Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act

[Rick Plant]

Canadian police secure downtown Ottawa as truckers’ protest ends
Three-week occupation over Covid precautions and Trudeau government ends with 76 vehicles towed and 191 arrests



Canadian police on Sunday secured the downtown core of Ottawa with fencing, as city workers cleaned up trash and snow plows cleared streets after two days of tense standoffs and 191 arrests ended a three-week occupation.

Demonstrators used hundreds of trucks and vehicles to block the city center since 28 January, prompting the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to invoke rarely used emergency powers.

The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border Covid-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers but the blockade turned into a demonstration against Trudeau.

Seventy-six vehicles had been towed, police said on Sunday, as stragglers packed up a logistics depot that the so-called “Freedom Convoy” had set up in a parking lot to supply protesters camped several kilometers away in front of parliament. Police handed out flyers, warning them to leave or risk arrest and a fine.

“We were running support for the convoy and the people in the downtown core – food, fuel, basic necessities,” said Winton Marchant, a retired firefighter from Windsor, Ontario. “This was the base camp and we are cleaning up.“

On Saturday, police used pepper spray and stun grenades on protesters, clearing most of the area in front of parliament. Other demonstrators abandoned positions in downtown during the night.

Those arrested face 389 different criminal charges including obstructing police, disobeying a court order, assault, mischief, possessing a weapon and assaulting a police officer, Ottawa’s interim police chief, Steve Bell, told reporters.

“We’re not done with this operation yet,” Bell said, adding that over the “next several days” police will determine “how we maintain a presence and make sure that nobody returns to occupy our streets again”.

For the first time in weeks, there was only snow and silence downtown. Trucks blaring horns were gone. One resident said he felt relief.

“We seem to have gotten over the hump,” Tim Abray told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC). But Abray said political division will not go away so easily.

Protesters who were filmed by police and have left the city will be held to account, Bell said.

“We will actively look to identify you and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges,” he said, adding: “This investigation will go on for months to come.”

During the past two days of protests in Ottawa and British Columbia, where a group temporarily shut down a border crossing south of Vancouver on Saturday, TV reporters were harassed, insulted, threatened and pushed.

The Canadian industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said on Twitter such treatment of journalists was “profoundly disturbing”.

One criminal investigation into treatment of a member of the media was ongoing, Bell said, adding: “The media has been subjected to slurs, to abuse.”

Trudeau invoked emergency powers to give his government wider authority to stop the protests, including powers to freeze the bank accounts of those suspected of supporting the blockades.

So far, 206 bank and corporate accounts have been frozen and one financial institution blocked a “payment processor” account holding C$3.8m ($2.98m), police said, adding that they were still collecting information on companies and people.

Parliament continued debate the emergency powers, with a required vote and expected passage due on Monday. The powers were fundamental in coordinating police to break up the Ottawa protest, Bell said.

The emergency preparedness minister, Bill Blair, suggested that the extraordinary powers may not be needed much longer.

“We’re tracking it hourly,” he told the CBC. “They will only be in place as long as they are needed to get the job done.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/20/canadian-police-ottawa-truckers-protest

[Rick Plant]

Protest convoy had 'worst display of Nazi propaganda in this country,' anti-hate advocate says

[Rick Plant]

This garbage was reported everywhere on right wing tv and social media as if the Canadian police trampled someone to death with their horse. There was never any evidence and even the family was denying it. Turns out it was fake news like usual, but there will be plenty more made up “news” today for them to spread to the brainless gullible sheep.

[Richard Smith]

More outright lies and fake news from Faux. The FCC should revoke their broadcasting license.

Fox News staffer made up story about Canadian protester getting trampled — and duped Ted Cruz: report

Fox News contributor Sara Carter has retracted an "entirely fictitious" story about a Canadian "freedom convoy" protester getting trampled by a police horse, the Daily Beast reported Saturday.

“Reports are the woman trampled by a Canadian horse patrol just died at the hospital ... #Trudeau #FreedomConvoyCanada,” Carter tweeted on Friday.

Carter has 1.3 million Twitter followers, and her post was amplified by conservatives including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Fox Nation hosts Diamond and Silk. But on Saturday morning, Carter — who claims to be an "award-winning correspondent" and is frequently called upon by host Sean Hannity — admitted the story was false.

“The Reports I was given earlier yesterday from sources on the ground that someone may have died at a hospital during the trampling was wrong,” Carter tweeted, adding that “someone was taken to a hospital with a heart condition - not due to trampling. I want to clarify this again and apologize for any confusion.”

Carter subsequently deleted her original tweet — but only after being contacted by the Daily Beast on Saturday evening. And not until after Cruz deleted his retweet – in which he had written above Carter's original post, "This...is...horrific."

"I deleted my retweet about a Canadian protestor being trampled to death because the journalist who first reported it now says it was in error," Cruz wrote on Saturday afternoon. "I remain deeply concerned about the abuse—seizing money & employing violence against peaceful protesters—that we’re seeing in Canada."

https://www.rawstory.com/ted-cruz-2656730975/

Maybe take a look at the video posted above and below where several people were trampled by police horses.  They were clearly seriously injured.  Trying to suggest this is an entirely false story simply because no one died is an example of your dishonesty.  Anyone can watch the video to confirm and see an elderly woman trampled.

[Rick Plant]

Blockades over, but Trudeau says emergency powers needed

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday emergency powers are still needed despite police ending border blockades and the occupation of the nation’s capital by truckers and others angry over Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions.

“The situation is still fragile, the state of emergency is still there,” Trudeau said.

Lawmakers in Parliament will vote Monday night whether to allow police to continue to use emergency powers. Opposition New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said his party will support it, ensuring Trudeau should have enough votes.

Trudeau noted there are some truckers that are just outside Ottawa that may be planning further blockades and his public safety minister noted there was an effort to block a border crossing in British Columbia on the weekend.

The emergencies act allows authorities to declare certain areas as no go zones. It also allows police to freeze truckers’ personal and corporate bank accounts and compels tow truck companies to tow away vehicles.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said those who had their bank accounts frozen were “influencers in the illegal protest in Ottawa, and owners and/or drivers of vehicles who did not want to leave the area.”

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said anyone affected has an easy way to have their accounts unfrozen: “Stop being a part of the blockade,” she said.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said allowing police to designate Ottawa’s downtown a no-go zone has been particularly effective. About 100 police checkpoints remain.

“We saw calm, peace and quiet,” Mendicino said.

Singh, the opposition New Democratic leader, said they know there are protesters waiting in the surrounding areas of Ottawa and in the capital itself. “They need to be cleared out,” Singh said.

Singh also noted there have been convoys that have been intercepted.

“This is an attack on our democracy. This is a group of folks who are very clearly connected to the extreme right wing,” Singh said. “The organizers clearly have a goal in mind to undermine democracy. That’s something we can’t allow to continue.”

The trucker protests grew until it closed a handful of Canada-U.S. border posts and shut down key parts of the capital city for more than three weeks.

But all border blockades have now ended and the streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet. Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by police in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers’ horns has gone silent. A large police presence remains in Ottawa and some areas are fenced off.

The protests, which were first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers but also encompassed fury over the range of COVID-19 restrictions and hatred of Trudeau, reflected the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger.

The self-styled Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted trade, causing economic damage on both sides of the border. Hundreds of trucks eventually occupied the streets around Parliament, a display that was part protest and part carnival.

For almost a week the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing, the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, was blocked. The crossing sees more than 25% of the trade between the two countries.

Authorities moved to reopen the border posts, but police in Ottawa did little but issue warnings until Friday, even as hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters clogged the streets of the city and besieged Parliament Hill.

On Friday, authorities launched the largest police operation in Canadian history, arresting a string of Ottawa protesters and increasing that pressure on Saturday until the streets in front of Parliament were clear. Eventually, police arrested at least 191 people and towed away 79 vehicles. Many protesters retreated as the pressure increased.

Trudeau said people in Ottawa were harassed for weeks and said billions of dollars in trade were stalled by the border blockades, putting people’s jobs at risk.

The protests have been cheered on in the U.S. by Fox News personalities and conservatives like former U.S. President Donald Trump. Millions of dollars in donations have flowed across the border to the protesters.

"A flood of misinformation and disinformation washed over Canada, including from foreign sources,” Trudeau said.

“After these illegal blockades and occupations received disturbing amounts of foreign funding to destabilize Canada’s democracy it became clear that local and provincial authorities needed more tools to restore order.”

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-canada-ottawa-justin-trudeau-8b107609b1e33aca4b13a4d46951a935

[Rick Plant]

This article is from February 5th but it debunks the bogus claims from the right wing media that the "protests were peaceful". This was a violent right wing insurrection. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has every right to quickly end this illegal occupation of major Canadian cities especially in Ottawa.

Trucker convoy: Ottawa ‘under siege’ amid ‘nation-wide insurrection,’ officials say

The nation’s capital is a city “under siege” by the trucker convoy that has dug in over the past nine days amid what the chair of the police services board called a “nation-wide insurrection.”

“We are on day eight of this occupation. Our city is under siege. This group is emboldened by the lack of enforcement by every level of government,” said Diane Deans, chair of the board.

“This group is a threat to our democracy. What we’re seeing is bigger than just a City of Ottawa problem. This is a nation-wide insurrection. This is madness. We need a concrete plan to put an end to this.”

The last-minute meeting of the police service board put the decisions of Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly in the spotlight as multiple councillors hammered him over what they described as a “mindboggling”  lack of results to end what Sloly, himself, and the Ontario premier have called an “occupation.”

Sloly said that the legal rules in place for police conduct “were never intended to deal with a city under siege,” and told members of the board that the police service does not have the resources to act to end the demonstration, including a lack of tow trucks to move the rigs encamped across the city.

“We do not have sufficient resources to adequately and effectively address this situation,” he said.

Sloly had announced on Friday that police were launching a “surge and contain” strategy with a goal to put an end to the demonstration, which is stretching into its ninth day with participants continuing to blast their truck horns at all hours of the day and night.

Deans earlier in the week said Ottawa residents are coping with a “living hell” and said it’s clear from the chief’s response that Ottawa police have been “overwhelmed” by the situation.

“We need to take extraordinary action,” Deans said. “We need to be able to bring it all under control.”

Sloly also told councillors on the board that he does not know when the situation will end.

“I can’t provide that,” he said when asked for a timeline.

Deans asked whether the city can pursue declaring an unlawful assembly and then a riot in order to begin making mass arrests, or pursue a court injunction, in order to “bring this under control now.”

Councillors also asked about what powers could be invoked and how they might start the process to invoke either the Emergencies Act or the National Defence Act, including exploring curfews.

“We cannot allow this kind of terrorism in our community to continue in this way,” Deans said.

“I would implore our legal minds to tell us what we need to do today, who we need to ask for what authority to bring this to a conclusion.”

Carol Anne Meehan, councillor for Gloucester—South Nepean, echoed the need to explore other provincial and federal authorities, saying: “We have to use every tool available in a toolbox.”

“Everybody’s on the breaking point,” Meehan said.

Ottawa police and security experts have warned about possible escalation with counterprotests and demonstrators. More than 100 people gathered outside Ottawa City Hall on Saturday afternoon to demand the convoy supporters go home.

On the south side of Laurier Avenue, counter-protesters led chants of “go home” while a handful of the convoy protesters shouted “freedom.” Counter-protest placards displayed a hint of Canadian politeness, asking protesters to go home “please” and “thank you.”

Behind the signs, however, was a deep sense of frustration — especially among those who live and work in Centretown after eight days of near constant noise and disruption.

“It’s the harassment we’ve faced over the last week. The noise harassment, the physical harassment, people not being able to go to work, people being harassed on the street for wearing masks,” said Erin, one counter-protester who did not want to give a last name due to fears of harassment.

“It’s not a peaceful protest. Everyone has a right to peaceful protest in Canada, and I support that right. But this isn’t a peaceful protest.”

Police lined Laurier Avenue, forming a barrier between the protest and the counter-protest. Almost nobody on the protest side wore masks, while counter-protesters sported N95s and surgical masks. Despite a few tense interactions and shouted epithets between the two sides, the police presence kept interaction largely to a minimum.

Incessant honking, coupled with booming dance music, filled the air in downtown Ottawa on Saturday with heavy trucks effectively blockading the east end of the parliamentary precinct.

The smell of exhaust and smoke from propane barbecues was thick at the corner of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive, one of downtown Ottawa’s central nodes and the entrance to the Byward Market, where protesters replaced the usual tourists perusing shops and restaurants.

A group of young male protesters could be seen wheeling a wagon full of orange jerry cans from truck to truck along Wellington Street, replenishing fuel as required. Families with strollers or babies strapped to their chests also waded through the protest, while a group dressed up in Santa Claus and reindeer costumes posed for photos.

The demonstration had the same party-like atmosphere that characterized the early days of the protest. But the police presence was notably heavier, with cruisers from different Ontario municipal forces and the Ontario Provincial Police blocking off streets and, in some cases, interspersed with the protest trucks.

Sloly has faced intense criticism over his handling of the trucker convoy, which has been permitted to blockade Ottawa’s downtown core and allow hundreds of big rigs into the city.

At the same time, an emergency request for an injunction against the blaring of truck horns in the downtown core was put over until Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern, with Justice Hugh McLean saying he did not know how to craft such an order that would be enforceable.

The lawyer who brought the suit, Paul Champ, stressed residents are suffering.

“Every hour that goes by, there are individuals (suffering) irreparable harm,” Champ said of the noise levels.

Deafening horns have blasted through the city’s core for more than a week, throughout the day and into the night, with countless residents posting on social media saying they have been victims of assault, threats and property damage at the hands of individuals associated with the convoy.

Sloly initially said he did not have the legal authority to prevent members of the convoy from coming into the city, a claim two constitutional lawyers disputed on Thursday.

He also announced on Friday that police will be stepping up their response in a “surge and contain” strategy, and said police will investigate any reports submitted to them of alleged criminal conduct.

Ottawa police have declined to answer questions about how many reports of death threats, rape threats and intimidation have been made to them so far.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the continued demonstrations “unacceptable” on Friday and described the conduct taking place on the streets of Ottawa as an “occupation.”

The Ottawa police force also called it an “occupation” on Friday, as did Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus.

“I spent the week undergoing the Siege of Ottawa,” Paul-Hus wrote on Twitter.

“If the motivation of truckers could be understood, the current situation is quite different. I ask that we clear the streets and that we stop this occupation controlled by radicals and anarchist groups.”

Language used by police and federal officials has been shifting over recent days, increasingly leaning on descriptors like “unlawful” and “illegal” in their comments about the demonstration.

And while Ottawa police have multiple options available to them, ranging from declaring an unlawful assembly or seeking a court injunction, to deploying additional RCMP resources or acting to remove the demonstrators, it remains unclear what the day will bring.

Multiple community groups cancelled plans to counter-protest over recent days, though some individuals have stressed they remain committed to doing so despite the risk of violence from the convoy.

Police have said they expect in the ballpark of 1,000 counter-protestors, something that one expert says has the potential to spark violence as tensions rise if the groups come into contact with each other.

“One of the lessons from Charlottesville was that there was just a real failure of the police there to keep the two groups apart and to establish any physical separation from the two groups,” said Regina Bateson, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa studying violent collective action.

She has studied the organizing and activities involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

The latter left one counter-protestor, Heather Hyer, dead after James Alex Fields Jr. plowed his car into counter-protestors in the vicinity of the rally. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 2018.

Bateson said she thinks the new approach outlined by police on Friday is “wise,” and that she hopes they are weighing the risks to counter-protestors from those involved in the convoy.”

“I hope that they’re aware of the risks involved in having counter-protesters and the original group of demonstrators on the ground at same time in close proximity.”

Predicting what could happen next is challenging, she added, noting that there has been growing evidence to suggest that extremists in the U.S. are showing a willingness to “behave in ways that are different and unexpected.“

That can make it difficult for law enforcement to gauge the impact of their actions, or envision scenarios that were previously unthinkable, such as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, she said.

“This is a moment that demands a lot of imagination on the part of law enforcement and government officials,” Bateson added. “Just because something seems fantastical, just because something has not happened here before does not mean it’s impossible.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/8597478/ottawa-trucker-convoy-risk-of-violence/

[Rick Plant]

Trudeau wins House vote on Emergencies Act

Although streets around Parliament have been cleared of protesters, the prime minister said “there continues to be real concerns.”

OTTAWA, Ont. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won approval from the House of Commons on Monday night for the Emergencies Act, which he put into play a week ago to end the convoy blockades in Canada.

The Liberal government won the vote 185-151 with the support of the New Democratic Party.

Outside the House of Commons, the streets around Parliament Hill have been cleared of trucks and protesters, although police still control access to the area.

Trudeau has said from the start that the never-before-used emergency measures would be targeted and temporary. On Monday morning, he told Canadians the state of emergency is not over.

“There continues to be real concerns about the coming days,” he said, “but we will continue to evaluate every single day whether or not it is time and we are able to lift this state of emergency.”

When asked if he considered the vote one of confidence in his minority government, Trudeau replied, “I can’t imagine anyone voting against this bill as expressing anything other than a deep mistrust in the government’s ability to keep Canadians safe at an extraordinarily important time.”

The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois voted against use of the sweeping enforcement measures and accused the prime minister of overreach.

Convoys rolled into Ottawa in January soon after the government of Canada introduced vaccination rules for cross-border truckers. The mandates turned out to be the least of their grievances.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said the threat posed by the so-called Freedom Convoy justified use of the act. “They came here to overthrow a democratically elected government,” he said last week. “It is a movement funded by foreign influence, and it is fed on disinformation. Its goal is to disrupt our democracy.”

Big rigs and protesters occupied Ottawa streets for almost three weeks, holding out against Ottawa Police Services, which failed to manage the crisis.

“Hurtful and racist symbols were everywhere … the incessant honking was unbearable,” Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi told POLITICO over the weekend. “Nearby parking lots were used as urinals, our skies were filled with firecrackers as they were hurled down streets every night, and the air was thick with diesel fuel.”

Protesters also shut down key trade corridors for a time along the U.S.-Canada border, including at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.

Once the Emergencies Act was invoked, police created a perimeter around key blocks in downtown Ottawa and established checkpoints to control entry into the area.

On Friday, a wave of municipal, provincial and federal police forces began to clear the streets in a massive sweep that lasted three days. Police said Monday that they’ve made 196 arrests and towed 115 vehicles.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/21/trudeau-wins-house-vote-emergencies-act-00010474