Sawt Falasteen - Doodle-covered truck becomes symbol of Canada's Covid protests

Gaëtan, Derek, Ariana, Marc-André, Jessyca -- hundreds of signatures are scrawled in black marker all over the vehicle.

Alongside the names are messages such as "God bless the trucker," "Thank you cowboy" and "People read about history, you are making it."

Nearby, retired nurse Nancy Lauzon gushes with pride over her compatriots -- who are mostly seen abroad as "so polite" -- raising hell over public health rules they say went too far and are strangling their democratic freedoms.

"I put my name on this truck because I want to be part of history, and this is history in the making," Lauzon, 64, told AFP.

"Hopefully my grandchildren will remember that their nanny tried to fight for freedom," she said, her voice choking up.

At the front of the truck, a little girl in a pink ski jacket and pants, barely taller than the semi's tire, draws a heart under the tender gaze of Cathy Stevens, who is waiting her turn.

The black felt freezes in bone-chilling temperatures, however, leaving people scrambling for another.

For her partner, Gilles Desbiens, the truck covered in doodles symbolizes "a coming together of Canadians showing that they care about the future." It should be kept as a "memorial of the people," he said.

- For posterity -

Sitting behind the wheel of his big rig, Spencer Bautz, sporting a goatee and black cowboy hat, is constantly interrupted by curious demonstrators.

They stop to extend congratulations, compliments and words of encouragement through his open window, as well as offer him cigarettes and letters from supporters. Sometimes they ask to snap a selfie with him.

The 24-year-old trucker is very chatty, happy to regale passers-by with stories of his more than two weeks parked in the Canadian capital to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions, and to listen to their own tales.

It will be a "constant reminder" of the importance of the event, he said. "Every time I walk by or look out at it, I'm gonna be reminded of how special this was."

Bautz added: "I've never been so hopeful and proud to be a Canadian."

Explaining his motivations for protesting, he said: "Watching people who had their careers taken away or seeing kids having to wear masks, and just seeing people treated so unfairly... it just really, really bothered me."

Bautz drove almost 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) from Humboldt, Saskatchewan to Ottawa three weeks ago for the protest.

He said he will add his signature on the truck if there's any space left at the end of the demonstrations -- which, with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoking emergency powers Monday to quell the protests, could come sooner than many demonstrators had hoped.

Eventually, Bautz said, he will return to driving his rig daily. But before that he intends to add a clear coat of paint or varnish, to preserve the signatures and comments for posterity.

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST