Kristen Harper, a registered nurse, has faced a similar kind of skepticism from her relatives, with family members who “believe that COVID isn’t real wholly support this trucker convoy.” “I don’t need such negative people in my life, even if they are family.” “I don’t know him anymore and honestly…I am OK with that,” she wrote. She believes that conversation was the last she’ll have with her brother, she said, who also unfriended her on Facebook. He, in turn, called me an ‘idiot’ for being so upset over something so insignificant.” “I brought this to my brother’s attention. “Seeing the damage to the statues and monuments, to me, was so disrespectful,” she wrote. The disruptive behaviour of protesters, which included defacing a statue of Terry Fox and dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, both situated in front of Parliament Hill, was also upsetting to see, said Andruszkiewicz, who lived in Ottawa’s east end for 20 years before moving south of the city. She described the protest as “trivial” considering the United States requires all non-Americans crossing its land borders to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and pandemic lockdown measures fall largely under provincial jurisdiction. “Discussions are often short and angry.”īut news of the trucker protest taking place in Ottawa, with demonstrators rallying against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions, broke any remaining ties Andruszkiewicz had with her brother in particular. “Discussing it with my family has been frustrating,” she wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on Feb. After having been infected with COVID-19 herself, Andruszkiewicz said she faced skepticism from family members who doubted that she contracted the virus at all.įollowing nearly two months of recovery, Andruszkiewicz said she’s still experiencing symptoms of long COVID. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Valerie Andruszkiewicz said she and her siblings have been in constant conflict over the virus. Differences of opinion have left family members divided and friendships strained, with some ultimately deciding to cut ties with loved ones as a result. While police enforcement efforts have left Ottawa largely free from trucks and convoy protesters, and blockades at border crossings have been alleviated, it’s clear that for a number of Canadians, tensions still remain between family and friends. “I don't know him anymore.”Įarle is just one of many Canadians who wrote to CTVNews.ca about disagreements with loved ones over the protests that took over the nation’s capital and other cities across Canada. “We grew up with the same values a block apart, down the street from each other,” she said. “I just could not remain friends with someone who stood by that as it evolved.”īecause of this, Earle said she now finds herself mourning the loss of a friendship she's had since kindergarten. “When the leaders merged with the intent to usurp the government and openly preached about what they believe to be white genocide…your grassroots protest on COVID mandates ended,” she said. While the demonstration started as a way of protesting against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health measures brought about by the pandemic, it was quickly co-opted into an anti-government movement and became anything but peaceful, said Earle. “He said, ‘No, this is a peaceful protest and…there's bouncy castles and there's children,” Earle said. When Earle tried confronting him about the fear and intimidation this was causing some residents, he largely denied it, she said. border for work, took part in the protest on Parliament Hill and participated in the truck convoy that lined the streets of Ottawa’s downtown core for weeks. “That's what it felt like for the people in the neighbourhood because it was scary.”Įarle's friend, a vaccinated truck driver who regularly crosses the Canada-U.S. “I could not believe that he was planting roots in a movement that was terrorizing me. “It was happening in real-time and I was telling him about it,” she told CTVNews.ca during a phone interview on Wednesday. Travelling anywhere in the city alone felt unsafe, Earle said, as she recalled protesters circling her neighbourhood on their trucks, blaring their horns, revving their engines and taunting people as they walked by.Ĭonditions became so unbearable that Earle ended up relocating just one week into the protest.īut what made matters worse was knowing a life-long friend supported a cause that was bringing harm to her and her community. The trucker protest that paralyzed the nation’s capital for weeks not only destroyed Taryn Earle’s home, but a childhood friendship she had for nearly 40 years.Ī resident of Ottawa, Earle saw her apartment building broken into by some of the demonstrators who formed part of the trucker convoy, many of whom came in to throw out their trash or use laundry machines to wash their clothes.
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