Toronto police prepare for weekend truck protests
‘‘ We all want to do everything we can … to try and avoid the situations that we’re seeing in Ottawa and in Windsor.
JOHN TORY TORONTO MAYOR
As Toronto braces for the potential of a second weekend of truck convoy protests, the city’s top cop said police have had to scrutinize intelligence about protesters’ next moves in the face of a “deliberate” misinformation campaign.
“It is an organized group of people that are trying to make it difficult for police agencies across the province. We believe some of them are deliberately trying to tax our resources,” Toronto police Chief James Ramer said Friday.
“So we have to weigh all the information the best we can.”
Nonetheless, in response to intelligence about the moves of the socalled “Freedom Convoy,” Ramer said there is a “very robust” policing plan in place as the movement, which began with truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates, is expected to descend on Toronto this weekend.
Ramer would not provide details about how many protesters or trucks could be arriving in the city, but said the force is preparing for every eventuality and taking an “all hands on deck approach” when it comes to staffing.
“We have a very robust plan that is very nimble and allows us to scale up or scale down whatever is required,” Ramer said at a news conference, held with Toronto Mayor John Tory.
“We all want to do everything we can — absolutely everything we can — to try and avoid the situations that we’re seeing in Ottawa and in Windsor,” Tory said.
Ramer said there will once again be a large police presence in the downtown core and road closures on major downtown streets; Queen’s Park Circle from College Street to Bloor Street has been closed since Wednesday and officers have since blocked off College between Bay Street and Yonge Street.
Asked what Toronto police will do if protestors park vehicles in the city and refuse to leave, Ramer said: “We’re going to help them leave.”
“If vehicles are engaged and they’re not moving, we’re going to move them out of the way,” Ramer said, later adding Toronto police tow trucks are ready to be put to use if necessary.
Ramer said the emergency declaration and its strengthened police powers are being carefully reviewed and the service will be providing updates to officers on what that means for this weekend’s operation.
On Friday afternoon, Tory thanked Ford for declaring the emergency, stating the premier made it “extremely clear that it is time for these illegal occupations to end and for people to go home.”
Earlier this week, Toronto police closed off Queen’s Park Circle amid online rumours from Freedom Convoy organizers that they would move from Ottawa to Toronto. Later Wednesday, as it became clear the convoy was not descending en masse in the city, organizer Chris Barber, a truck driver and organizer, said the comments were uttered as a “game.”
On Thursday, Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly said that his city’s 911 phone system had been flooded with false calls, many of them coming from the United States.