Ottawa declares state of emergency over COVID-19 protests

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The mayor of Canada’s capital declared a state of emergency on Sunday as truckers from across the country continue to paralyze Ottawa’s downtown.

‘The situation at this point is completely out of control,’ Mayor Watson said on Sunday. ‘The individuals with the protest are calling the shots. They have far more people than we have police officers.’ 

Mayor Jim Watson said declaring a state of emergency highlighted the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government as the protests enter their 17th day. 

It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.  

‘Declaring a state of emergency 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,’ the mayor said in a statement.  

The announcement came as the city’s Police Services Board Chairwoman Diane Deans said the situation had spiraled into ‘a nationwide insurrection’ with protests spreading from Ottawa to Toronto and Quebec city this weekend. 

During an emergency meeting of the Ottawa Police Services board on Saturday, Chief Peter Sloly said ‘we need an additional surge of resources’, after the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ruled out deploying troops to the streets. 

On Saturday, thousands turned out to support the Freedom Convoy with around 7,000 protesters and 1,000 vehicles coming out onto on the streets of the nation’s capital.

Ottawa police said there were about 500 vehicles in the city’s ‘red zone’ on Sunday. 

Amid incessant horn blaring and occasional fireworks, a polished supply chain – including portable saunas, a community kitchen and bouncy castles for children – has sustained the protesters. 

The well-organized blockade has relied partly on funding from sympathizers in the United States, police said.

 GoFundMe took down the Freedom Convoy’s donation page, angering some U.S. Republican lawmakers who pledged to investigate 

The thousands joined the hundred or so who had remained since last weekend. 

 Police said they had charged four people with hate crimes and were investigating threats against public figures jointly with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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.

Meanwhile, the residents of Ottawa are furious at the nonstop blaring of horns, traffic disruption and harassment and fear no end is in sight after the police chief called it a ‘siege’ that he could not manage.

Convoy organizers said they would refrain from using their horns on Sunday for four hours ‘as a gesture of goodwill’. 

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’. 

The ‘freedom truck convoy’ has attracted support from many U.S. Republicans including former President Donald Trump, who called Prime Minister Trudeau a ‘far left lunatic’ who has ‘destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates.’

‘Canada US relations used to be mainly about solving technical issues. Today Canada is unfortunately experiencing radical US politicians involving themselves in Canadian domestic issues. Trump and his followers are a threat not just to the US but to all democracies,’ Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador under President Barack Obama, tweeted.

Heyman said ‘under no circumstances should any group in the USA fund disruptive activities in Canada. Period. Full stop.’

Smaller demonstrations with truckers also took place in other major Canadian cities on Saturday including Toronto, Emondton, Vancouver, Victoria and Quebec City. 

In Vancouver, five people were arrested Saturday for allegedly adding to the general havoc as police received reports of ‘rocks and eggs being thrown, cars being kicked, and nails being strewn on roadways,’ police said.

 Several hundred vehicles traveled through the city en route to the demonstration, Vancouver Police said. 

Five people were arrested and later released from custody.

‘Everyone has the right to peacefully assemble and express their views, and the Vancouver Police Department is committed to providing a safe environment for lawful protest,’ said police Sgt. Steve Addison. 

‘Today’s protests attracted thousands of people who feel passionately about their causes. While most protesters were peaceful, some had to be arrested for violent behavior and unlawful conduct.’ 

In Canada’s largest city, Toronto, thousands were on the streets on Saturday. 

Several trucks were seen blocking a major intersection for hours despite the presence of police. 

On Sunday, the demonstration was all but over with just a handful of demonstrators showing up and no trucks in the downtown area. 

In Quebec City, on Saturday, thousands of protesters together with hundreds of trucks jammed up the streets. 

After crowdfunding site GoFundMe said it would refund or redirect to charities the vast majority of the millions raised by demonstrators protesting in the Canadian capital, prominent U.S. Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis complained.

But GoFundMe had already changed its mind and said it would be issuing refunds to all. 

The site said it cut off funding for the organizers because it had determined the effort violated the site´s terms of service due to unlawful activity.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called it ‘an occupation’ with protesters appearing to settle in for the long haul. 

Barbecues, fire pits and stockpiles of food together with toilet paper and fuel have all be amassed.   

Banners hang in the street with messages including ‘Freedom over Fear,’ ‘Media is the virus’ and ‘F*** Trudeau.’  

‘For some senior American politicians, patriotism means renting a mob to put a G-7 capital under siege,’ tweeted Gerald Butts, a former senior adviser to Trudeau. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxon tweeted: ‘Patriotic Texans donated to Canadian truckers’ worthy cause.’ and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on Fox News ‘government doesn’t have the right to force you to comply to their arbitrary mandates.’

Cruz got into a twitter spat with Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart at the start of the weekend.

‘As the Mayor of a city with an over 95 per cent vaccination rate, my message to the convoy is this: Vancouver doesn’t want you here. Make your point and then go home.’ 

Cruz immediately jumped into the fray. 

‘Mayor says ‘Vancouver doesn’t want’ truck drivers there. Folks might feel differently with empty shelves.’ Cruz wrote on Friday.

The mayor fired back on Sunday: 

‘Can someone tell Ted Cruz our store shelves are fine thanks to the 90% of Canadian truckers who are fully vaccinated,’ Kennedy wrote.

 ‘Too busy high-fiving all the awesome folks in Vancouver that are helping push back against the #hateconvoy.’  

Earlier on Sunday, Cruz demanded that the Federal Trade Commission open an investigation into GoFundMe. 

Appearing on Fox News on Sunday he revealed he sent a letter to the FTC urging the agency to probe the fundraising website for potential ‘deceptive trade practices’ and accused the website of ‘theft.’ 

He also accused the site of removing the page because it didn’t line up with Silicon Valley ‘politics.’ 

GoFundMe removed the fundraising page for the Freedom Convoy on Friday and gave donors two weeks to ask for a refund.

A statement released that evening explained: ‘GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created. We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity.’ 

After swift backlash for trying to redistribute the funds, the charity site updated users on Twitter that all donors to the convoy would automatically receive refunds.

‘Listen, it is theft on the part of GoFundMe. Let me say — the Canadian truckers are heroes. They are patriots marching for your freedom and for my freedom,’ Cruz told Fox host Maria Bartiromo.

‘Those truck drivers that — God blessed them — they’re defending Canada, but they are defending America as well.’ 

Cruz praised the truckers for ‘standing up’ to the dismay of ‘big government.’ 

‘That is courage on display, that the government doesn’t have the right to force you to comply to their arbitrary mandates. And they’re standing up for freedom, and of course, big government hates it and is trying to crush them,’ he said. 

‘The corporate media hates it and is trying to silence them, and big tech — look at what GoFundMe did, people gave $10 million to support the Freedom Convoy because they were so proud of the courage of these truck drivers, and the thieves in Silicon Valley decided ‘We don’t like your politics, so A, We will take your money and  then B, we’re going to give it to people we like’,’ Cruz alleged.

‘Listen, if anyone else did that, that is called theft. And so today I sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking that the FTC open an investigation into GoFundMe, into whether they have committed deceptive trade practices because when people gave money, they gave money under the promise it would go to the Freedom Convoy, not to whatever left-wing political ideology GoFundMe and other Silicon Valley companies support.’

He added: ‘They are deceiving consumers and it is wrong.’  

In Canada’s largest city, Toronto, police controlled and later ended a much smaller protest by setting up road blocks and preventing any trucks or cars from getting near the provincial legislature. Police also moved in to clear a key intersection in the city.

Many Canadians have been outraged over the crude behavior of the demonstrators. Some protesters set fireworks off on the grounds of the National War Memorial late Friday. 

A number have carried signs and flags with swastikas last weekend and compared vaccine mandates to fascism.

Protesters have said they won’t leave until all mandates and COVID-19 restrictions are gone. 

They are also calling for the removal of Trudeau’s government, though it is responsible for few of the measures, most of which were put in place by provincial governments.