Canadian police arrested two organizers of the ongoing trucker protest against corona restrictions in the capital Ottawa on Thursday. A major police operation has also been launched to end the blockade by several hundred trucks that has disrupted the center of the city for three weeks.
Buses carrying additional officers arrived in downtown Ottawa, where authorities have so far been unable to deal with a noisy heavy-truck occupation that followed the “freedom convoy” of truck drivers from across the country in late January. The move, which has attracted international attention, started in protest against a vaccination requirement for truckers crossing the border between Canada and the United States.
Also read: Loud trucker blockade of city center taunts Ottawa
An ongoing blockade of the city, which the truckers say will continue until all corona restrictions are lifted across Canada, has led to growing frustration from residents and businesses in the center. The Ottawa Police Department has been reinforced by the National Police Force and the Ontario and Quebec Province Police Force.
Organizer Tamara Lich was arrested Thursday evening. Lich said in an online video that she was counting on being arrested and going to jail. She also announced that her bank account had been frozen. Earlier in the day, organizer Chris Barber was arrested. It is not yet known what charges will be filed against them.
National emergency law
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government introduced a nationwide emergency law early this week to end the blockade of the capital – and several crossings at the border with the United States. Below the Emergencies Act the government has special powers to address the actions, including means to go after the financing of the protest, such as freezing the bank assets of those involved. The actions are co-financed by donors in the US, including supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Trudeau took the initiative to bring order to the Canadian seat of government after the city of Ottawa and the province of Ontario failed to do so. According to Trudeau, who has come under fire from the conservative opposition for allegedly doing too little to de-escalate the crisis, there is no longer a legitimate protest, but an “illegal blockade”.
However, the appeal to the emergency law, a unique and serious step, is controversial. Critics believe that the government has not sufficiently demonstrated that the crisis could not be solved through regular laws. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association finds the move unjustified and announced Thursday initiate a lawsuit against the government.
Warning pamphlets
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In recent days, officers handed out pamphlets to truckers informing them that they are breaking the law and being forced to leave – on pain of hefty fines, jail terms of up to one year, and revocation of their business records. In a blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a critical border crossing between Windsor in Canada and Detroit in the US that is of major importance to the auto industry, the tactic last weekend helped convince drivers to leave voluntarily.
“To those involved in the illegal protest, if you want to leave on your own terms, now is the time to do so,” said Steve Bell, Ottawa’s interim chief of police. Earlier this week, the crisis cost police chief Peter Sloly his job. However, drivers in the capital say they have no intention of leaving voluntarily; some say they are ready to die. It is unclear if any weapons are present.
Police have also established a security perimeter with checkpoints around downtown Ottawa, comprising more than 100 city blocks. People who do not live or work in the area will be banned from that area. Over the past three weekends, the blockade has drawn thousands of fellow protesters to the city, who took part in rowdy street festivals with music, barbecues, hot tubs, children’s bouncy castles and a beer tent.
Complicating the police operation to end the blockade is a severe snow storm in the region, the first since the operation began. At least thirty centimeters of snow is expected in the Canadian capital on Friday.