Toronto: Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly has resigned amid ongoing protests of truckers and ordinary citizens against COVID-19 restrictions, reported Sputnik. Sloly decided to step down following an Ottawa Police Services Board meeting earlier in the day, reported Sputnik the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday citing sources.
It came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday (local time) invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in 50 years to give the federal government extra powers to handle ongoing truckers blockades and protests against the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Trudeau, at a news conference on Parliament Hill, said, ‘It is now clear that there are serious challenges to law enforcement’s ability to effectively enforce the law’.
Read more: Trudeau declares a state of emergency to quell protests in Canada
The Canadian Prime Minister also said that the measures will be geographically targeted and ‘reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address’. The unprecedented deployment of the Emergencies Act gives police more tools to restore order in places where public assemblies constitute illegal and dangerous activities, such as blockades and occupations, he said, reported CBC News.
A blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, a key supply link between Canada and the US, was dispersed by police earlier Sunday, with 12 arrests. The prime minister was joined by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as well as ministers David Lametti (justice) Marco Mendicino (public safety) and Bill Blair (emergency preparedness) at the conference.
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