Canada’s Capital in Chaos: Protests Spread As Police Intensify Crackdown 

By Staff, Agencies 

Protesters against Covid vaccine mandates have defied government calls for them to end a 10-day occupation of Canada’s capital, a day after the city’s mayor declared a state of emergency and promised to “get the city back.”

Ottawa police have described the protest as a “siege” on the city, where hundreds of trucks and cars have blockaded the downtown areas. On Sunday, Mayor Jim Watson warned that officials were “losing this battle”, and a civil class-action lawsuit was filed against protesters over the incessant horn blasting and disruption to daily life.

But on Monday morning a 10am deadline outlined in the class action suit – which asked protesters to leave of their own volition or face damages of nearly C$10m – came and went with no sign that the protest would end soon. Even after an Ontario judge approved the class’s request for an injunction to end the honking, the protest continued on Monday afternoon.

Dozens of big-rig trucks, RVs and pickups remained parked in front of Parliament Hill and nearby streets, and protesters showed no signs of leaving. Free food and drink tables, a firewood distribution station and other infrastructure is helping them to stay put. Despite the cold, most of the protesters seemed to be in good spirits, and many of them professed to be there “out of love”.

Canada has one of the world’s highest rates of vaccination against Covid-19 [some 85% of the country’s truckers are vaccinated] and public health measures have been broadly supported.

The “freedom convoy” began in the final week of January as a demonstration against vaccine mandates for truckers but has morphed into protest against broader public health measures – and as a rallying point for both conspiracy theorists and opponents of the government of Justin Trudeau.

Swastikas, Confederate flags and QAnon symbols have all been seen at the protests. Hundreds of signs hung from the front gates of parliament, accusing the government of stripping away Canada’s freedoms and demanding that people “wake up”. With temperatures hovering below freezing, protesters warmed up around small fires.