Lockdowns are over, but Trudeau says emergency powers are needed

Trudeau has indicated that some truck drivers outside Ottawa may be planning more blockades and his public safety minister has indicated that there is an effort to prevent cross-border crossings into British Columbia over the weekend.

The Emergency Law allows authorities to declare certain areas as no-go zones. It also allows police to freeze personal and corporate bank accounts of truck drivers and force truck-towing companies to tow vehicles.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said allowing police to designate a large swathe of downtown Ottawa to become a no-go area was particularly effective. About 100 police checkpoints remain.

“We saw the calm, the peace and the calm and it was definitely a sense of relief for all of us,” Mendicino said.

Singh, the leader of the opposition National Party, said he knew protesters were waiting around Ottawa and in the capital itself. “They should be evacuated,” Singh said.

Singh also noted that convoys were intercepted.

This is an attack on our democracy. “It’s a group of people very clearly associated with the far right,” Singh said. It is clear that the regulators aim to undermine democracy. This is something we cannot allow to continue.

Truck drivers’ protests escalated until a number of border crossings between Canada and the United States were closed and key areas of the capital closed for more than three weeks.

But all the border blockades are now over, and the streets around the Canadian Parliament are calm. Most of the Ottawa protesters who swore to never surrender, were driven away by police in riot gear. The incessant howling of truck drivers’ horns faded. There is still a large police presence in Ottawa and some areas are fenced.

The protests, which initially targeted a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for cross-border truck drivers, but also included anger at the scope of COVID-19 restrictions and hatred for Trudeau, reflected the spread of misinformation in Canada and populist and right-wing movements. that was boiling. anger.

The so-called Freedom Caravan shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys to France, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, and disrupted trade, causing economic damage on both sides of the border. Eventually, hundreds of trucks filled the streets around the House of Representatives, in a demonstration that was part protest and part carnival.

For about a week, the busiest border crossing between the United States and Canada, the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, was blocked. The crossing sees more than 25% of trade between the two countries.

Authorities moved to reopen border crossings, but Ottawa police only issued warnings until Friday, even as hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters blocked city streets and surrounded Parliament House.

Authorities launched the largest police operation in Canadian history on Friday, arresting a string of protesters in Ottawa and ratcheting up the pressure on Saturday until the streets in front of Parliament were cleared. In the end, the police arrested at least 191 people and towed 79 cars. Many protesters retreated as pressure mounted.

Trudeau said Ottawa residents are being harassed and billions of dollars in trade are being disrupted by the border blockade, putting people’s jobs at risk.

Protests across the United States have been welcomed by Fox News personalities and conservatives such as former US President Donald Trump. Millions of dollars in donations crossed the border to the protesters.

“A flood of disinformation and misinformation has swept through Canada, including from foreign sources,” Trudeau said.

After these illegal blockades and occupations received disturbing foreign funding to destabilize Canadian democracy, it became clear that local and regional authorities needed more tools to restore order and keep people safe.