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Author Topic: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act  (Read 33642 times)

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2022, 11:45:19 PM »
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Canadian truck drivers distance themselves from 'Freedom Convoy' protests
In just a matter of weeks, Canadian truck drivers protesting coronavirus vaccine mandates became the unexpected darlings of the global right

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/16/canada-trucker-distancing-protests/

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2022, 11:45:19 PM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #9 on: February 17, 2022, 12:12:57 PM »
Ottawa police issue new warning amid convoy blockade: ‘leave the area now’

People still participating in the so-called “Freedom Convoy” blockade of downtown Ottawa are being warned by police to “leave the area now” as questions heat up about when police will act to remove the demonstrators who have paralyzed the nation’s capital for 20 days.

The police warning came as Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino urged anyone thinking of coming to the city on the weekend not to do so, and said that “extremist” leaders are now on the ground in Ottawa.

“You must leave the area now. Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested. You must immediately cease further unlawful activity or you will face charges,” reads a notice issued by Ottawa police on Wednesday morning.

“The people of Ottawa are being denied the lawful use, enjoyment and operation of their property and you are causing businesses to close. That is mischief under the Criminal Code.”

Mendicino said during a press conference that Canadians need to resist the urge to look at the blockades as isolated incidents.

“We need to be clear-eyed about the seriousness of these incidents. Indeed, several of the individuals at Coutts have strong ties to a far-right, extreme organization with leaders who are in Ottawa,” he said.

“We’re talking about a group that is organized, agile, knowledgeable, and driven by an extremist ideology where might makes right. And this is completely contrary to our democratic values.”

Mendicino did not name any particular group or individual.

Also on Wednesday morning, an Ontario Superior Court justice in Ottawa granted a 60-day extension to the injunction issued last week which banned the use of air horns and train horns by the convoy.

That injunction had initially been granted for just 10-days and was set to expire.

Both the injunction extension and the new warning to convoy participants come after the federal government invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act on Monday amid intense frustration and anger among Ottawa residents over police handling of the convoy so far.

Peter Sloly resigned as chief of the Ottawa Police Service on Tuesday, and federal officials have for days offered increasingly clear rhetoric that the blockades are now “illegal,” and that police must end them.

Yet demonstrators have remained defiant in the face of the Emergencies Act, with hundreds still parked in blockades along residential streets of downtown Ottawa and vowing to remain.

Some appeared to be moving from parked locations around Wellington Street, in front of Parliament Hill, on Wednesday afternoon. But in other areas of the city, streets remained blocked with vehicles, with only small changes in the positions of the trucks over the course of recent days.

One of the busiest north-south routes in the core is Kent Street, which continued to be packed with parked vehicles all the way from Cooper Street to Wellington Street — a stretch of eight city blocks.

The convoy organizers originally said they wanted to force elected officials out and force an end to all public health measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, most of which are under provincial — not federal — jurisdiction.

Organizers later removed references to calls to remove elected officials from their websites, and have since claimed they never called for such action.

Some of the convoy organizers have ties to white nationalism and histories of racist rhetoric.

In the order invoking the Emergencies Act, the federal government explicitly warned about fears of “serious violence” from blockade participants motivated by political or ideological goals.

While the order did not use the word “terrorism,” that language mirrors the Criminal Code definition of terrorist activity, and convoy organizers removed a journalist from a press conference this week for asking whether they are aware of any firearms among participants.

Earlier in the week, RCMP arrested 13 people and seized more than a dozen long guns, hand guns, ammunition and body armour from what they described as a small organized group within the larger Coutts border blockade in Alberta.

“The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade,” RCMP said in a news release.

The police notice issued on Wednesday reiterated that any interference with critical infrastructure is prohibited, including interference with 400-series highways, railways, airports and border crossings. Those prohibitions also ban anyone from travelling to or from walkways, bridges or other highways.

“It also prohibits someone from seriously interfering with the safety, health or well-being of members of the public,” the notice added.

Under the terms of the Emergencies Act, police warned that people are also prohibited from coming to Ottawa in order to join the demonstration, and that police can seize any vehicles taking part in it.

“Anyone who commits these illegal actions could face fines or be required to appear in court,” the notice continued.

“Commercial vehicle drivers’ licences and private drivers’ licences can be suspended or revoked.”

Bringing children to the demonstrations is also prohibited, with a potential fine of $5,000 or up to five years in prison as a result. That provision of the new emergency powers came after Ottawa police said roughly 25 per cent of the vehicles in the blockades have children in them.

Child welfare authorities have been involved, police said, and on Wednesday the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa issued a warning to parents.

“The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO) is urging parents at the demonstration in Ottawa to make the necessary alternate care arrangements should they become unable to care for their children following potential police action,” said the society in a statement.

“CASO has a mandate to protect a child when their parent becomes unavailable to exercise their custodial rights over the child and the parent has not made adequate provision for the child’s care and custody,” the statement continued.

“If parents and children are separated following police efforts in ending the demonstration in the downtown core, CASO will work to reunite families as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa did not say whether there are any active investigations into the welfare of children whose parents have brought them to the blockade.

“I can only say that there have been ongoing reports regarding child welfare concerns, and that we consider all information received to determine the best response,” said a spokesperson.

Convoy is a 'stain on our city,' says councillor

With police handing out notices to convoy supporters, members of city council are thankful that some action is being taken.

“We don’t know the reasons anything wasn’t happening before, we were told it was because there wasn’t enough police officers on the ground, but now there’s no excuses,” said Theresa Kavanagh, city councilor for Bay Ward.

When asked about timelines, Kavanagh said she was hearing through the grapevine that police action towards convoy supporters could begin and conclude by the end of the week.

“It does have to happen quickly, I’ve heard they’re talking about that having it cleared out by the end of the week,” she said. “You can’t give out these notices without having a tactical plan.”

Kavanagh added that convoy’s occupation of Ottawa needs to end and that the longer it carries on, the worse it looks on the city and leaders.

“This has been a real stain on our city, on our nation that it was allowed to come in in the first place and settle — they’ve practically put down roots … I want it to be over,” she said.

While Kavanagh is hopeful that change is imminent, others are supporting interim Chief Steve Bell, who took over the reins of the force following former Chief Peter Sloly’s resignation on Tuesday.

“(I am) supportive of Chief Bell and know he has the support of the men and women of the OPS to get our city back. He is an action-oriented leader focused on results,” wrote Councillor Allan Hubley in an emailed statement to Global News.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday morning he would not be using force against the demonstrations and that any decisions about how to respond were in the hands of police.

Bill Blair, the federal emergency preparedness minister, said the additional measures granted under the Emergencies Act are “targeted, temporary and proportionate to the threat that exist in our country.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/8624024/ottawa-convoy-blockade-police-action/

Online Richard Smith

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2022, 02:54:14 PM »
Let's go Brandeau!  Arrest them all.  The truckers, farmers, pastors.   Ceaușescu showed the way.  The masses should allow their socialists masters to rule by divine right. 

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2022, 02:54:14 PM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2022, 11:26:39 PM »
This illegal convoy blockade is not "peaceful" and these right wing fascists are using "mandates" as a front for an insurrection in Canada. Weapons of this magnitude has no business being at a "peaceful protest" unless evil intent was involved. Glad these illegal weapons were confiscated or there could have been a deadly massacre. Thank you Prime Minister Trudeau for stopping this.     

Canadian Mounties seize weapons cache, arrest 13 in Alberta Freedom Convoy blockade



The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday that they arrested 13 people and seized a cache of weapons and body armor from the "Freedom Convoy" protest blocking the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Coutts, Alberta. The RCMP said its weeklong investigation found that the 11 people arrested in the first sweep had "a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade." Two more people were arrested traveling to join the protest, one with two weapons in his car and the other after coming close to ramming one of the Mounties, police said.

One of the protest organizers, Marco Van Huigenbos, said after the arrests that "our objective was to be here peacefully" but "we were infiltrated by an extreme element." He said that "to keep that message going, we want to peacefully leave Coutts and return to our families," starting Tuesday morning.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told reporters on Monday that the seizure of guns and those who would wield them will allow the RCMP and provincial authorities to peacefully reopen the border crossing. "Now that the RCMP has successfully resolved this potential threat, they will proceed, I'm informed, with enforcement against others who are involved in the blockade."

Kenny and the premiers of Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan said they did not require the federal government's emergency powers invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday. But Doug Ford, the Conservative premier of Ontario, supported the unprecedented emergency declaration. Police cleared the Ambassador Bridge border blockade in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, but the nation's capital, Ottawa, is still in a tense standoff with protesters who have used big-rig trucks to clog up the financial district and residential neighborhoods for more than two weeks.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that Trudeau's government may very narrowly use its emergency powers to freeze the bank accounts and void the vehicle insurance of anyone involved in unlawful demonstrations. Tamara Lich, a leader of the Ottawa occupation, dismissed Trudeau's move. "There are no threats that will frighten us," she told The Associated Press. "We will hold the line."

Watch:


Offline Jerry Organ

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #12 on: February 18, 2022, 12:08:28 AM »
Let's go Brandeau!  Arrest them all.  The truckers, farmers, pastors.   Ceaușescu showed the way.  The masses should allow their socialists masters to rule by divine right.

When they were reporting on the border crossing blockages, it seemed like an awful lot of trade crossing the border, considering Canada is some backwater socialist country that doesn't generate wealth for Canada and the US. Over one billion dollars per day, and it's the middle of winter.




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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #12 on: February 18, 2022, 12:08:28 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #13 on: February 18, 2022, 01:11:11 AM »
"On Monday, Cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public order. The consequences are real. The measures we put in place are being used, they are having an impact, and they will have a growing impact in the days to come.

Information is now being shared by law enforcement with Canada’s financial institutions. Financial service providers have already taken action based on that information.

We are making progress. Do not doubt our determination to act, to defend our economy, to defend our democratic institutions, and to restore peace, order, and good government." - @cafreeland Chrystia Freeland Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #14 on: February 18, 2022, 04:00:07 AM »
"Freedom Convoy" organizer Tamara Lich has been arrested by ⁦Ottawa Police.




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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #14 on: February 18, 2022, 04:00:07 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act
« Reply #15 on: February 18, 2022, 11:20:04 AM »
Glad these thugs are finally being taken off the streets and put behind bars where they belong. There is no reason for thugs to come to these demonstrations armed with weapons or to block off highways, streets, and bridges with big rig trucks and tractors. That is terrorism and an illegal occupation of major Canadian cities.   

Convoy protest organizers Tamara Lich, Chris Barber arrested in Ottawa

Two key organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, have been arrested in Ottawa, CBC News has learned.

Lich was arrested Thursday evening and Barber earlier in the day by Ottawa police. Both remain in police custody and are expected to be charged criminally, according to sources.

The two have been described as key leaders of the protest in Ottawa, which has now hit the three-week mark.

Their arrests were among several made Thursday. Barber was seen a few blocks from Parliament Hill in handcuffs between two police officers.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/tamara-lich-chris-barber-arrested-ottawa-1.6355960


Canadian police arrest 2 leaders of protesting truckers

Hundreds of truckers clogging Canada's capital stood their ground and defiantly blasted their horns Thursday, even as police arrested two protest leaders and threatened to break up the nearly three-week protest against the country's COVID-19 restrictions.

Busloads of police arrived near Ottawa's Parliament Hill, and workers put up extra fences around government buildings. Police also essentially began sealing off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the protesters.

"The action is imminent," said interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell. "We absolutely are committed to end this unlawful demonstration."

Police arrested organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber around Parliament Hill, but officers were not moving in force on the demonstrators. Police took Lich into custody late Thursday.



Police continued negotiating with the protesters and trying to persuade them to go home, Bell said. "We want this demonstration to end peacefully," he said, but added: "If they do not peacefully leave, we have plans."

Many of the truckers in the self-styled Freedom Convoy appeared unmoved by days of warnings from police and the government that they were risking arrest and could see their rigs seized and bank accounts frozen.

"I'm prepared to sit on my ass and watch them hit me with pepper spray," said one of their leaders, Pat King. As for the trucks parked bumper-to-bumper, he said: "There's no tow trucks in Canada that will touch them."

King later told truckers to lock their doors.

Amid the rising tensions, truckers outside Parliament blared their horns in defiance of a court injunction against honking, issued for the benefit of neighborhood residents.

Ottawa represented the movement's last stronghold after weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., inflicted economic damage on both countries and created a political crisis for Trudeau.

The protests have shaken Canada's reputation for civility and rule-following and inspired similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

"It's high time that these illegal and dangerous activities stop," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in Parliament, not far from where the more than 300 trucks were parked.

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

Ottawa police began locking down a wide swath of the downtown area, allowing in only those who live or work there after they pass through one of more than 100 checkpoints, the interim chief said.

Police were especially worried about the children among the protesters. Bell said police were working with child-welfare agencies to determine how to safely remove the youngsters before authorities move in.

Early this week, the prime minister invoked Canada's Emergencies Act, empowering law enforcement authorities to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks, arrest the drivers, suspend their licenses and take other measures.

On Thursday, Trudeau and some of his top ministers took turns warning the protesters to leave, in an apparent move by the government to avert a clash, or at least show it had gone the extra mile to avoid one.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government began freezing truckers' accounts as threatened. "It is happening. I do have the numbers in front of me," she said.

Ottawa police likewise handed out leaflets for the second straight day demanding the truckers end the siege, and also helpfully placed notices on vehicles informing owners how and where to pick up their trucks if they are towed.

The occupation has infuriated many Ottawa residents.

"We've seen people intimidated, harassed and threatened. We've seen apartment buildings that have been chained up. We have seen fires set in the corridors. Residents are terrorized," said Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

The protests by demonstrators in trucks, tractors and motor homes initially focused on Canada's vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country but soon morphed into a broader attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau's government.

The biggest, most damaging of the blockades at the border took place at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. Before authorities arrested dozens of protesters last weekend and lifted the siege, it disrupted the flow of auto parts between the two countries and forced the industry to curtail production.

The final blockade, in Manitoba, ended peacefully on Wednesday.

The movement has drawn support from right-wing extremists and veterans, some of them armed — one reason authorities have hesitated to move against them.

Fox News personalities and U.S. conservatives such as former President Donald Trump have egged on the protests. Trudeau complained on Thursday that "roughly half of the funding to the barricaders here is coming from the United States."

Some security experts said that dispersing the protest in Ottawa could be tricky and dangerous, with the potential for violence, and that a heavy-handed law enforcement response could be used as propaganda by antigovernment extremists.

Trucks were parked shoulder-to-shoulder downtown, some with tires removed to hamper towing.

"There is not really a playbook," said David Carter, a professor at Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice and a former police officer. "I know there are police chiefs in the U.S. looking at this and developing strategic plans and partnerships to manage a protest like this if it should occur in their cities."

The presence of children also complicated the planning. As a showdown seemed to draw near, Canadian Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said: "To those who have children with them, this is no place for children. Take them home immediately."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canadian-police-arrest-truck-protest-leaders-tamara-lich-chris-barber/