Tense face-to-face, arrests, but no clashes: the Canadian police began, Friday, February 18, to dislodge truckers and demonstrators who have been blockading the center of Ottawa for three weeks to protest against health measures linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. Seventy people had been arrested by mid-afternoon.
Hundreds of police deployed in the streets of the federal capital in the face of demonstrators who refused to leave the scene, despite numerous warnings and the proclamation of a state of emergency. The police, who surrounded the entire area of the demonstration, slowly tightened their grip on the protesters, but have not yet reached the main avenue, which runs alongside Parliament.
WATCH – Tensions and arrests in downtown Ottawa. The police progress, slowly but surely, towards Wellington Street and Parliament. Images captured by my colleagues in the field. #polcan pic.twitter.com/ni6WXf6ZaI
— Louis Blouin (@ICILouisBlouin) February 18, 2022
Several demonstrators were arrested, most without resistance. In some arteries covered with fresh snow, demonstrators’ vehicles (including trucks) were for the first time towed in order to be evacuated.
One of the leaders of the demonstration, far-right activist Pat King, was arrested early Friday afternoon as he left town. Two other leaders were arrested Thursday evening and were due to appear in court on Friday.
Tamara Lich, who is at the origin of the so-called “freedom convoy”, is accused of having incited “commit an offence”. As for Christopher Barber, he is accused of the same facts, as well as of having incited to disobey a judicial order and to obstruct the work of the police.
For the first time since the start of this dispute which is taking place under its windows, the Federal Parliament remained closed on Friday for security reasons. The chamber has been considering since Thursday the implementation of the Emergency Measures Act invoked on Monday by the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to end the blockages “illegal” underway in the country.
It is only the second time that this provision has been used in peacetime, the last time dating back to the crisis of 1970 when Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the father of the current Prime Minister, was in power. It is highly contested by the conservative opposition.