Police clear truck protesters from Canada capital’s streets
OTTAWA, Ontario — Hundreds of police in riot gear swept through the streets of Canada’s besieged capital Saturday, arresting or driving out protesters, towing away their trucks and retaking control of the streets in front of the country’s Parliament buildings.
With protesters in clear retreat under the increasing pressure of one of the largest police operations in Canada’s history, authorities’ hopes were rising for an end to the three-week protest against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
By early Saturday afternoon, protesters were gone from the street in front of Parliament Hill, which had the heart of the protests. It had been occupied by protesters and their trucks since late last month.
“They are trying to push us all away,” said one protester, Jeremy Glass of Shelburne, Ontario, as authorities forced the crowds to move further from the Parliament buildings. “The main camp is seized now. We’re no longer in possession of it.”
Police said protesters remained “aggressive and assaultive” and that pepper spray had been used to protect officers. Authorities also said children had been brought right to the police lines, saying it was “putting the children at risk.”
Canadian authorities also announced they had used emergency powers to seize 76 bank accounts connected to protesters, totaling roughly $2.5 million.
On Saturday, they also closed a bridge into the nation’s capital from Quebec to prevent a renewed influx of protesters.
Around midday, protest organizers said they had ordered truckers to move away from Parliament Hill, decrying the police’s actions as “abuses of power.”
“To move the trucks will require time,” organizers said in a statement. “We hope that (police) will show judicious restraint.”
Earlier, Ottawa police addressed the protesters in a tweet: “We told you to leave. We gave you time to leave. We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses. Based on your behavior, we are responding by including helmets and batons for our safety.”
Police said one protester launched a gas canister and was arrested as they advanced.
At least 47 people were arrested Saturday, police said. More than 100 were arrested Friday, mostly on mischief charges, and nearly two dozen vehicles had been towed, including all of those blocking one of the city’s major streets, authorities said. One officer had a minor injury, but no protesters were hurt, interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell said.
Those arrested included four protest leaders. One received bail while the others remained jailed.
Tow truck operators wearing neon-green ski masks, with their companies’ decals taped over on their trucks to conceal their identities, arrived under police escort and started removing hundreds of big rigs, campers and other vehicles parked shoulder to shoulder near Parliament. Police smashed through the door of at least one camper before hauling it away.
The capital and its paralyzed streets represented the movement’s last stronghold after weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S. and created one of the most serious tests yet for Trudeau. They also shook Canada’s reputation for civility, with some blaming America’s influence.
The Freedom Convoy demonstrations initially focused on Canada’s vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country but soon morphed into a broad attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau’s government.