(Ottawa) Operation relocation got under way in Ottawa on Monday. Slowly, trucks began to move towards arteries authorized by the mayor of the city. But diehards signal that they will not budge – and in several cabins, the threat formulated by the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, is greeted with a shrug.
Posted at 8:22 p.m.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told convoy representative Tamara Lich that he wanted “to see a clear demonstration that the truck convoy will leave residential areas by noon Monday.” There was movement: in the afternoon, on Wellington Street, you would have thought you were looking at a giant Tetris game. In the Siberian cold, vehicles moved forward and backward to make room for the newcomers.
Under police escort, blocks of houses were cleared of the behemoths, inspiring a sigh of relief in Ottawa’s chief magistrate. “The convoy organizers began to [respecter] their commitment to move several trucks from the residential area to South Wellington. This is a complex multi-day operation in support of our residents,” he wrote on Twitter.
PHOTO LARS HAGBERG, REUTERS
A police officer from the city of Ottawa speaks with a truck driver.
This plan, Monique does not believe for a second. “It’s obvious that it won’t work! They won’t leave, ”says this Centretown resident spontaneously. “The mayor reached an agreement with one of the organizers, but it was immediately denied by another,” she laments.
On Sunday night, after Ottawa City Hall uncovered the letter exchange between Jim Watson and Tamara Lich, dated February 12, another figurehead of the “freedom convoy”, Pat King, posted on his Facebook page a video titled “NOBODY MOVES”. ” It’s a lie. […] To the truckers, in their vehicles: do not move, ”he insisted.
The message is often heard by Jake and Lynette, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
“Every day we are told to stay there. We are taken care of, we are fed. And if we move from here, there is no guarantee that they will allow us to stay in Ottawa,” explains Jake, whose vehicle is parked on Kent Street. This artery was always crowded with trucks, Monday evening, for several hundred meters.
” We will win ”
The warning given to truckers by Minister Freeland [voir autre texte] did not seem to dampen the determination of those who opened the door of their vehicle to The Press. “Look ahead and behind you. You have your answer,” Mark, of Stratford, Ont., said succinctly in the middle of the Wellington Street convoy.
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, THE CANADIAN PRESS
A person secures empty fuel containers and propane tanks to a vehicle.
“They are just trying to scare us. It doesn’t scare me. The government thinks it will win, but we will win. In fact, we’ve already won,” laughs Luis, of Kitchener, Ont., behind the wheel.
The Ottawa Police Service did not provide an update on the progress of the relocation project on Monday.
As for the City of Ottawa, it obtained an injunction from the Superior Court of Ontario on Monday afternoon. The court order prevents open fires, the use of fireworks, noise, obstructing or damaging a highway and idling a vehicle’s engine.
The convoy camped on its position
The Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergency Measures Act was greeted with the same indifference.
“We are not afraid,” said Tamara Lich on Monday at a press conference in Ottawa.
“We will remain peaceful, but grounded, on Parliament Hill until the terms end, unequivocally,” she added.
The session turned sour when a CTV reporter asked if we could be sure that the protesters in Ottawa were unarmed.
“Lies! Lies! people buried him in the hall. The conference then ended.
Alberta: weapons cache seized
The reporter was referring to a weapons seizure in Coutts, Alberta – the entry point between Canada and the United States has been blocked for several days.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Monday that they confiscated 13 long guns, handguns, several sets of body armor, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and large capacity magazines.
The federal police raid took place “in the early hours”, in three trailers that were part of the convoy.
“Information has been received that this group had access to a firearms cache with a large amount of ammunition,” the RCMP said in a statement.
“The group was said to be prepared to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade,” the RCMP said in a statement.
Eleven people were arrested and taken into custody.