Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a group of protesters who surrounded him outside a Hamilton restaurant on Tuesday "a bunch of angry people."
Video posted on social media shows the prime minister walking toward Jackson Square, a plaza located near James Street and York Boulevard, as a large group of people shout and insult him.
In the video, uniformed officers are seen protecting Trudeau, making sure he can walk down the street safely.
The small group of protesters can be heard shouting "tyrant" and "traitor" as they demand Trudeau's resignation. Many of the protesters could be seen carrying Canadian flags.
One of the protesters carried a banner that read "We love the fringe," a reference to when Trudeau called the people involved in the trucker convoy in Ottawa a "fringe minority of people."
This situation has been repeated at several of Trudeau's public appearances over the past few days, so reporters asked him if he considered these incidents to represent a security problem for him, this was his response:
The welcome I have had from the people here in Hamilton has been extraordinary, the people we have met, the students, the work teams and everyone we have shared these days with have been considerate, open and warm. So a handful of angry people does not define the people of Hamilton or democracy in this country. It's very important in our democracy that people can express their disagreements and even their anger with governments, that's very important, but at the same time our police services must make sure that those protests remain peaceful and within the law, that matters too. We will always support people being free to express themselves, but I think everyone understands that a handful of people do not represent the people of Hamilton.
Reporters also asked him if he is hosting fewer large, open events because of this anger, Trudeau replied that he is not.
"We're going to continue to be out there," he said. "We're not going to allow a bunch of angry people to interfere with the democratic processes that Canadians have always prided themselves on."
Trudeau is in Hamilton for a three-day retreat with his cabinet. Health care funding, plus the threat of a recession, were two topics actively discussed.
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