Much criticized for his handling of protests against sanitary measures in the federal capital, the chief of police of Ottawa, Peter Sloly, resigned, Tuesday February 15, announced Riley Brockington, a city councilor on Twitter, at the nineteenth day of the occupation of the city center by demonstrators. Mr. Sloly was denigrated in particular for having let the trucks settle in the heart of the city, in front of Parliament and under the windows of the office of the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
Despite exceptional powers triggered on Monday, the situation was changing little Tuesday morning in the streets of downtown Ottawa, still blocked by protesters opposed to health measures who refuse to leave. A long line of trucks still blocked Wellington Street on Parliament Hill.
Justin Trudeau announced on Monday the exceptional use of the Emergency Measures Act to end the blockages “illegal”. It is only the second time that this provision has been activated in peacetime, the last time dating back to the crisis of 1970 when Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the father of the current Prime Minister, was in power.
Initially minimized by the authorities, the Canadian protest movement which began at the end of January started with truckers protesting against the obligation to be vaccinated to cross the border between Canada and the United States. But the demands have extended to a refusal of all health measures and, for many demonstrators, to a rejection of the government of Mr. Trudeau.
Easing of border health restrictions
In a few days, the protest moved the lines. The federal government announced on Tuesday the easing of health restrictions at its borders and in particular the end of the requirement for a PCR test to enter the country. “It is time to adjust our approach. Today we are relaxing our border measures”, said Jean-Yves Duclos, the Federal Minister of Health. The country also lifted its recommendation to avoid foreign travel.
Several provinces have lifted their restrictions. On Monday, the Premier of Ontario announced that the vaccine passport would be lifted on 1er March in his province, the epicenter of the protest, following the example of Saskatchewan and Alberta. For the first time, Quebec has said it is thinking about it.
On the blocking points at the borders, the situation evolved in Coutts, Alberta, where the police had arrested eleven people on Monday and seized weapons. “The blockade is oversaid Roberta McKale, spokeswoman for the Alberta police. Everyone leaves voluntarily. » In Emerson, Manitoba, the demonstrators refused to leave the scene and the border remained closed. Sunday evening, the police had managed to evacuate the demonstrators from the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, in Ontario, and the American city of Detroit. A total of 46 people were arrested and 37 vehicles seized, city police said on Tuesday.
If some 90% of Canadians are vaccinated, the movement has received wider popular support than anticipated by the authorities, a symbol according to experts of a very strong fed up of the population, subject to restrictions among toughest in the world for two years.