(OTTAWA) The solution to the crisis may not come from the police, the Ottawa police chief warned on Wednesday. City councilors have said they fear that the citizens of the city center, subjected to the din of horns since Friday, will come to take the law into their own hands. Demonstrators, for their part, believe that the criticisms of them are exaggerated.
Updated yesterday at 6:47 p.m.
“It’s provincial, it’s national and increasingly international,” said police chief Peter Sloly, who answered questions from city councilors during a briefing on Wednesday afternoon. “We now know that significant elements from the United States are involved in financing, organizing and protesting. »
Fundraising platform GoFundMe suspended fundraising for the “Freedom Convoy” to ensure its terms of service and the law were followed. Protest organizers have managed to raise $10.1 million since January 14.
The police chief said he is in contact with all levels of government and has advice from security experts. “The solution to this demonstration may not come from the police,” he said. This is a national issue and not an issue that only affects Ottawa. Police resources are stretched to their limits. Hundreds more protesters are expected this weekend and counter-protests are planned.
Downtown paralyzed
Downtown Ottawa was still paralyzed Wednesday, for the sixth day in a row. The Rideau Mall, closed since Saturday afternoon, will be closed until Sunday. The police estimate that there would be less than 50 demonstrators in front of the parliament, but that there would be 200 others in the surrounding streets. The smell of diesel still wafts through downtown and car horns continue to sound along residential streets at all hours.
“I can’t take it anymore, it’s not getting better,” said Ben, an exasperated downtown resident who was afraid to give us his last name.
It’s like there’s a train in my living room.
Ben, resident of downtown Ottawa
“I’ve had 70% cancellations every day since Saturday,” said hair salon owner Azra Yusef. “But I don’t want to close because it’s my city. It must stop. »
In a press release, the organizers warn that they will stay in Ottawa as long as necessary. “The fastest way to get us out of the Canadian capital is to call your MP to lift all sanitary measures like Great Britain did two weeks ago and like Sweden and Switzerland l did today,” said Chris Barber, one of the convoy leaders.
They said they were “appalled” by the rhetoric used by some politicians, including Justin Trudeau, who called the protesters racists and terrorists.
Three arrests
Police made a new arrest on Wednesday, bringing the number of people arrested to three. A 48-year-old Quebecer is accused of having made online threats when he was in Ottawa and of having advised to commit a criminal act which was not perpetrated. Two other people are charged with mischief and carrying a weapon in a public place. It was a long gun.
Twenty-five investigations are currently open. Authorities have issued a search warrant for the person who was seen jumping on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial on Saturday and wearing a Sûreté du Québec toque.
Some city councilors fear that citizens will end up taking the law into their own hands, so angry are they.
“Why don’t we bring in the army? asked Councilwoman Cathy Curry. This is one of the options being considered by the police, Sloly said. “It’s extremely rare,” he added, citing the Oka crisis and the October crisis. The federal government said it had not received such a request.
“The Canadian Armed Forces are not involved in maintaining public order in this situation, and there are no plans for such involvement by the CAF,” said the press secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand.
The police chief stressed that all options to resolve the crisis, whether by negotiation or by force, come with the risk of injury or death. “We don’t want a riot,” he explained. In Coutts, Alta., where a similar protest is taking place, the strong method backfired on Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers when trucks forced a roadblock.
Exaggerated claims
The speech of the authorities is exaggerated, according to Philippe, a protester who arrived from Mirabel on Friday. He preferred not to give his last name. “I stayed in support of the people who started the movement,” he explained. The mayhem attributed to the demonstrators was caused, according to him, by infiltrators. He also says that restaurant owners were happy to remain open to serve them food and that demonstrators had gone to offer food to the Shepherds of Hope, an organization that had had food stolen. As for the sound of car horns, “isn’t that a small price to pay for our freedom? “, he asks. A Bell Canada employee, Philippe has been suspended from work since 1er February because he refused to disclose his vaccination status, even though he telecommutes.
Jean-Claude Mongrain, from L’Assomption, made his way to Ottawa on Wednesday to support the demonstration. “You can’t be indifferent when you see people on the edge of the viaducts,” he told The Press. He has some against the health measures imposed by the Legault government and their inconsistencies. “I don’t believe in the need to stop everything globally for such a small percentage [de gens gravement atteints par la COVID-19]. »