "If we're here a month, we're here a month," he said in an interview. "We've got the funds and support to be here."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau consulted the premiers Monday morning about using the Emergencies Act, as antigovernment blockades continue to paralyze Ottawa and shutter multiple border crossings with the United States.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said he doesn't think national measures such as the Emergencies Act are needed to deal with protests in his province.
"We put our own act in place," Higgs told reporters late Monday. "We put in place the measures to allow the police to do what they needed to do during the demonstrations we've had here, and I think it worked very effectively."
"I believe we're on the tail end of the pandemic and we've got opening plans as we move forward and start living with COVID and beyond, and people are seeing that, so it would be a regressive move at this time," Higgs added. "Certainly for New Brunswick it's not required."
He said the situation in Ottawa has gone on for too long and needs to end. He said Ontario Premier Doug Ford would have to decide with the prime minister if extra measures are needed to end the blockade.
Higgs announced last week that he will begin to ease some COVID-19 restrictions as of midnight Friday, and on Monday he said he hopes to be able to end all restrictions in March. He has also backed off talk of new measures to pressure people who are unvaccinated to get their shots.
"We are moving on as a society and we're looking at our hospitalizations," he said. "They are coming down."
Fredericton police Chief Roger Brown said Monday that measures introduced by the province recently to give police greater powers to keep streets open and prevent protests from getting out of hand were helpful during the weekend protest in Fredericton.
Brown told reporters that three people were charged under the new rules and could face hefty fines.
He said police also used city bylaws and the Motor Vehicle Act to seize a vehicle and ticket a number of drivers for squealing tires and honking horns.
"Our goal is not to charge people," Brown said. "There's always a small group of people who choose to push the limit."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2022.
Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press
