Police in Canada’s national capital said on Monday they had confiscated thousands of liters of fuel and removed an oil tanker. Day long protest against government’s Kovid-19 measureswhile a judge granted an interim injunction against honking, which has irked residents.
Gridlocked by Canada’s capital Ottawa The so-called “Freedom Convoy” Now for 11 days consisting of truck drivers and other motorists. What began as a movement opposing the Canadian vaccine mandate for cross-border drivers – a requirement reflected by a US rule – is converted into a rallying point Against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s public health measures.
Trudeau, who appeared on Monday for the first time in nearly a week after being infected with Kovid, said the protest had to be stopped. Responding to an emergency debate in parliament, Trudeau denounced the tactics used by the protesters.
“This is the story of a country that got through this pandemic unitedly and some people shouting and waving swastikas don’t define who Canadians are,” he said.
Trudeau and his family left Ottawa at an undisclosed location as the convoy entered the city for security reasons.
Canadians have largely followed government health measures and approximately 79% of the eligible population has received two doses of the vaccine. But recent polls have shown there is growing frustration against the sanctions.
While Ottawa woke up to a second week in what is now described as a siege of its political and police leaders, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloughley said on Monday that activity in the blockade had subsided. This weekend, police counted 1,000 trucks and 5,000 protesters, down from 3,000 trucks and 10,000 to 15,000 protesters in the previous weekend, Sloughi said.
“We are turning up the heat in every possible way,” Sloley told reporters, adding that there may not be a “policing solution” to the occupation. “We’re asking for a huge push of resources over the next 72 hours.”
The protests, which last week included some Confederate and Nazi flags, have been largely peaceful, but the honking of ear-wrenching horns by protesters had become a nuisance.
On Monday, a Canadian judge granted an interim injunction in the city of Ottawa preventing people from blowing the horns. The 10-day injunction is part of a class-action lawsuit brought by downtown Ottawa residents, some of whom have said they feel unsafe in their neighborhoods.
‘psychological warfare’
Deputy Police Chief Steve Bell told city councilors on Monday that police had received “active threats to public figures throughout this business,” which is under investigation.
Ottawa police have received help from hundreds of officers from other police agencies, but they say it is not enough. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson called for reinforcements in a letter Monday to Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.
“The occupation has turned into an aggressive and hateful occupation of our neighbourhood,” he wrote. “People are living in fear and are scared.” He called the honor “akin to psychological warfare.”
Police officers walk past parked tractors in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 6, 2022, as trucks and supporters continue to protest the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. (Reuters)
A small section of Metcalf Street in downtown Ottawa, home to buildings including Canada’s parliament, central bank and Trudeau’s office, smelled of campfires on Monday.
A bunch of trucks, cars and tractors without trailers carried signs ridiculing everything from vaccines and Canada’s carbon tax. One sign showed a poster of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees rights, including life, liberty, and the safety of the individual, subject to “reasonable limits”.
‘Stop hiding PM’
Bottles of water, briquettes and diaper packets were piled high beside open white tents with tables of food. There was also evidence of scuffles with residents.
Little signs in the ground floor windows of an apartment a few blocks away said: “Go home more” and “Vaccine save lives.”
“We cannot allow the angry mob to reverse the path that continues to save lives in this last stretch. It should never be the precedent for how to make policy in Canada,” Mendicino told reporters on Monday.
Trudeau did not attend the press conference and missed Question Hour in Parliament. “When will the prime minister stop hiding, come up for the Canadian people, show some leadership, and fix the mess he’s created?” Conservative Party interim leader Candice Bergen, who has supported the protest, told the House of Commons.
On Sunday night, police began removing gas and fuel supplies to a logistics camp set up by protesters after the city’s mayor declared a state of emergency on Sunday.
A well-organized supply chain – which includes portable saunas, a community kitchen and bouncy castles for children – has kept the protesters going. Police said it partially depended on funding from sympathizers in the United States.
Former US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have praised the truckers.
Over the weekend, protests spread to other large Canadian cities, including the financial capital Toronto, and were met with counter demonstrations.
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