A former U.S. ambassador to Canada said groups in the U.S. need to cease interfering in what many call an occupation in Canada's capital as protesters opposed to vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions held rallies in cities across the country in a show of solidarity with a week-long demonstration in Ottawa.

“Under no circumstances should any group in the USA fund disruptive activities in Canada. Period. Full stop,” Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador under President Barack Obama, tweeted late Saturday.

After crowdfunding site GoFundMe said it would refund or redirect to charities the vast majority of millions raised by demonstrators protesting COVID-19 measures in the Canadian capital, prominent U.S. Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis complained.

“It is a fraud for @gofundme to commandeer $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing,” DeSantis tweeted.

He added he would investigate these deceptive practices and donors should be given a refund. But GoFundMe had already changed its mind and said it would be issuing refunds to all. GoFundMe said it cut off funding for the organizers because it had determined the effort violated the site’s terms of service due to unlawful activity. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling it an occupation.

https://apnews.com/e9295f9f379ffdb114b6c063f5c77a98

If hypocrisy were a panacea, the coronavirus would have been banished from earth long ago. Politicians and government officials have brazenly violated the COVID-19 edicts they impose on everyone else. But after two years of prohibitions designed to placate fears rather than protect public health, can oppressed citizens around the globe compel their rulers to end absurd restrictions vexing their daily lives?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2022/02/06/restrictions-drop-around-world-covid-hypocrisy-revealed/9317726002/

https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1490071879557820416?s=20&t=Q0j6J0gttJ4zMy4PT2bQrw

After their GoFundMe campaign was seized on Saturday, the organizers of the 'Freedom convoy' in Ottawa are now also facing a lawsuit from a woman living in the country's capital, who has left her case open for other residents to join.

Ottawa resident Zexi Li filed a $9.8million lawsuit in Ontario Superior Court on Friday, seeking damages for 'emotional and mental distress', citing ongoing headaches, sleeping difficulties, difficulty concentrating and interference with quiet enjoyment of her home.

'The Class Members are living in daily torment caused by the incessant blasting of truck horns,' reads the statement of claim.

The lawsuit, filed by lawyer Paul Champ, categorizes two types of damages: the first, worth $4.8 million, for 'private nuisance', while the second is for 'punitive damages,' worth $5 million.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10482405/Canadian-Freedom-Truckers-Ottawa-hit-9-8M-lawsuit-fed-residents.html

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has decided to use state resources to investigate GoFundMe for dumping a group of controversial anti-vaccine truckers protesting in Canada who have been accused by Ottawa police of “unlawful” activity.

The “Freedom Convoy” of truckers has been protesting for a week in downtown Ottawa over the requirement that the drivers must be vaccinated before they can drive across the border into the U.S.

The truckers’ convoy was hit Friday with a $9.8 million class-action complaint for relentlessly blasting their air horns while jamming downtown Ottawa streets. They have also been accused of harassing area residents and shoppers, even assaulting some, and ripping masks off residents’ faces.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ron-desantis-donald-trump-jr-anti-vaccine-truckers-ottawa_n_61ff6619e4b0725faacb0f46

What??? Is there a vaccine mandate? This article is dated January 13.

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Canada will allow unvaccinated Canadian truckers to cross in from the United States, reversing a decision requiring all truckers to be inoculated against the coronavirus, Canada's border agency said on Wednesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had faced pressure from the main opposition party and trucking lobby to drop the vaccine mandate for truckers, due to come into force on Saturday, saying it could result in driver shortages, disrupt trade and drive up inflation.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadian-truckers-stay-exempt-covid-19-vaccine-requirements-2022-01-13/