The Canadian government is considering using emergency powers not used since 1970 Given the problems that the authorities have to control the illegal protests that the anti-vaccine movement and radical groups maintain for weeks in various parts of the country.
The Canadian Minister for Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair, acknowledged today the inability of the authorities to control the situation and said that the Prime Minister’s Government, Justin Trudeauis considering invoking emergency powers, which might put the armed forces on the streets of the country.
Blair stated that the government is ready to adopt the measure, not used since 1970, when a Quebecois terrorist group kidnapped Quebec’s deputy prime minister and a British diplomat, in the face of the “threat to Canada” and Canadians.
Blair’s statements come following dozens of police officers today arrested in the Canadian town of Windsor a dozen people who have been blocking access to the Ambassador International Bridge for a weekthe main border crossing between Canada and the United States.
Windsor Police said in a statement that in addition to the arrests 10 vehicles that protesters were using to block it were removed from Huron Church Road, which leads to the bridge.
But hours following the eviction of the protest, the bridge was still closed to traffic and dozens of agents remained in the area to prevent groups of protesters from blocking access to the bridge once more.
Windsor Police said on Twitter that will continue to act in the area of the protest and that it will not tolerate the slightest “illegal activity” which did not prevent several dozen protesters from remaining in the vicinity of the Ambassador Bridge, although without blocking the streets.
The protest on the Ambassador Bridge began a week ago when several dozen truckers blocked their access in solidarity with anti-vaccine protesters who have been occupying downtown Ottawa for 16 days.
Given the passivity of the Police, the protesters in Windsor prevented for days the traffic of goods and individualswhich has caused serious damage to the economies of the two countries.
At least six auto assembly plants, on both sides of the border, have had to reduce or cease production due to missing components.
But at the same time that the Police clear the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, in the province of Alberta, in western Canada, the protest that hinders circulation continues for more than two weeks at the Coutts border crossing.
The Coutts protest, featuring truckers and farmers, forced the Canada Border Services Agency to announce on Saturday that the crossing will be closed until further notice.
In the province of Manitoba, in the center of the country, also the protest of truck drivers and farmers continues at Emerson Junction.
And in Ontario, other groups of protesters hindered traffic for the second day in a row in Cornwall Pass, a town south of Ottawa.
In the Canadian capital, the occupation of the city center by truckers and the anti-vaccine movement entered its third week without the authorities appearing to be able to take control of the situation, which has provoked the reaction of the citizens of Ottawa.
Since last January 29, some 400 trucks and hundreds of people have blocked access to the Parliament of Canada despite the repeated requests from the Ottawa Police to leave the protest and threats from his police chief, Peter Sloly.
This Sunday, before the passivity of the Police, several dozen people opposed to the protests blocked a motorcade who was trying to join the anti-vaccine protest.
The decision of the residents of Ottawa comes following they have appeared on social networks in the last few hours videos of police officers expressing their support with the protesters or directly collaborating with the occupation of the streets.
(photos) (video) (audio)