the mayor of Ottawa declared a “state of emergency” in the Canadian capital on Sunday, considering that the situation in his city was “out of control”, paralyzed for more than a week by opponents of sanitary measures against the coronavirus. coronaviruswhile the police hardened their tone against the protesters.
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The protests, which began in Ottawa on Saturday the 29th, spread this weekend to other large Canadian cities while on Sunday dozens of trucks and protesters kept the center of the capital paralyzed.
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The decision “reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety of residents that the ongoing protests represent and underlines the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” the City Council explained in a statement.
He argued that the measure “also provides greater flexibility within the municipal administration to allow the city of Ottawa to manage business continuity to provide essential services” to residents.
Earlier, the mayor told a local radio that “the situation is currently out of control because the protesters impose their law.” The protesters “are many more than our policemen,” he said.
“We are losing the battle,” the mayor admitted (…) we must recover the city,” he remarked.
Watson called the behavior of protesters blocking streets and truckers honking their horns “unacceptable.”
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The movement, called “Freedom Convoy”, initially aimed against the decision to force truckers to be vaccinated against covid-19 in order to cross the border with the United States. The protest later became a mobilization against all health measures and against the Prime Minister’s government itself. Justin Trudeau.
The protesters have already expressed that they intend to remain on the street until all sanitary restrictions are lifted.
Similar movements, but on a smaller scale, took place on Saturday in several major Canadian cities such as Toronto, Quebec or Winnipeg, and continued on Sunday especially in Quebec.
In the morning, the movement’s organizers in Ottawa announced as a “goodwill gesture” their intention to pause their trumpet concerts for a few hours on Sunday to honor the “Lord’s Day.”
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The Ottawa police, criticized for not having been able to prevent the paralysis of the center of the capital, announced their intention to prevent the supply of the protesters, in particular fuel. “Anyone who tries to provide material support (fuel, etc.) to the protesters risks being arrested. This measure is already in force,” he warned in a Twitter post on Sunday.
After this announcement, he indicated at night that he had made “several arrests”.
The Ottawa Police Chief. Peter Sloly regretted not having sufficient means to end what he described as a “state of siege” and asked for “supplemental resources”.
The institution expected to receive 250 troops from the Royal Canadian Gendarmerie; a body of the federal police.
450 tickets have been issued since Saturday morning, for excessive noise or use of fireworks, Ottawa police spokesmen reported, noting that protesters engaged in disruptive or illegal acts that posed a risk to public safety or increased ” people’s anguish.”
A hundred investigations were also opened for crimes related to the demonstration.
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Desperate for the chaos, Ottawa residents have launched a class action lawsuit for about 10 million Canadian dollars (about 7.8 million dollars) against the organizers.
In Quebec, the capital of the French-speaking province of the same name, the protesters were less numerous than on Saturday. The organizers, who stressed that their protests had been peaceful, announced that they would leave the city on Sunday night, promising, however, to return in two weeks, once the city’s Carnival, currently underway, ends.
On their side, the Quebec police announced at night on Twitter that “all the immobilized trucks” that participated in the movement had left the city.AFP
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