After the Prime Minister of Canada and the Mayor of Ottawa, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, in turn urged truckers opposed to sanitary measures to leave the Canadian capital, out of concern for local residents and businesses. overwhelmed. These calls had still not had any measurable effects on the ground, early Tuesday evening.
“I understand, I hear you, but we have to let the people of Ottawa live their lives,” Mr. Ford told the attention of the hundreds of truckers still present in the streets surrounding the federal Parliament for a fifth day, Tuesday.
The smell of diesel fuel and the din of car horns were ever-present to anyone who ventured along the main thoroughfares of downtown Ottawa leading up to Parliament Hill. Most intersections were strategically obstructed by police, often using snowplows or municipal public works trucks.
During the day, the demonstrators were dispersed in small groups, along the lines of immobilized vehicles which have hardly moved for days. In front of the Supreme Court building, an impromptu ball hockey game was organized. On Laurier Avenue, pizza was cooked in a portable oven to feed the demonstrators, in good spirits and visibly determined to stay put for a long time.
“No customers”
Restaurateur Lili Huang did not have the heart to laugh. His restaurant, located on Kent Street, in the city center, had to close its doors for four days, given the disruption caused by the demonstrations. It was finally able to open only on Tuesday.
“The situation is less worse [que durant la fin de semaine], she says. But the business is dead. Only locals come to encourage us. The woman specifies that she does not look for problems with those who occupy her street.
“I believe there are better ways [pour les camionneurs] to get their message across. It’s hard to support someone who is blocking your business,” laments Diana Su, manager of the Sansotei Ramen restaurant on Bank Street. In front of his empty business, demonstrators were cooking meat on barbecues installed on the sidewalk.
“Uber drivers cannot come, and at the moment we have no customers. They don’t care about quietness in the evening. They block the streets, there are old people who live in the neighborhood, who cannot pass, ”she told the Duty.
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday that he was “increasingly concerned” about the “significant disruptions” that Ottawa is experiencing. “The use of law enforcement is always a last resort, and that is why attempts to de-escalate the situation are so important,” he said, referring to the strategy used since the end weekdays by the Ottawa Police.
The strong police presence visible in the city center had still not been used to force parked truckers to move, at the start of the evening on Tuesday. The authorities will provide an update on the matter on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Protective Service, responsible for Parliament’s security, controlled a large perimeter inaccessible to the public around the buildings.
Inside the House of Commons, other Conservative MPs showed their support for the “freedom convoy” during Tuesday’s Question Period. Alberta MP Glen Motz said these protesters “give a voice to the millions of Canadians who want their country back, their lives back, and their freedoms. Ontario’s Cheryl Gallant called on the premier and the government to end “all obligations [« mandates »] ” in connection with the health crisis, one of the main demands of the convoy.