Ottawa police have started handing out leaflets to protesters downtown, warning them to leave the area or face criminal charges.
Police began handing out a ‘notice to demonstration participants’ on Wellington Street and the surrounding area Wednesday morning, where ‘Freedom Convoy’ demonstrators have been camped out for 20 days.
"You must leave this area now," the notice says. "Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested. You must immediately cease further unlawful activity or you will face charges."
The move is a sign that police are stepping up enforcement efforts to end the trucker protest occupation after nearly three weeks. The notice cites the federal Emergencies Act, which the prime minister invoked on Monday, saying it allows for the prohibition of travel to, from or within specific areas.
"That means anyone coming to Ottawa for the purpose of joining the ongoing occupation is breaking the law," it says, adding that the act also allows police to seize vehicles txjmtzywhat are part of the demonstration.
The leaflet also warns that any charges or convictions may lead to denial when trying to cross the U.S. border, and says the demonstrators are committing mischief.
"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 move is an indication that with Ottawa’s police service under new leadership, and an integrated command centre with the RCMP and OPP up and running, that police are taking steps to end the occupation.
"I’m very glad to see this movement by the Ottawa police to give fair warning to those people that are breaking the law," Mayor Jim Watson told CTV News at Noon. "They’ve overstayed their welcome by almost three weeks."
In another indication that further police action could be imminent, the Children’s Aid Society fo Ottawa issued a warning to parents who have brought children to the protest to make sure their kids can be cared for in case parents are arrested.
"The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO) is urging parents at the demonstration in Ottawa to make the necessary alternate care arrangements should they become unable to care for their children following potential police action," the CASO said in a statement Wednesday.
INJUNCTION EXTENDED
A court order banning the honking of horns in the downtown core has been extended.
Ontario Superior Court Judge Hugh McLean extended the court order, which first came into effect on Feb. 6, for another 60 days.
Despite the court order, some sporadic honking could be heard on Wellington Street Wednesday morning as police officers handed out the notices to demonstrators.
The injunction is part of a proposed class-action lawsuit by Centretown residents who endured the relentless sounds of honking for several days at the beginning of the protest. A 21-year-old resident, Zexi Li, is the lead plaintiff.
MAYOR: ‘FULL CONFIDENCE’ IN INTERIM CHIEF
Newly-named interim chief Steve Bell said Wednesday that with the help of OPP and RCMP officers under the new command centre, that Ottawa police are now in a position to end the occupation. Peter Sloly stepped down as chief on Tuesday.
"I have full confidence in the deputy chief," Watson said Wednesday. "I’ve known him for a number of years. He’s a straight shooter. He will move when he feels it’s the most appropriate to have a safe, quick and orderly operation."
Watson, while thanking Sloly for his service, said he made the right decision to resign and expressed frustration at the lack of police action as hundreds of protesters took over the downtown core.
"The bottom line is that there were built-up expectations every weekend that something would happen, that we would actually see some progress and movement on getting people out, and unfortunately the public was let down time and time again," he said.
"We were promised many, many times there would be action," he added. "We didn’t see a whole lot of that."
ABOUT 360 VEHICLES DOWNTOWN
About 360 vehicles remain downtown related to the occupation, according to police, with about 150 demonstrators believed to be spending the night in the core. Numbers are expected to increase closer to the weekend, as they have the last two weekends following the start of the event on Jan. 29.
Acting Deupty Chief Trish Ferguson told the board that as of Tuesday morning, police had 172 active criminal investigations related to the occupation, 18 arrests had been made and 33 charges had been laid. With the help of Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services, nearly 3,000 tickets had been issued.
The entire operation has cost police more than $14 million.
A special meeting of Ottawa city council first scheduled for Monday and then postponed to Tuesday is now scheduled for today at 4 p.m.
"The meeting is being rescheduled to allow Council to receive a more comprehensive update and ask questions when the necessary personnel are available," the city said. "Further, [Monday’s] announcement requires more work and analysis to provide Council and the public with a better understanding of the tools available under the Emergencies Act."
Coun. Diane Deans, the chair of the police services board, suggested that the Ottawa Police Service may have been ill-equipped to handle the protest from the start.
"The Ottawa Police Service is a municipal service, and probably was never designed to address an issue like this," she told CTV Morning Live. "This is a national crisis, and we don’t have the internal expertise that prepared us to handle something like that. We didn’t have the intelligence. There’s a lot of lessons to learn here."
One expert suggested the longer police wait to take action, the more credibility they risk losing.
"Every level of government has declared an emergency," University of Ottawa criminologist Michael Kempa told CTV Morning Live. "At a certain point if you don’t back up your multiple declarations and statements with action, it would be impossible to be taken seriously."
That action could start with communication, he said, as at the Ambassador Bridge blockade in Windsor where authorities handed out leaflets to protesters informing them of the laws they were breaking.Federal ministers say their work of implementing the Emergencies Act is underway.
The public order emergency declared by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday automatically went into effect for 30 days, but the government must still table a motion in both the House of Commons and Senate within seven days of declaration to confirm it. Government House Leader Mark Holland said Tuesday morning the motion is coming "imminently."
The speaker of the Senate recalled the Senate to sit on Friday to discuss the declaration of emergency.
CLOSURES
The Rideau Centre, Ottawa City Hall, and two Ottawa public library branches remain closed today.
The city of Ottawa says Ottawa City Hall, the underground parking garage and the Rink of Dreams are closed until further notice.
The Ottawa Public Library Main and Rideau branches remain closed.
Ottawa Public Health’s vaccination clinic at the University of Ottawa Minto Sports Complex will be closed. The Lowertown Vaccine Hub, located at the Jules Morin Fieldhouse on 400 Clarence St. E., will be open.
The detours of OC Transpo routes 10, 11, and 16 will be modified based on more reliable access to roads in Centretown, including sections of Bank, Gladstone, Albert and Bronson. Maps of the revised detours are available on octranspo.com.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
A police officer walks among protest vehicles as he distributes notices to protesters, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
An Ottawa police officer gets ready to hand a leaflet to a trucker parked on Wellington Street on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. (CTV National News)
Ottawa police handed out this leaflet to ‘Freedom Convoy’ demonstrators downtown on Wednesday morning. (Mackenzie Gray/CTV News)
Ottawa police handed out this leaflet to ‘Freedom Convoy’ demonstrators downtown on Wednesday morning. (Mackenzie Gray/CTV News)
A police car passes trucks parked in front of the Parliament buildings, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
