He considers the situation “out of control”. The mayor of Ottawa declared a “state of emergency” in the Canadian capital on Sunday.
The protests, which started in Ottawa on Saturday January 29, spread to other major Canadian cities this weekend, as dozens of heavy goods vehicles and demonstrators continued to paralyze the capital’s downtown area this weekend. Sunday.
Mayor Jim Watson therefore announced in the afternoon that he had declared a state of emergency in Ottawa “due to the ongoing demonstration”. A statement that “reflects the grave danger as well as the threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the continued protests and underscores the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” City Hall said in a statement. .
Earlier in the day, the mayor had judged “the situation completely out of control, (in Ottawa) because it is the protesters who make the law”. “We are losing the battle, (…) we must take back our city”, had hammered the mayor, judging “unacceptable” the behavior of the protesters who obstruct the streets of the city center and tirelessly sound the horns with their weight heavy.
The police are toughening up
The Ottawa police, criticized for not having been able to prevent the paralysis of the center of the capital, for its part announced its intention to prevent the supply of the protesters, in particular with fuel. “Anyone who tries to provide material support (fuel etc.) to the demonstrators risks being arrested. This measure is now in effect,” she warned in a tweet.
IMPORTANT: Anyone attempting to deliver support materials (gas, etc.) to protesters will be subject to arrest. Enforcement measures are underway. #ottawa #ottnew pic.twitter.com/EU8b2XUVXL
— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) February 6, 2022
The movement, dubbed the “freedom convoy”, was originally intended to protest against the decision to force, since mid-January, truckers to be vaccinated to cross the border between Canada and the United States, but it quickly turned into a movement against health measures as a whole and also, for some, against the government of Justin Trudeau.
The Ottawa police will soon receive the reinforcement of some 250 members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a federal police force.