Thousands march in Montreal to protest COVID-19 measures, Maxime Bernier in attendance

MONTREAL (CityNews) — Chants of “Liberté! Liberté!” filled the streets of Montreal’s East End on Saturday afternoon as thousands of people gathered to protest public-health measures.

The protesters were denouncing provincial COVID-19 measures such as mask mandates and the mandatory curfew.

The Olympic Stadium, where the protest began, currently serves as one of the province’s COVID-19 mass vaccination clinics and was closed for the day due to the protest.

“These lockdowns have to end,” one protester told CityNews. “We can go back to living normal lives with minor precautions. … Let’s start living again.”

Added another: “We have to learn to take control of our own lives and not let people tell us what to think, how to think, how to live or how to heal ourselves.”

**Warning some graphic language**

Thousands hitting the streets of Montreal denouncing the province’s health measures including the curfew. They say they want their freedom back! #EndTheLockdown #EnoughIsEnough @CityNewsMTL pic.twitter.com/Xl0LIbnvc1

— Melina Giubilaro (@metamelina) May 1, 2021

Quebec implemented an 8 p.m. curfew in early January — the only Canadian province to do so. That curfew is being pushed back to 9:30 p.m. beginning Monday.

People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier was in attendance. Bernier promised supporters he would fight for the rights and freedoms of Quebecers.

“These lockdowns will end, that is not the solution,” said Bernier. “Look at what is happening in the States, in Georgia, in Florida, in Texas. They don’t have any lockdowns and the cases are going down and the deaths are going down.

“It’s time to have our freedom back.”

A police presence was on hand to ensure demonstrators respected social-distancing measures and wore masks, which many did not.

“Personally, I don’t like to see the kids with the mask,” said protest co-organizer Daniel Pilon. “The quality of life is terrible. People are suffering. The damages of all those measures are bigger than the COVID.”

Added another protester: “When your choice is taken away from you a little bit at a time and you don’t see it happening because it’s creeping up on you, eventually you wake up and it’s too late and you can’t do anything about it. It’s time to wake up. That’s all.”

Montreal mayor Valerie Plante tweeted during the protest that she was concerned to see such a demonstration taking place.

“Everyone wants to go back to a normal life, and the sanitary measures are there for that reason,” she tweeted.

Quebec reported 1,101 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths attributed to the virus on Saturday, with one taking place in the past 24 hours.

Les manifs en cours, dont celle au Stade Olympique, me préoccupent. Manifester est un droit et je ne remets pas ça en question. Tout le monde veut un retour à la normale, et mesures sanitaires servent ce but. Assurer un été dynamique et plus normal. Il faut les respecter. #polmtl

— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) May 1, 2021