Occupation over in Ottawa, groups relocate

(Ottawa) After 24 days, the occupation is now over near Parliament Hill in Ottawa. If the police regained control of the city center on Sunday, some recalcitrants still refuse to leave. Other groups are also to relocate, the day after two days of police intervention aimed at freeing the streets of the Canadian capital.

Melanie Marquis
The Press

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

Florence Morin Martel
The Press

Around 9 a.m., police advanced towards the barricade at the corner of Sparks and Bank streets, to face the few demonstrators who nevertheless remained on the spot. According to the latest report from the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), Sunday morning, 191 people were arrested and 57 vehicles were towed. Municipal agents had handed over 3,600 statements of offense as of Saturday.

Of the total, 103 people were “charged”. The main charges laid are mischief or obstructing the work of patrol officers. Nearly 90 of these 103 people were “released under conditions”, including a restriction of movement. The other individuals were released unconditionally, law enforcement said.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced on Sunday the opening of two investigations into two incidents involving a Toronto police officer and another from Vancouver police. In the first case, the policeman was on horseback, and he inflicted “serious injuries” on a 49-year-old woman. In the second, the police discharged less lethal weapons, gestures which would not have caused any injuries, according to the independent investigation body, which however invites anyone who has been affected to contact it.

On the streets of Ottawa’s locked-down downtown area, there were only a handful of abandoned vehicles left here and there as of Sunday morning. 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. Bay Street had also been largely freed.

The police were still very visible in the middle of the afternoon, however, in the Elgin Street area, while demonstrators still refused to leave the scene. Several police in riot gear came down the street to challenge the protesters, who were waving Canadian flags. Some of them were arrested within minutes. ” Freedom. Let us demonstrate peacefully,” they chanted.

East of downtown Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, several motorized vehicles pulled out of the parking lot near the Coventry Street baseball stadium, where they had been sitting for a few days. “We are going to another place,” said Jim Rankin, a protester, driving his van. He would not confirm where the protesters were leaving, but hinted that some may return to the city center.

Others also seem to be gathering at a truck stop in Vankleek Hill, located between Ottawa and Montreal, as well as in the Embrun sector, a municipality located south of Ottawa, or in front of the Canadian War Museum, according to what several media reported.

On Twitter, Sunday afternoon, the SPO also recalled that it “is illegal and dangerous to stop on a 400 series highway”. “Please use alternate routes, keeping in mind the ongoing ramp closures,” it was implored.

Relief for residents and merchants

Johnny Bounnapha, employee of the Eggspectation restaurant, was delighted with a certain return to normal in the city center. “The convoy was difficult for business, especially this weekend,” he laments. Aside from downtown residents, few out-of-town customers have come in lately.

” 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. »

Rue Bank, 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.

Two demonstrators crossed by The Press, on Sunday, deplored the “use of force” by the authorities against them. “I’m not sad, I know the world is watching. And I think Justin Trudeau’s days are numbered. He chose to use force against us, instead of talking to us,” lamented Chermaine Ironside, who came from Calgary to support the movement.

“I would be ready to come back. We cannot be intimidated by our own government. If we don’t use our peaceful right to protest, we will lose this battle. The only voice we have is to continue to appear in numbers, ”also supported his friend, Jen Mifsud, at his side.

Striking contrast

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.

Parliamentarians are thus less hindered – with the exception of the multiple checkpoints around the secure area – to continue the debate around the Emergency Measures Act.

” It is a relief. I was walking towards Parliament Hill this morning, and it was the first time it had been so quiet in three weeks. I am especially relieved for the merchants and the residents of the city center who had seen their daily life turned upside down, ”explains the Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud.

She salutes the “gradual” police intervention which, even if it is not quite finished, has made it possible to get to this point. “Starting out methodically, inviting the protesters to leave and giving them time to leave before going in a more firm way, I think that was a good thing,” she said.

New police warning

Police also announced the arrest of Tyson George Billings, a 44-year-old protester from High Prairie, Alberta.

The man who has been in Ottawa since late January has been charged with mischief, in addition to counseling others to commit mischief or disobey a court order. Counts of obstructing police work have also been filed against him. He is due to appear on Sunday. Anyone else blocking streets “could be arrested”, hammered the OPS.