Canadian truck drivers set foot on the ground ahead of “imminent” police action

Hundreds of truck drivers clogging the streets in Canada’s capital may stand on their ground, and protesters may be trying to disperse their nearly three-week demonstration against the country’s Covid-19 restrictions. And when the police poured in, they blew up their horns violently.

A large number of police officers arrived near the Parliament building in Ottawa, and workers installed additional fences around the government building.

“Action is imminent,” said Steve Bell, interim Ottawa police chief. “We absolutely promise to end this illegal demonstration.”

Police continued to negotiate with protesters and tried to persuade them to go home, Bell said. “I want to end this demonstration peacefully,” he said, but added, “if they don’t leave peacefully, there are plans.”

Authorities have “began to strengthen the perimeter of the protests,” including installing security barriers and restricting access to downtown, which is dominated by protests against Covid’s rules, Bell said.

Many self-proclaimed Freedom Convoy truck drivers are at risk of arrest and stay tuned by police and government warnings that they can see rigs seized and bank accounts frozen. I saw.

“I’m ready to sit in my ass and watch them hit me with a pepper spray,” said one of their leaders, Pat King. Regarding trucks parked from bumper to bumper, he said, “Canada has no tow trucks to touch them.”

Challenge to Trudeau

Amid heightened tensions, truck drivers outside Congress honked against the court’s injunction against honking for the benefit of their neighbors.

Ottawa represented the last base of the movement after weeks of demonstrations and closures that closed the border crossing to the United States, caused economic damage to both countries and caused a political crisis in Trudeau.

Protests have shaken Canada’s reputation for politeness and obedience to the rules, affecting similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

“It’s time for these illegal and dangerous activities to stop,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in parliament, not far from where more than 300 trucks were parked.

“They are a threat to our economy and our relationship with our trading partners,” he said. “They are a threat to public safety.”

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister enforced Canada’s emergency law, empowering law enforcement officials to declare the blockade illegal, tow trucks, arrest drivers, suspend licenses, and take other steps. rice field.

Right-wing extremists enter into a battle

On Thursday, Trudeau and some of his prime ministers leave protesters with a clear move by the government to avoid a clash, or at least to show that they have traveled an extra distance to avoid a clash. Warned.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government had begun to freeze truck driver accounts for intimidation. “It’s happening. I have the numbers in front of me,” she said.

Ottawa police also distributed leaflets requesting truck drivers to end the siege for two consecutive days, and also issued notices to owners where and how to pick up trucks if towed. Placed in.

The movement has gained support from right-wing extremists and veterans, some of whom are armed. This is one of the reasons the authorities hesitated to oppose them.

Some security experts say that decentralizing protests in Ottawa can be tricky and dangerous, with the potential for violence, and as a propaganda by rebel militants, a brute force law enforcement agency. Said that correspondence may be used.

Source: AP