The current state of Ottawa’s Wellington Street may be unrecognizable compared to what it looked like just three days ago, but the city’s mayor says law enforcement efforts to clear the downtown core remain ongoing.
“There is a sense of relief, but it’s not over,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told CTV News Channel on Monday. “We still have to make sure that these pockets of people that want to get in and reclaim Wellington Street do not happen and that’s why we have to abide by the sage advice of our police officers.”
According to Watson, some of the protesters operating larger rigs involved in the demonstrations are still parked outside Ottawa’s jurisdiction, and regrouping in an effort to return.
“The police have to be very cautious, not claim full victory quite yet, and not open the streets fully until we have confidence that these people cannot come back in,” Watson said. “And if they are on their way here, how do we stop them well away from Parliament Hill and our central core?”
With businesses cleared to reopen and train service resuming, there are signs that daily life is returning to normal in Ottawa’s downtown core. However, the area between Elgin, Bay, Wellington and Queen streets remains closed to vehicles and pedestrians. A “secured area" has also been created to limit traffic flow into the area of the Queensway, Wellington Street, Bronson Avenue and the Rideau Canal.
While Wellington Street, which runs in front of Parliament Hill, only remains closed for the time being, the option of removing vehicular traffic from the street permanently should be seriously considered, said Watson.
“What happened over the last four weeks is unacceptable and we’re going to have to put in place, on the short-term, measures to restrict traffic,” he said. “Changes will happen on Wellington Street as a result of what we saw.”
After a weekend of police enforcement operations, a total of 191 arrests were made in connection with the “Freedom Convoy” demonstration in Ottawa, local police said Sunday afternoon, and 76 vehicles were towed. Nearly 400 charges have been laid so far, ranging from mischief and obstruction, to the assault of a police officer. This comes after more than three weeks of protesting in the nation’s capital, with demonstrators calling for an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic health restrictions.
At the moment, 100 checkpoints remain active around the downtown core, with only those who work or live in the area allowed to enter, as well as anyone with a “lawful” reason to be there. Clean up crews continue to collect garbage left in the streets.
While all vehicles in the downtown area have been towed away, Watson said city lawyers are looking into the possibility of selling these vehicles. The Ottawa demonstrations have cost taxpayers more than $20 million, the mayor said, and the city is exploring the idea of selling towed trucks and other vehicles that have been seized as a way to recoup costs.
Licence plate numbers belonging to other vehicles that participated in the protest but left of their own accord have also been noted and drivers will be sent tickets if they haven’t been issued one already, said Watson.
“These vehicles were acting on an illegal basis, preventing people from livingxjmtzyw their lives [and] going to work and they should be held accountable,” he said. “They should not be treated any differently than anyone else who breaks the law.”
Ottawa police have not yet released a timeline for when increased police presence in the city will come to an end. The law enforcement operation took effect after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14.
EMERGENCIES ACT VOTE TO TAKE PLACE
During a press conference on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Emergencies Act has been necessary in dealing with blockades situated at border crossings and other cities across Canada. Despite Ottawa now largely free from trucks and convoy protesters, the prime minister said the national state of emergency continues.
“This state of emergency is not over,” Trudeau said. “There continues to be real concerns about the coming days. But we will continue to evaluate every single day whether or not it is time.”
One of the key components of the Emergencies Act involves authorizing financial institutions to freeze or suspend bank accounts that belong to people suspected of sending money to protesters without the need for a court order. At least 76 accounts containing about $3.2 million have been frozen under powers granted by the Act.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it is currently working with banks to identify these accounts. Investigators have provided banks with the identities of people who were “influencers” of the Ottawa protest, or drivers who didn’t want to leave. However, a list of donors was not provided to banks, the RCMP said.
In an interview on CTV’s Question Period on Sunday, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair also said threats that initially prompted the federal government to invoke the legislation are ongoing.
“Although most of the blockades have been removed, there are still very many people there who, quite frankly, insist on either being arrested or continuing in their illegal activities,” said Blair.
First invoked on Feb. 14, the Emergencies Act will continue to be enforced for 30 days unless parliamentarians vote to revoke it. A vote on the motion in the House of Commons is expected to take place Monday evening.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Police work checkpoints in Ottawa on Feb. 21, 2022, after officers cleared a trucker protest that was aimed at COVID-19 measures before growing into a broader anti-government protest that occupied the nation capital’s downtown core. 9THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston)
