Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has declared a state of emergency to help deal with an unprecedented 10-day occupation by protesting truckers that has shut down much of the core of the Canadian capital.
A convoy of truckers and supporters have occupied downtown Ottawa since 29 January, 2022 in protest of Canada's Covid-19 vaccine mandate and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. Photo: Cole Burston / Getty Images via AFP
"[This] reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government," he said in a statement.
Watson, who complained earlier in the day that the demonstrators outnumbered police and controlled the situation, did not give details of what measures he might impose.
The "Freedom Convoy" began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
Amid residents' fury at the lack of official response, Ottawa police relocated some protesters and put up fresh barricades on Sunday, saying they are "collecting financial, digital, vehicle registration ... and other evidence that will be used in criminal prosecutions."
They also announced they would clamp down on people attempting to bring in canisters to refuel the hundreds of large trucks blocking most roads in the city center.
The protest has paralysed the city's downtown for the past nine days, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they wanted to dissolve Canada's government.
Trudeau, who is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, has ruled out using the military to disband the protest. Due to security concerns, Trudeau and his family left their downtown home last weekend and his location has not been disclosed.
The prime minister has said the convoy represented a "small fringe minority" and the government would not be intimidated. About 90 percent of Canada's cross-border truckers and almost 79 percent of the population has had two Covid-19 vaccine shots.
Convoy organisers said they would refrain from using their horns on Sunday for four hours "as a gesture of goodwill".
"Out of respect for the Lord's Day, for members of our military who have sacrificed and who continue to sacrifice so much for our freedom, for the men and women in blue who are doing such a superb job protecting us ... members of our convoy will desist from the blowing of horns," the group said in a statement.
Police said they had charged four people with hate crimes and were investigating threats against public figures jointly with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The well-organised blockade has relied partly on funding from sympathisrs in the United States, police said. GoFundMe took down the Freedom Convoy's donation platform, angering some US Republican lawmakers who pledged to investigate the website's move.
Former US President Donald Trump and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk have praised the truckers.
A senior member of the Liberal government said the ease with which the convoy shut down the area around the parliament and the seeming impotence of police was a "national humiliation".
Senior opposition Conservatives who encouraged the protests, including taking selfies with some truckers, did not reply to requests for comment. Last week, the party ditched its leader in part for not initially backing the blockade enthusiastically enough.
- Reuters