Protesters opposed to health measures continued their protest overnight from Saturday to Sunday in Ottawa, while criminal investigations were initiated in connection with the desecration of national monuments, police said.
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“Large crowds remained downtown overnight and were actively managed by police officers,” Ottawa police said in a statement Sunday, adding that these “high risk situations” have been “defused and resolved. without arrests”.
Since Friday, the Canadian capital has been the scene of a large mobilization movement, first initiated by truckers who oppose the vaccination obligation to cross the border between Canada and the United States.
But many supporters, who are more broadly demanding health restrictions as a whole, converged on Ottawa to support the truckers, who came in convoys from across the country.
The Ottawa police have opened “several criminal investigations” in connection with the desecration of national monuments, “threatening, illegal and intimidating” behavior towards police officers, and also for vandalism on a municipal vehicle.
On Saturday, protesters were spotted and filmed standing at the historic site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, sparking widespread outrage on social media.
“I am appalled to see protesters dancing at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and desecrating the National War Memorial,” Chief of the National Defense Staff Wayne Eyre tweeted, adding that “those involved should to be ashamed”.
Barricades were installed on Sunday to block the access of trucks and vehicles to the passage leading to the monument.
Also in downtown Ottawa, Shepherds of Hope, which provides assistance to the homeless, said its staff and volunteers were “harassed” by protesters from the “Convoi de freedom”, to whom free meals were distributed to ease tensions.
“The events of this weekend have strained our operations at an already difficult time,” the organization tweeted, as extreme cold descended on the Canadian capital.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were escorted out of their home on Saturday to an undisclosed location, according to Canadian media.
The sounds of engines and honks may continue to echo through downtown Ottawa for some time to come as truckers, some from as far away as British Columbia thousands of miles to the west, intend to demonstrate for several days.