CALEB NICKERSON
FORT COULONGE Jan. 10, 2021
On Sunday afternoon, the second Pontiac protest against lockdown measures took place in downtown Fort Coulonge. The gathering was slightly smaller than the one that took place in Shawville the previous weekend, but totaled around 30 people.
Starting on rue Baume, the event began with . . .
a brief speech from one of the organizers, Paul Croteau. He acknowledged that many of the participants were protesting different things, from the recently enacted lockdown measures to questioning the existence of the virus.
Croteau advised the marchers to don masks if they ventured close to each other, so as not to give the police supervising the demonstration “an excuse” to give out a fine.
“We’re coming to stand up for our rights and for what you believe in,” he said. “We’ve been put into the same [group] as the rest of Quebec, when we do not have the cases that bigger cities do. That’s why we are here today, whether it’s because we don’t believe in the lockdown, the masks, or the curfew … or the virus itself. We are in this together and we’ve had enough. I saw a lot of shaming on Facebook regarding our protest from last Sunday, and about our protest today and I’m here to say that their fear does not dictate how we choose to live.”
The regional health authority, CISSSO reported 14 deaths from COVID-19 over the past week and 430 active cases as of Monday, with a majority in the Gatineau area.
Croteau’s girlfriend and fellow organizer, Christa Fleury, added that she hoped their protest would result in changes to the public health restrictions, but said that they were mainly there to vent their frustration.
The march travelled down rue Baume onto rue Principale, pausing for roughly 20 minutes outside of the Spruceholme Inn, a business owned by MRC Pontiac Warden Jane Toller. The parking lot was empty and the no one appeared present, but nonetheless the crowd directed some of their chants at the building.
Members of the group took turns starting chants and yelling out their grievances, which covered a broad range of issues from lockdowns to politicians travelling over the holidays.
In an interview with The Equity two days prior to the march, Toller said that she understood the frustration of those involved and had heard from some of the demonstrators through social media.
“Some of them have been writing to me on Facebook, they feel that their freedom has been taken with these restrictions and they are very concerned about the businesses, and certain goods that they can’t have with businesses closed and that sort of thing,” she said. “I really understand their frustration and let’s face it, we’ve been at this now since March, and I think that there are a lot of people who are tired, really weary with all of these restrictions and this was for some people, sort of the last straw.
“We’re in a democracy, everybody has the freedom to speak out and say whatever they like,” she continued. “[But] I’m sure we’re going to stay in the lockdown until Feb. 8, because there were MRCs requesting ahead of time for some leniency, and they were not listened to.”
She also expressed concern about those not following public health guidelines, pointing out that two municipalities, L’Isle aux Allumettes and Waltham, registered their first cases recently.
“The virus is not dead in the Pontiac, and my concern is when people are gathering in the streets to express their opinion and they’re not wearing their masks, they’re standing close together, what are they saying by that?” she said. “We have to protect ourselves and each other, always wearing masks. I just feel that if it helps them make their point, then it’s a democracy and they are absolutely free to do that, but I’ve always felt that if we work together … we put our energy into things that we can change instead of what we can’t change.”
