Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson on Sunday declared a state of emergency to deal with the effects of an anti-vaccination truck driver protest that has occupied the center of the Canadian capital for ten days.
“[Isso] reflects the serious danger and security threat posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and other levels of government,” it said in a statement.
Watson, who earlier on Sunday had complained that the number of truck drivers exceeded the contingent of police officers, did not provide details on the measures he intends to implement.
The act, called the Freedom Convoy, began as a movement against vaccination requirements for truck drivers crossing the Canadian-U.S. border and has turned into a hotbed of protest against health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Amid complaints from residents over a lack of response from authorities, Ottawa police set up new security barriers on Sunday. The corporation says it is collecting financial and digital evidence, as well as vehicle registration data, which “will be used in criminal charges”.
Security officials have also announced that they will halt attempts to take containers with fuel to refuel the trucks that continue to block most streets in the center.
Some of the protesters have displayed Confederate and Nazi flags and say they want to dissolve the government of Canada. Protest organizers promise not to leave the venue until vaccination requirements are lifted. The country’s Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, said on Sunday that the government will not back down on health measures.
“We brought the issue of vaccines and vaccination requirements to […] the elections [de 2021] and we are carrying out the promise we made with the support of the vast majority of Canadians”, he told the CBC broadcaster. activists’ needs.
According to police, the protest is funded by supporters in the US. Fundraising platform GoFundMe suspended the Convoio da Liberdade donations page — the decision angered congressmen linked to the Republican Party, who promised to open an investigation into the site. Former President Donald Trump and Tesla Chairman Elon Musk expressed support for the truckers.
Police said they had indicted four people for hate crimes and opened an investigation with the FBI, the US federal police, into threats against public figures.
Trudeau, who is in isolation after being diagnosed with Covid-19 last week, ruled out using the military to end the protest. Due to concerns for their safety, the prime minister and his family left their residence in the central region of the Canadian capital last weekend and were taken to an unknown location.
The prime minister said the convoy represents a “small minority fringe” and that the government would not be intimidated. About 90% of Canadian truck drivers carrying out cross-border trips have already completed the first vaccine cycle against Covid, as well as 79% of the country’s population.
A member of the Liberal Party government said the ease with which truck drivers blocked off the area around Parliament and the apparent powerlessness of the police were a “national humiliation”.
Members of the conservative opposition encouraged the acts and took pictures with truck drivers. Last week, the Conservative Party changed its leadership because Erin O’Toole, who had led the party since August 2020, would not have shown enough enthusiasm for the movement.
A survey published by the Abacus Data institute this Thursday (3) shows that 68% of respondents say they have very little in common with the so-called “freedom train” protesters. The other 32% say they identify with truck drivers and other groups that joined the acts.
Asked how they viewed the demonstrations, 57% described them as “offensive and inappropriate”, while 43% rated them “respectful and appropriate”. 1,410 Canadians were interviewed between January 31 and February 2. The survey also probed the views of respondents based on their political convictions. The largest shares of support for acts against measures to combat the pandemic come from parties on the right of the political spectrum.
Source: Folha
