On Sunday, Canadian police made what could be the final effort to evacuate the capital city of activists who had crippled it for more than three weeks by parking and camping on the streets to protest pandemic restrictions.
Since beginning efforts to break up the protest on Friday morning, police have made 170 arrests and towed 53 vehicles, necessitating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of rarely utilised emergency powers.
On Saturday, police deployed pepper spray and stun grenades to clear the area in front of parliament and near to the prime minister’s office of the remaining protestors.
However, pockets of entrenched demonstrators remain. According to police, some of those arrested on Saturday were wearing body armour and had smoke grenades and other fireworks in their luggage and vehicles.
“This operation is still ongoing. It is not over, and we will need more time to achieve our objectives “Interim Police Chief Steve Bell of Ottawa stated on Saturday.
The demonstrators’ main goal was to remove cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers, but the blockage evolved into a protest against Trudeau and the government.
Trudeau declared a state of emergency on Monday to give his government more authority to put an end to the protests, including broad powers to freeze the accounts of people suspected of supporting the blockades without a court order.
“The police are moving through the streets in a methodical and responsible manner. This is positive, but there is still work to be done “On Saturday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino stated.
Protesters who have been filmed by police will be held accountable, according to Bell.
“We will actively seek to identify you and pursue financial sanctions and criminal proceedings against you. This probe will last for months.”
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