As a large crowd of protesters and others mingled on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for the ‘Freedom Convoy’ demonstration against COVID-19 health mandates, footage of a statue of Terry Fox holding a protest sign sparked outrage among social media users, including the mayor of Ottawa.
Someone had placed a Canadian flag upside down on the statue of Terry Fox at the corner of Wellington and Metcalfe and draped another flag around the back and shoulders of the statue. Protest signs were also placed in the hands of the statue.
An upside-down flag is generally meant to symbolize distress or danger, but has been used by protesters at various times as a political statement. The Government of Canada rules for flying the national flag saying that the flag should never be hoisted upside down, except as a distress signal in cases of extreme danger to life, and should also never be used to cover a statue.
In a tweet, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson called the move “completely unacceptable” and said he had ordered staff to remove items placed on the statue.
“These kind of stunts from protesters don’t help their cause,” Watson tweeted.
Brad West, the mayor of Fox’s hometown of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, accused whoever placed the items on the statue to appropriate Fox’s legacy.
“He is our city’s hero, a national inspiration and a unifier. Whatever your cause, you don’t appropriate his legacy and you don’t touch his statue. Ever.”
Although it did not directly comment on the images of the statue in Ottawa, the Terry Fox Foundation tweeted an image of a statue of the Canadian icon, with the message that he believed in science.
“Terry believed in science and gave his life to help others. Thank you to all of our supporters who help us make Terry’s dream of a world without cancer come true,” the tweet read.
The demonstration in Ottawa drew massive crowds to Parliament Hill to protest COVID-19 health mandates imposed by all levels of government, including mandatory vaccination requirements and mask mandates. Many were also protesting against the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The protest created a traffic jam in downtown Ottawa, with the City of Ottawa at one point warning that there was “no more room for vehicles” other than emergency responders.
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