Ottawa police warn ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters to ‘leave the area now,’ Canada eyes ‘no-go’ zones
Police in Windsor, Ontario, handed out similar fliers before clearing the Ambassador Bridge, the vital crossing between Windsor and Detroit that was blockaded for days last week.
Canadian authorities say new emergency powers will allow them to establish “no-go” zones in Ottawa, where protesters in the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” remained defiant in the face of a tightening crackdown.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday, and officials announced progress in dispersing protests at border crossings that were disrupting traffic and trade. The border blockades were down to their last holdouts Wednesday, with supply routes almost clear as police arrested dozens of people. Four in Alberta were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the new measures, outlined Tuesday, would allow law enforcement to quell unrest in downtown Ottawa, where the protests against pandemic restrictions and Trudeau’s government have upended daily life.
The actions could include declaring “certain zones that are adjacent to critical infrastructure like borders, like our national symbols including legislatures, like war monuments … as a no-go zone,” the minister said at a news conference. The emergency declaration helps resolve questions about the authority to take such steps, he said. It has been criticized as a threat to civil liberties.
Police told protesters Wednesday that “the people of Ottawa are being denied the lawful use, enjoyment and operation of their property and you are causing businesses to close. That is mischief under the Criminal Code.”
“The Federal Emergencies Act allows for the regulation or prohibition of travel to, from or within any specified area,” police said. “This means that anyone coming to Ottawa for the purpose of joining the ongoing demonstration is breaking the law. The act also provides police with a number of measures including the ability to seize vehicles that are part of this demonstration.”
Big rigs and other vehicles still jammed major thoroughfares in the city, with protesters buzzing around Parliament after Trudeau involved the Emergencies Act to quell a crisis that has rippled across the country. An Ontario judge extended an injunction Wednesday prohibiting people from sounding air and train horns for 60 more days. The injunction was sought this month by an Ottawa resident complaining about the noise levels generated by protesters’ horns.
Ottawa’s acting deputy police chief, Trish Ferguson, said the number of protesters downtown had fallen below 150, with fewer vehicles clogging the streets. Ferguson said police were waiting “for official details before operationalizing” the Emergencies Act.
Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly resigned Tuesday amid criticism of what was seen as an insufficient response from authorities to the demonstrations, now in their third week.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta said four men were charged with conspiracy to commit murder near the border crossing at Coutts, where 11 people were arrested and guns and ammunition seized on Monday. The RCMP said the crossing was clear Wednesday, with traffic “moving slowly.” Authorities in British Columbia said the crossing at Surrey was open; authorities in Manitoba said they had reached a “resolution” with demonstrators cutting off the Emerson crossing and expected them to clear out Wednesday.
In Alberta, as a line of trucks left the blockade, plastered with Canadian flags and signs reading “END ALL MANDATES,” some protesters told local media they packed up because news of the weapons discovery conflicted with their message. “It’s too bad that we have to leave, but everybody did really their best,” protester Martina Van Hierden told Canada’s Global TV.
Under rules the government published Tuesday, authorities said they may ban public assemblies that “may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace” and “designate and secure protected places, including critical infrastructure,” which includes trade corridors and international border crossings.
The Emergencies Act also allows officials to remove vehicles, equipment or structures that are part of a blockade “anywhere in Canada” and grant the power to “require any crowdfunding platform and payment processor” to report transactions to financial authorities.
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