The police regained control of downtown Ottawa, where the streets were almost deserted, early Sunday morning, the day after two days of police intervention aimed at freeing the streets of the Canadian capital.
Posted at 7:48 a.m.
Updated at 9:04 a.m.
Around 9:00 a.m., police advanced to the barricade at the corner of Sparks and Bank streets, to confront a few remaining demonstrators.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Police on duty Sunday morning
On the streets of the locked area, there are only a handful of abandoned vehicles left here and there. On Kent Street, where vehicles were roped off for several blocks, a truck with an Alberta license plate, an old trailer, a few pick-ups – like remnants of when the “freedom convoy” occupied the capital of Canada.
” It’s fantastic. It was a real nightmare. I was depressed for two or three weeks”, reacts Frank Kobe, a resident of the sector, scratching a lottery ticket in a convenience store downtown.
The manager of the convenience store in question, Sajid Ali, said he felt “calm” on this Sunday morning. He loses customers, but these were not very respectful. “They destroyed my plexiglass twice and harassed me to take off my mask,” he says.
On Gloucester Street, Gabbie was walking Gatsby, her sister’s dog, who lives downtown. She came from Oshawa because her sister couldn’t get enough animal feed.
“I went for a walk with Gatsby yesterday [samedi] evening, and a demonstrator told me that the only Nazis are the people who still wear a mask, she says. I respect the fact that they are demonstrating, everyone has the right to demonstrate, but their behavior was deplorable. »
On Bank Street, where there was still a crowd on Saturday evening, two demonstrators turned back, coffee in hand. “It was still full yesterday,” said one of them, looking dazed. They could no longer access this section of the street, where the police installed barriers to ensure that they did not lose the land gained.
In front of the parliament, dead calm reigned at the start of the day, images contrasting sharply with those of the last few days. However, several accesses were still blocked, while police and workers were busy removing barricades. At the corner of Wellington and Metcalfe streets, a streamer of Canadian flags waved in the wind.
The police forces had in fact significantly gained ground the day before, increasing the number of arrests and towings. While they had progressed barely two blocks on Friday, the police managed to clear Wellington Street to Bank Street on Saturday.
This means that this artery, which faces the Parliament Buildings and which was crowded with trucks and people celebrating in front of a stage, against a backdrop of music and speeches, is free. Almost all of the trucks that were there until recently have been towed away. Police were still numerous on the scene, but were no longer displayed in riot gear.
IMAGE FROM OTTAWA POLICE TWITTER ACCOUNT
Parliamentarians are thus less impeded — with the exception of the multiple checkpoints around the secure area — to continue the debate around the Emergency Measures Act.
They are in their second day of discussions, Sunday, in anticipation of a historic vote in the House of Commons, Monday evening, at 8 p.m. Earlier, on Saturday, the authorities had put the Parliamentary Precinct in confinement for part of the day. The vote to maintain or revoke the state of emergency must take place on Monday, around 8 p.m.
Early in the day on Sunday, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) posted a series of threads on Twitter, speaking directly to protesters. “If you are involved in this protest, we will actively seek to identify you and have you followed by financial sanctions and criminal prosecution,” the police force said, repeating to the protesters that they must “leave”.
“If your vehicle has been towed, it will be impounded for seven days,” the OPS also wrote overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
According to the latest report from Ottawa police on Saturday, at least 170 people have been arrested and 53 vehicles have been towed since the start of the operation on Friday. The municipal agents handed over 3,600 statements of offence.