Mayor of Terry Fox's hometown in B.C. calls out vaccine mandate protesters for defacing statue

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The mayor of Port Coquitlam is upset that vaccine mandate protesters have defaced a statue of the city’s hometown hero Terry Fox in Ottawa.

Brad West posted on Twitter on Saturday, saying Terry Fox is the city’s hero, national inspiration and unifier.

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Along with many others, West voiced his dismay after photos were posted on social media showing the statue holding an upside-down Canadian flag and a sign that reads “mandate freedom.”

The incident happened Saturday during a protest of vaccine mandates by a convoy of trucks that rolled into Ottawa on Saturday.

“Whatever your cause, you don’t get to appropriate his legacy and you don’t touch his statue. Ever. This should be removed immediately,” said West in a tweet.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said, in a tweet, he has asked staff to take down the sign and the upside-down flag, calling it “completely unacceptable” and the kind of stunt that “does not help their cause.” He also said cars parked on the grounds of the national Cenotaph have been removed.

“Parking on this sacred ground that includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a sign of complete disrespect,” he said.

The photo of the defaced statue was widely shared on social media Saturday, sparking outrage. Many noted that Fox was an advocate for science and that vaccines provide protection against COVID-19 to vulnerable cancer patients.

On Saturday, the Terry Fox Foundation tweeted that “Terry believed in science and gave his life to help others” and thanked its supporters for helping to work toward Fox’s dream of a world without cancer.

Kelly Curwin, a spokesperson for the Terry Fox Research Institute, said they would not be commenting further on the incident.

Meantime, some protesters gathered in Vancouver and a Chilliwack trucker had organized a support rally to drive to Vancouver from Langley and back to Chilliwack, according to a report in The Chilliwack Progress.

There were also small clusters of protesters at the south end of the Burrard Bridge cheering on some trucks. Some demonstrators carried People’s Party of Canada signs, while others held defaced Canadian flags cursing Trudeau. A number of cars and standing protesters had flags flying upside-down.

According to the Canadian government’s flag rules, the country’s flag should never be flown upside-down except as a signal of distress in instances of extreme danger to life.

Vancouver police Const. Tania Visintin said cops were aware of the truck convoy in Vancouver and, as of 1 p.m., there had been no problems or arrests.

Victoria police also tweeted that a large protest was disrupting traffic around the provincial legislature, while videos posted to social media showed a group of trucks and other vehicles in Prince George honking in support of those rallying in Ottawa.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance issued a statement Saturday, saying as the protests unfold over the weekend, “we ask the Canadian public to be aware that many of the people you see and hear in media reports do not have a connection to the trucking industry.”

A convoy of trucks packed the streets of Ottawa on Saturday to protest vaccine mandates. Ottawa police had to help Rideau Centre management and security close the downtown shopping mall “due to the overcrowding” by unmasked protesters.

People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier attended the rally in Ottawa and spoke to supporters on Parliament Hill where he blasted the Conservative leader for not showing up. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said Friday that he supported their right to be heard and called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hear their concerns. Trudeau was in isolation Saturday after one of his children was infected by COVID-19.

Photos posted to social media also showed some protesters with the racist confederate flag and waving banners with the Nazi swastika symbol.

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