She followed through on her threats. Canadian police made the first targeted arrests Thursday evening of leaders of the anti-sanitary measures movement that has been blocking the streets of Ottawa for almost three weeks, a protest that is no longer “peaceful” according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. .
“If you want to leave on your own, now is the time,” Acting Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell told protesters in the followingnoon, warning that this weekend would be “very different from the last three”.
In the evening, the police made the first arrests: Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the so-called “freedom” convoy, was arrested by the police, the official account of the movement said in a tweet, video at l ‘support.
” Hold on tight “
In the images, we see her getting in handcuffs in a police car, surrounded by two police officers, and shouting to her companions “Hold on”.
A little earlier, another leader, Chris Barber, had been arrested, a calm arrest there also filmed and posted on social networks by members of the movement.
For the first time since the beginning of the movement, groups of police had positioned themselves en masse on Thursday in the streets of Ottawa in the face of protesters and hundreds of trucks blocking the streets.
“We are ready to act to expel illegal protesters from our streets,” Steve Bell had further explained, speaking of an “imminent” intervention. A security perimeter has been erected around the city center and around a hundred roadblocks are used to control entry into the area.
frozen bank accounts
A few meters away, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau estimated Thursday morning that this protest was no longer “peaceful”, during a historic debate in the House of Commons on the implementation of the law on emergency measures, an exceptional provision invoked on Monday for the second time in Canada’s peacetime history.
“The objective of all measures, including the financial measures provided for in the Emergency Measures Act, is to meet the current threat and bring the situation under full control,” added Justin Trudeau.
In a letter addressed to the Premiers of the provinces on Wednesday evening, he had considered that the movement “threatened democracy” and undermined “the reputation of Canada abroad”. “Bank accounts of individuals and companies” linked to the blocking have been frozen, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told a press conference.
Protesters determined to stay “until the end”
Calling the situation “precarious,” Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said “illegal border blockades” had cost the Canadian economy billions of dollars.
The demonstrators, determined to stay “until the end”, had received an ultimatum on Wednesday from the police, who went around the trucks to distribute a leaflet ordering them to “leave the premises”.
“They are trying to scare people to prevent them from coming this weekend,” trucker Kevin Veurink, 39, told AFP, reacting to the installation of barricades around the parliamentary precinct. Gray sweater with “Freedom together” logo on the back, this Ontarian who was carrying a cart with gas cans says he is ready to stay “until we get arrested, if that happens”.
Fear of Radical Elements
Ottawa’s new police chief said Wednesday he was prepared to “employ certain techniques that are not commonly seen in Ottawa.”
A mixture of rain and snow expected on Wednesday and in the coming days might complicate operations for the police, faced with a complex and perilous situation to dislodge the demonstrators smoothly. She fears in particular the presence of “radical elements” but also of many children in the demonstration, including babies.
The city of Ottawa, the province of Ontario and the whole of Canada are under a state of emergency because of this unprecedented protest movement, party of the opposition of truckers to be vaccinated once morest Covid-19 to cross the border between Canada and the United States.
Initially minimized by the authorities, the movement has spread in recent weeks to all health measures and, for many demonstrators, to a rejection of the government of Justin Trudeau.
