The center of the Canadian capital, Ottawa has been shut down since 10 days and the mayor has declared a state of emergency in lieu of truckers’ protest against the Covid-19 protocols.
Reuters reports a statement by the Ottawa mayor, Jim Watson, “(This) 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 protest started as a “Freedom Convoy” by the cross-border truckers on the mandate that they must be vaccinated. However, it built up into a mass demonstration against the Canadian government over the Vaccine mandates and Covid-19 protocols to curb the virus.
The protest is happening in downtown Ottawa, at Parliament Hill and the protestors have now asked to dissolve all the regulations approved by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that were put in place after analyzing the Covid-19 situation in the country.
In an interview by CFRA, a Canadian Radio station, the Mayor of the city, Jim Watson stated that the situation is already “out of control” and the truckers are behaving “insensitively by blaring horns and sirens, [setting off] fireworks and turning it into a party.”
In another statement to BBC, he further put forward his concern, “Clearly, we are outnumbered and we are losing this battle.” However, he was determined to,
“This has to be reversed — we have to get our city back.”
On the other hand, on Sunday, the protestors stopped honking the horns “as a gesture of goodwill.”
So far, Jim hasn’t put forward his next move to end the chaos and mayhem in the Capital of Canada. However, the police have said that they will be ramping up the enforcement and would not shy from arresting those who are trying to help the protestors by bringing them supplies like fuel, food, toilet paper, etc.
Apart from that the police have put up more barricades and have moved the protestors. Now they are “collecting financial, digital, vehicle registration … and other evidence that will be used in criminal prosecutions.”
Nazi flags were seen among the protestors and the organizers have refused to end the protest if the Vaccine mandates are not dissolved.
However, Marco Mendicino, the Public Safety Minister has countered that the government won’t back down with a statement, “We put the question of vaccines and vaccine mandates on the ballot … in the (2021) election and we’re simply carrying out the promise that we made with the support of the vast majority of Canadians.”
