‘This occupation is now over’ Ottawa police move out trucks, tents and arrest 170 in total

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This article was published 19/02/2022 (1077 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Police aggressively retook large areas of downtown Ottawa Saturday clearing hundreds of protesters, towing trucks and dismantling encampments in an operation the city’s police chief said remains far from over.

But as the so-called Freedom Convoy marked its third full week in the nation’s capital, the line its organizers have been urging supporters to hold was replaced by police fencing, officers in tactical gear wielding batons and with high-profile protest mobilizers in police custody awaiting bail.

Interim Ottawa police Chief Steve Bell said Saturday there have now been 170 arrests in total, and police have made “very important progress.”

“This occupation is now over. We will continue with our mission until it is complete,” he said during an afternoon briefing.

Emotions had been running high on the frigid streets of the nation’s capital earlier Saturday as the slow and methodical pace of police, that characterized much of the operations Friday, evaporated after numerous warnings from Ottawa police that things were going to change.

“Protesters: We told you to leave. We gave you time to leave. We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses. Based on your behaviour, we are responding by including helmets and batons for our safety,” the force posted on social media.

Officers swept through the downtown core, moving from east to west as they pushed back protesters, and then once an area was clear, began moving out trucks, tents and other physical elements of the protest.

Police said 46 vehicles had been removed from the secure zone since Friday, with 53 total vehicles towed and 22 licence plates seized.

“It is to this point going exactly as we had anticipated,” Bell said.

Despite it now being illegal for children to be in a secure zone downtown, some were spotted playing in snowbanks just around the corner from where police had earlier used what they called “chemical irritants” to disperse elements of the crowd massing at the foot of the Parliament buildings.

During the briefing, Bell declined to specify which other tactics were being used by police.

Police did say that smoke seen was caused by protesters, not officers.

A social media account associated with the Freedom Convoy had posted a message around noon Saturday that they ordered truckers to move to avoid further confrontation with police.

That message was repeated but with a caveat by one organizer, Tom Marazzo, during an emotional press conference.

“We are not going to behave like the government and tell you what to do,” he said, urging attendees to “dig deep” and decide what’s best for them.

None of the demonstrators the Star spoke with were aware of Marazzo’s call to disperse but by early afternoon, as lines of police continued to move, the tension between the two sides began to ease.

Key mobilization points for the demonstrators were secured by police, including the National War Monument, and a sound stage across from the Peace Tower that had been the sight of a nightly dance party was torn down.

But by nightfall, the party had re-established itself just a few blocks away, as crowds danced to a DJ and shot off fireworks, with police initially just looking on.

Early Saturday evening, police posted on social media that officers were being assaulted, which led to the use of “mid range impact weapons (ARWEN) to stop the violent actions of the protesters.”

ARWEN are often weapons that shoot rubber bullets.

Police said they made 47 arrests on Saturday, but Bell could not say how many of those arrested are facing charges.

Some have begun appearing in court. At least one refused to identify himself during proceedings, saying his arrest was political and he did not acknowledge it, while others refused to agree to bail or release conditions.

One key protest organizer, Tamara Lich, also appeared in court, where the Crown said they intend to hold her accountable for every day that demonstrators tried to “hold the line” against police — a phrase that’s become the rallying cry for her and other leaders.

Lich told the court she is willing to leave the city and return to her home in Medicine Hat, Alta., and have no further contact with members of the protest if she is released.

She told the court her accounts have been frozen, and she’d be unable to fly home because she does not have proof of vaccination, though her lawyer later told the court arrangements have been made for her and her husband, Dwayne, to get a lift.

The Crown argued she should not be released, alleging that she’s shown no respect for the rule of law and would disregard any terms, while counsel for Lich said she should not be held accountable for everyone who has shown up in Ottawa.

The judge reserved her decision on bail until Tuesday morning. Another organizer, Pat King, is now also scheduled to have a bail hearing Tuesday.

Bell told reporters police investigations into those believed to have played a role in the demonstrations will continue long after the streets are cleared.

“This investigation will go on for months to come.”

The Parliament buildings themselves — where inside MPs were debating the declaration of a public order emergency that’s given police the powers for their ongoing operation — were also placed under high alert for a time Saturday, with MPs told not to leave the building.

“We are all on pins and needles,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said during a briefing with reporters addressing the ongoing operation and the use of the Emergencies Act.

The Liberal government had invoked the act on Monday, calling the protests in Ottawa and at some of the country’s border points a threat beyond the existing capacity of police and other officials to mitigate.

The movement began as a call to end vaccine mandates for truckers, but as the trucks have rolled across the country grievances have piled into the mix, including anti-government sentiment, extremist and racist ideology and many who are just fed up and frustrated with COVID-19 pandemic regulations as a whole.

The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have called the use of the act and related measures unnecessary, saying existing police powers should have been enough in Ottawa, as they were sufficient to clear related border blockades in other provinces.

The New Democrats, however, are currently siding with the Liberal government. If the NDP does support the declaration, the vote will pass.

Bell has credited the regulations and orders made under the act for giving his force — which had been under intense criticism for not appearing to be acting at all over the last three weeks — the ability to move in and execute the current plan.

Among the powers also deployed was increased scrutiny of the financial support demonstrators have received. Mendicino said 76 bank accounts representing $3.2 million attributable to the illegal blockades have been frozen.

The government has stressed the powers are time-limited, and being used in compliance with the charter.

As the streets of Ottawa began to clear, Mendicino was pressed on what it would take to end the use of the laws.

He said he is in contact with the RCMP and other law enforcement officials for their assessment.

“Yes, there has been progress, but the situation remains dynamic, it remains fluid and we’ll wait to see how things unfold in the coming hours and days,” he said.

As in previous weeks, some protests in solidarity with the Ottawa demonstrators unfolded in other parts of the country.

In British Columbia, the Canada Border Services Agency announced the busiest Canada-U.S. border crossing used by the province’s truckers was experiencing a service disruption due to protest activity in the area.

In Quebec, thousands of protesters converged on the provincial legislature to take part in a rally inspired by the Freedom Convoy protest. Horns could be heard as a convoy of vans and cars circled near the legislature.

Protesters in Fredericton, N.B., also staged another anti-mandate rally, with police saying the crowd reached about 100 people at its peak.

With files from The Canadian Press

Stephanie Levitz is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @StephanieLevitz

Jenna Moon is a general assignment reporter for the Star and is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @_jennamoon

Ben Cohen is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bcohenn