A march against the lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic held up traffic along Lake Street in St Catharines on Saturday afternoon, as hundreds of tightly packed, unmasked protesters took to the streets to voice their discontent with the current situation.
At 1 PM, police and neighbours of Chrome Artistic Barbering watched as the parking lot filled up outside the hair salon, where protesters gathered before marching south onto Lake St, at times taking up a significant portion of the road. The march was organized by the owner Alicia Hirter, who previously saw her salon shut down by bylaw officials and ticketed for not following public health orders after attempting to operate as a film studio to circumvent the restrictions. The shop has since run a vocal online campaign against the lockdowns.
The protesters were instructed to wear red and bring signage, which could be seen among the many Canadian flags, as well as banners with the 'QAnon'-logo - an American movement that subscribes to widely debunked conspiracy theories about a 'deep state,' whose primary opponent is former U.S President Donald Trump, who has become a galleon figure for the group.
Some protesters were seen berating frustrated motorists who honked at the procession, by walking up to the front- and side windows and holding up plaques and yelling chants at them, before continuing the march, escorted by several police vehicles. Onlookers wearing masks were also called out by some protesters, who could be heard imitating the sound of a sheep, or asking why they wouldn't breathe the fresh air, or if they were fearful over 'the fake virus.'
"Your masks contains poison," exclaimed a young protester to an elderly man who was watching the procession, wearing a face covering.
"They don't protect you! We're free! I want to go to a nightclub!" continued the protester.
"He's young. He isn't 82 like me," said the onlooker, who wished his name kept out of the article but said he had just been vaccinated and was hoping that life would be returning to normal soon.
"And I don't know about poison in my mask... I'm still alive!"
The march made its way south onto Lake St, cutting through a residential neighborhood, before making a stop outside another beauty salon in the area, where some short speeches were held, calling for abolishment of the lockdowns. Protesters then made their way back to the original starting point of the march, where some lingered, watched by police.
An elderly woman, who said she lives across the street from the barbershop, was upset to see the congregation.
"My 16-year-old granddaughter missed her graduation. She misses her friends and being in school. But you know what? She's dealing with it. These people aren't. I think they are just bored. All I hope is that we aren't seeing numbers skyrocket here in two weeks."
Public Health reported 122 cases of COVID-19 in Niagara on Saturday - one of the highest daily increases since the end of January.
