Evangeline Lilly asks Justin Trudeau to meet with Canadians protesting vaccine mandates

• Evangeline Lilly said Justin Trudeau could bring Canadians together by discussing vaccine mandates.

• "Why won't you sit with them? They have asked to meet with you, prime minister," Lilly said.

• Lilly has been a public critic of vaccine mandates in the past.

"Ant-Man" star Evangeline Lilly has urged Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to speak with citizens who are protesting federal vaccine mandates.

Lilly — who was born in Fort Saskatchewan in Alberta, Canada, and raised in British Columbia — addressed Trudeau in a video posted to the Instagram account for Bridge City News, a Canadian news show that airs on the Miracle Channel, a Christian television network, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Why won't you sit with them? They have asked to meet with you, prime minister, medical experts, top scientists, doctors, nurses, parents, grandparents, intelligent, loving, concerned citizens," Lily asked Trudeau in the video.

"If you're so convinced of your own reasons for the mandates, sit down and walk the leaders of a group of 2.3 million protesters across the country who represent many millions more across the nation, and explain it to them and ask them to listen with open hearts and minds, and then reciprocate. Listen to what they have to say with a mind open to hearing things that might go against the ideas you are entrenched in."

The Marvel star later added that Trudeau could "bring Canadians together right now" by opening up the discussion surrounding vaccine mandates.

"You unify people by finding solutions together, not by vilifying those who say there is a better way," she said. "What we need right now from our leadership is unification, and that requires being willing to see, recognize and hear from the people sitting out in the cold at your door."

Protestors — who call themselves the "Freedom Convoy" — have blocked city streets in the Canadian capital of Ottawa for almost a month and recently blocked a vital bridge between Detroit and Canada in response to a federal mandate that requires truckers be fully vaccinated when crossing the border with the US or be required to quarantine for two weeks.

Story continues

Earlier this month, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a national emergency over ongoing trucker protests, allowing the nation's government to temporarily override civil rights. The far-reaching Emergencies Act gives the Canadian government the ability to prohibit public assembly, restrict travel, and force businesses — such as towing companies — to act, with compensation.

Canadian police arrested 191 people and dispersed truckers blocking the streets of Ottawa over the weekend.

This isn't the first time Lilly has spoken publicly in opposition to vaccine mandates. In January, the actress posted on Instagram that she had attended an anti-vaccine rally in Washington, D.C.

"This is not safe," Lilly wrote in the post. "This is not healthy. This is not love. I understand the world is in fear, but I don't believe that answering fear with force will fix our problems. I was pro-choice before COVID, and I am still pro-choice today."

Read the original article on Insider