Ottawa is in a state of emergency as the trucker protest continues to paralyze parts of the nation’s capital.
The Rideau Centre, Ottawa City Hall, an outdoor skating rink, two public library branches and two COVID-19 vaccination clinics remain closed due to the ongoing road closures and traffic making parts of the downtown core inaccessible.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday that the state of emergency declared on Sunday offers “more flexibility” for city staff to get equipment and supplies without going through extra processes.
“It helps administration do its job, and helps the police do their job,” Watson said, adding that he was happy to see the police be more “proactive” Sunday night. “We’re not interested in making those people comfortable who are illegally blocking city streets.”
“This group says they’re all about freedom and against lockdowns, well they have created a lockdown in our downtown core,” Watson said. “Our number one priority is to end this thing peacefully.”
Watson said the city will be bringing in more police and resources to end the demonstration in the coming days.
Sunday night, the Ottawa Police Service moved in a show of force to cut off fuel supplies from the “Freedom Convoy” participants, seizing 3,200 litres of fuel being stored in a parking lot. Officials had previously warned the public they could be subject to arrest and charges for bringing fuel to the demonstration.
The police reported that seven people were arrested and more than 100 tickets were issued by Sunday evening for offences that included mischief, driving while prohibited, excessive honking, not wearing seat belts, having alcohol readily available and mischief relating to property damage.
There are more than 60 criminal investigations related to the trucker convoy, primarily for mischief, threats, hate crimes and property damage. More than 450 tickets have been issued since Saturday morning.
The trucker convoy protest has been described as a “siege” an “occupation” and “out of control” by Ottawa officials, with an estimated 5,000 people and 1,000 trucks and personal vehicles joining the protest on the weekend.
Several other protests took place across the country in support of the main convoy in Ottawa.
Associate professor of international affairs at Carlton University Stephanie Carvin said the pressure created by the protests is not going to see provincial or federal governments “simply drop mandates.”
“Really it’s not entirely clear where this goes,”Carvin said on CTV’s Your Morning Monday. “They have tremendous amount of support online for these protests, people on their Facebook pages cheering [them on] from Europe…I don’t think these protests are going to lose their motivation.”
Carvin cited Ottawa Police Service Chief Peter Sloly’s estimation that these protests could go on for “months,” xjmtzywand that even if the police clear the convoy out from Ottawa, the truckers will attempt to come back multiple times.
“I do worry that as the police move to cut off supplies…we could see frustration boil over,” she said, adding that the organizers seemed “shocked” in a livestreamed press conference on Sunday that police were moving in and seizing fuel.
A counter protest at Ottawa City Hall took place on Saturday, with demonstrators calling for the convoy to go home. One of the major complaints has been the incessant honking that has been a staple for the protesters, an act that spurred the filing of a $9.8 million class-action lawsuit Friday on behalf of the residents of Ottawa’s downtown core.
The residents are asking for an injunction to be issued to prevent truckers parked on the city streets from honking all day and night. Superior Court Justice Hugh McLean is set to hear the arguments Monday afternoon.
Ottawa city council will also be holding a meeting Monday afternoon to discuss the convoy, including talk about raising the fines for excessive noise complaints.
Joe Thottungal, who owns a restaurant in the “red zone” of the protest, told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday that he has had to close his business for several days due to the convoy.
“It is really scary,” he said, adding that his employees now have a long commute and nowhere to park due to the disruptions.
“We need to go back…we have been closed three times [due to the pandemic] and now this is choking us,” Thottungal said. “We are all surviving…but with this protest going on downtown, it is really hard for us.”
The main organizers of the convoy are still determined to stay until all COVID-19-related mandates are lifted, with former RCMP officer Daniel Bulford, who acts as the convoy’s security, issuing a video statement to convoy participants, shared on TikTok, to “hold the line.”
Despite their more than $10-million fundraiser being removed from GoFundMe, the truckers are still fundraising through other online platforms, including a bitcoin wallet.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
People stand on a truck parked in front of Parliament Hill as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions, which Ottawa’s police chief is calling a siege, continues into its second week, in Ottawa, on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
