The police have toughened their tone against opponents of the health measures enacted by the government of Justin Trudeau, who have blocked the center of Ottawa for more than a week.
The mayor of Ottawa, judging the situation “out of control” in his city paralyzed for more than a week by opponents of health measures, said Sunday “emergency state” in the Canadian capital and the police have toughened their tone against the demonstrators
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The protests, which began in Ottawa on Saturday January 29, spread to other major Canadian cities over the weekend, as dozens of trucks and protesters continued to paralyze the capital’s downtown area on Sunday.
Mayor Jim Watson announced in the afternoon that he had declared a state of emergency in Ottawa. “due to the ongoing protest”. This declaration “reflects the grave danger as well as the threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the continued protests and underscores the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government”said the town hall in a press release.
Such a measure “also provides greater flexibility within the municipal administration to allow the City of Ottawa to manage business continuity to ensure essential services” residents, she says.
Earlier in the day, Jim Watson had judged “the situation completely out of control, (in Ottawa) because it is the protesters who make the law”. “We are losing the battle, (…) we must take back our city“, had hammered the mayor, judging “unacceptable” the behavior of the protesters who obstruct the streets of the city center and tirelessly honk the horns of their heavy goods vehicles.
The Ottawa police, criticized for not having been able to prevent the paralysis of the center of the capital, for its part announced its intention to prevent the supply of the protesters, in particular with fuel. “Anyone who tries to provide material support (fuel etc.) to the demonstrators risks being arrested. This measure is now in effect.she warned in a tweet.
Police reinforcements
The movement, called “freedom convoy”, originally aimed to protest against the decision to oblige, since mid-January, truckers to be vaccinated to cross the border between Canada and the United States, but it quickly transformed into a movement against health measures as a whole and also, for some, against the government of Justin Trudeau.
Protesters say they want to continue their occupation until health restrictions are lifted.
During an emergency meeting with elected municipal officials, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly complained on Saturday that he did not have sufficient resources to put an end to what he called “state of siege” and demanded “additional resources”.
The Ottawa police will soon receive the reinforcement of some 250 members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a federal police force.
Similar movements but on a smaller scale took place in several major Canadian cities on Saturday, Toronto, Quebec and Winnipeg and continued on Sunday, in Quebec in particular. In the capital of the French-speaking province, the demonstrators were less numerous than on Saturday, and around thirty trucks were still tolerated by the Quebec police, who however warned truckers that they would be in violation within a few hours.
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In the capital of the French-speaking province, the demonstrators were fewer in number than on Saturday. Organizers, congratulating themselves that their protests were peaceful, announced that they would leave the city on Sunday evening, promising however to return in two weeks, once the Carnival of Quebec currently in progress would be over.
In the morning, organizers of the movement in Ottawa had announced in a “goodwill gesture”their intention to stop their horn concerts for a few hours on Sunday to respect the “day of the Lord”.
Some 450 tickets have been handed out since Saturday morning, including for excessive noise or the use of fireworks, Ottawa police said Sunday, adding that protesters had engaged in disruptive or illegal behavior overnight that posed risks to public safety or increased the “distressof the townspeople. A hundred investigations for offenses linked to the demonstration have also been opened.
Ottawa residents exasperated by the chaos caused by the movement have launched a class action lawsuit worth some 10 million Canadian dollars (7 million euros) against the organizers.
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