Ottawa police continue to tighten their grip around the city’s downtown core.
This comes as an illegal blockade of the nation’s parliamentary district entering its twenty-first day.
A loose coalition of anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate protesters and truckers have said they won’t leave the city until all mandates are lifted.
At various times, leaders of the truck protest have also said they want to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
Local police have faced heavy criticism for not doing enough to get the protesters to leave the city.
But much has changed in the last 72 hours.
On Tuesday, Peter Sloly stepped down as Ottawa’s police chief and the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in the country’s history.
The act gives police enhanced powers to freeze bank accounts of those involved in illegal blockade activities, cancel commercial trucking insurance and create security zones.
An integrated police unit has also now been set up consisting of RCMP, OPP and Ottawa police.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Ottawa interim police chief Steve Bell confirmed such a security perimeter has now been established around a number of downtown streets including Parliament Hill.
“It’s time to go, your time in our city has come to end, it’s time to leave,” he said as part of a warning asking those participating in the blockade to go peacefully.
But local residents have heard this story from police before.
Only to see blockade numbers swell the past three weekends into a raucous party atmosphere that included bouncy castles, hot tubs and barbecues.
Bell refused to put a timeline on when or exactly how police would get those participating in the blockade to leave the city.
But he did insist things will be different this coming weekend.
“Go outside and look at the presence we have outside right now. We are at the end of this protest,” he said.
Police also say they are working with the Children’s Aid Society to ensure children that are part of the convoy are not harmed as enforcement ramps up.
As officers increased their presence downtown, a debate on the merits of invoking the Emergencies Act raged on all day Thursday in the House of Commons.
Trudeau said invoking the act does not mean individual civil liberties will be suspended.
“I want to reassure Canadians that when the Emergencies Act is invoked, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms continues to protect their individual rights,” he said. “We’re not using the Emergencies Act to call in the military. We’re not limiting people’s freedom of expression.”
Interim Conservative opposition leader Candice Bergen accused the government of using a sledgehammer approach to deal with the protesters.
“Throughout the last three weeks, the Prime Minister has failed to take meaningful action to de-escalate the protests or use any tools that he may have available,” she said. “Instead he has jumped to the most extreme measure.”
However, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said invocation of the act is warranted.
“It is no secret that the goal of this convoy, posted brazenly on their website, reiterated as recently as earlier this week, was to overthrow a democratically elected government,” he said.
The Emergencies Act must be passed by both Parliament and the Senate within seven days in order to stand.
Unless extended, the act expires after 30 days.
The NDP has indicated they will support the act giving it enough votes to pass.
The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois both say they will vote against it.
