All of Ottawa is preparing for the major police operation that begins this Friday to dismantle the occupation of the city center. The House of Commons even canceled its work for the day. In the streets, the police presence was becoming more and more imposing.
Federal elected officials were to continue for a second day the debate on the use of the Emergency Measures Act. However, citing “exceptional circumstances” and the planned police operation in Ottawa, Speaker of the House Anthony Rota announced Friday morning that the day’s session would be canceled. All recognized parties in the House—Liberals, Conservatives, Bloc and New Democrats—agreed.
“If you are not present in the premises of the House of Commons, stay away from the city center until further notice,” summoned Mr. Rota, in a written statement on Friday morning.
“The PPS [Service de protection parlementaire] will let you know when it is safe to return to downtown. If you are already on the premises of the House of Commons, please remain inside the building and await instructions from the PPS officers,” warned Mr. Rota, a sign that the authorities expect the The situation is becoming tense in the city center, where the police have cordoned off the city center in order to dislodge the demonstrators and the vehicles which have paralyzed it for 22 days now.
Government House Leader Mark Holland meanwhile assured on Twitter that the House “will do its job, and MPs will vote early next week on the Emergencies Act motion”.
Elected officials had to debate the first recourse to this law, invoked by the government of Justin Trudeau, every day until Monday. The vote was scheduled for Monday evening. Holland said he hoped work could resume on Saturday.
This is the first time that the House of Commons has suspended its work since the beginning of the occupation which has paralyzed downtown Ottawa.
The Senate was due to resume its work on Friday to begin the process of studying the use of the Emergency Measures Act. The session was also suspended.
The police get organized
For two days, police forces in Ottawa had been preparing the ground for a police operation.
A large perimeter was cordoned off around the city center on Thursday. Freeway exits leading to the heart of the city have been closed. About 100 checkpoints have been erected to prevent anyone who does not live or work there from entering.
Police forces deployed in Ottawa have distributed written warnings to protesters, warning them that the demonstration is illegal and that they risk being arrested. The agitators nevertheless refused to leave.
The police have been much more present in the streets of the city center since Thursday. In the evening, they arrested two organizers of the convoy of truckers. Tamara Lich has been charged with encouraging others to commit mischief, Ottawa police said Friday. Chris Barber has been charged, according to The Globe and Mail, with encouraging others to commit mischief, encouraging others to disobey a court order, and encouraging others to obstruct police work.