Protests over COVID mandates prompt Ottawa to declare a state of emergency

Protests over COVID mandates¹ prompt Ottawa to declare a state of emergency

Transcript²

In the Canadian capital Ottawa, truckers and other opponents of vaccine³ mandates, as well as mask mandates, have paralyzed the city center for more than a week. Protesting for hours at a stretch.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The mayor of Canada's capital, Ottawa, says it is the most serious emergency the city has ever faced. Demonstrators in trucks have paralyzed the city center for more than a week, protesting loudly for hours at a stretch over vaccine and mask mandates. We reached Emma Jacobs in Montreal. She was reporting last week in Ottawa and is headed back today.

EMMA JACOBS, BYLINE⁴: So you've had hundreds of vehicles, big tractor trailers and cars blocking downtown streets and also making lots of noise. They call themselves the Freedom Convoy⁵. But they're running their engines and honking⁶ horns day and night. This is the seat of government where Parliament meets and government offices are. But it's also a residential⁷ neighborhood full of apartments where people have been going about their lives in what the mayor called a living hell.

FADEL: So what is the local government doing about it?

JACOBS: Police have seemed unprepared to deal with this unusual protest. Authorities have hesitated to confront the protesters. The police chief has said that's because they don't want anyone to get hurt, and they do have these big vehicles. So the protesters have just continued to dig in. There have been a handful of arrests. But on Sunday, it did feel like there was a shift. The police went into the convoy staging areas and seized hundreds of gallons of fuel Sunday night that the protesters have been stockpiling and using to keep these vehicles running.

FADEL: Now, you've been - you were speaking with the protesters. What do they want?

JACOBS: There's a real range. A lot of these demonstrators say they're staying until all public health mandates are lifted. Some of them have called for more extreme outcomes, like the dissolution of the current government. It's a real range of people out there but with different priorities. But there are definitely some QAnon and folks with ties to the far right.

FADEL: So you were there last week, and you're headed back today. Can you tell us what it's been like to be at these protests?

JACOBS: It's been really loud. And especially after hours of it, you do get a sense of why this has been so hard on residents. They have also said they're dealing⁸ with a lot of harassment⁹, being confronted by convoy supporters for wearing masks. And those convoy supporters - you know, they're very well supplied to dig in here with food, even firewood. Many members of the convoy and their supporters - they insist that the worst behavior and the right-wing views that have been expressed are really a tiny part of their movement. But at the same time, many protesters repeated misinformation and conspiracy¹⁰ theories about vaccines¹¹ and COVID-19. In Canada, a number of provinces are the ones requiring vaccine passports to access many public spaces. And the federal government can't lift those mandates. So it becomes tough to see how this protest will end.

FADEL: Is this the first time protests like this over COVID restrictions¹² have shut down a Canadian city?

JACOBS: It is. Now, over the weekend, there were protests that arrived in a number of other cities - Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Quebec City. But those police there - because they'd seen the Ottawa example, they seemed better prepared to clear those people out by the end of the weekend.

FADEL: That's reporter Emma Jacobs. Thank you so much.

JACOBS: Thank you.

1 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

6 honking   

v.（使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）( honk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flocks of honking geese flew past. 雁群嗷嗷地飞过。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

10 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

11 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制