Trudeau invokes rare emergencies act to stop protests
OttawaCNN
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Police say they have made 47 arrests in Ottawa Saturday as they cleared downtown, a day after a weeks-long protest turned violent.
City, provincial and federal law enforcement officers began an unprecedented operation Friday morning to remove demonstrators, their trucks and cars, that have been blockading the streets. On Friday, more than 100 people were arrested and 21 vehicles were towed.
Another 38 vehicles have been towed since Friday, police say.
Wellington Street in front of Parliament has been cleared. Police say they will continue restoring the streets to normal order over the coming days.
Tensions between Canadian authorities and protesters have been simmering for weeks as crowds and idling trucks filled the capital, demanding the elimination of Covid-19 preventative measures including mask and vaccination requirements.
“Protesters continue to be aggressive and assaultive on officers. They are refusing to comply with the orders to move,” police tweeted Saturday about 12:20 p.m. ET. “You will have seen officers use a chemical irritant in an effort to stop the assaultive behavior and for officer safety.”
Police tweeted Saturday that they had arrested protesters with smoke grenades and fireworks and wearing body armor. Additional smoke grenades and fireworks were found in a vehicle.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Protesters and police face each other as police move in to clear downtown Ottawa of protesters on Saturday, February 19.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Patrick Doyle/Reuters
A truck is towed away in front of Ottawa's Parliament Hill on February 19.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Police clear downtown Ottawa on February 19.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester's eyes are washed out after being affected by a chemical irritant fired by police on February 19.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Patrick Doyle/Reuters
People show their support for a trucker as he leaves downtown Ottawa on February 19.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A police officer watches as a truck leaves Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, February 18.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Police officers form a line as they push back protesters on February 18.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Mounted police move in to disperse protesters on February 18.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A man prepares a truck for towing in Ottawa on February 18.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A man is detained by police as protesters and supporters gather in downtown Ottawa on Thursday, February 17.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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From left, protest leaders Eddie Stewart Cornell, Vincent Gircys and Daniel Bulford attend a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, February 16.
Trucks and protesters block downtown streets near Canada's Parliament on Tuesday, February 15.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A truck convoy departs Coutts, Alberta, after blocking the highway at the US border crossing on Tuesday, February 15.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Truck drivers block traffic outside Canada's Parliament on Monday, February 14.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Police gather to clear protesters who blocked the entrance to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, February 13. The Ambassador Bridge, North America's busiest land border crossing, reopened Sunday.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A demonstrator stands atop a truck holding a Canadian flag during a protest outside the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa on February 12.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A demonstrator lets off a firework during a protest outside Parliament in Ottawa on February 12.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Truck drivers and others protest Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in Ottawa on February 12.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Tina MacIntyre-Yee/AP
Protesters heading out of and into Niagara Square in Buffalo, New York, honk their horns as they head toward the Peace Bridge on February 12. One holds a bobblehead doll of former President Donald Trump out his window while stopped in traffic.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images
A demonstrator shouts during a protest outside Parliament on February 11. Canada's Ontario province declared a state of emergency over the trucker-led protests paralyzing the capital and blocking trade with the United States.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester wears Canadian flags on her head during a protest outside Parliament on February 11.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press/AP
The Ambassador Bridge closing slowed supplies to US automakers. It also caused major traffic jams, such as this one, which diverted vehicles to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, on February 9.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Cole Burston/Getty Images
Supporters wave flags as a convoy of trucks moves through Toronto on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester walks to a demonstration in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Counterprotesters gather at Terminal Avenue to block a convoy of protesters in Vancouver on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Supporters of the protesters pass by a honking truck near Queen's Park in Toronto on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester holds up a wanted poster of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as protesters gather around Queen's Park in Toronto on February 5.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Trucks parked in downtown Ottawa continue to protest Covid-19 mandates on February 4.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester requests that police let trucks come close to Queen's Park during a protest at the park to support the truckers and denounce the government's vaccination policy.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Trucks from the so-called Freedom Convoy block downtown streets during a demonstration in Ottawa on February 3.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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A protester stands with a Canadian flag in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
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Lines of trucks block the US-Canada border during a demonstration in Coutts, Alberta, on February 2.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Amru Salahuddien/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Truck drivers and supporters protest in Ottawa on January 31.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Alex Kent/Getty Images
A child in Ottawa holds a sign comparing Covid-19 regulations to Nazi Germany on January 30.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images
Supporters arrive at Parliament Hill to protest on January 29. Hundreds of truckers drove their giant rigs into the Canadian capital.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Alex Kent/Getty Images
Protesters party as a firework explodes in front of Parliament Hill during a rally in Ottawa on January 29.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images
A supporter of the Freedom Convoy protests Covid-19 mandates in Ottawa on January 29.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Alex Kent/Getty Images
A man holds a firework during a protest in Ottawa on January 29.
Photos: Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests
Cole Burston/AFP/Getty Images
Supporters of the truckers gather near a highway overpass outside of Toronto on January 27.
“One protester launched a gas canister and was arrested,” Ottawa police said in a tweet.
Police said their response would have public and officer safety in mind.
“We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses. Based on your behavior, we are responding by including helmets and batons for our safety,” police said.
Earlier Saturday morning, police warned protesters to leave. More than 100 checkpoints remain to keep more protesters from entering the city.
Parliament was under a “hold and secure” order similar to a lockdown.
On Friday, the gridlock reached a crescendo when Ottawa police say protesters assaulted officers and tried to remove their weapons. One person was arrested after throwing a bicycle toward a police horse, police said, and by the end of the day, more than 100 were arrested and 21 vehicles were towed.
Demonstrators have been blockading Ottawa streets since January 29; despite threats of legal consequences, many showed no signs of backing down. Law enforcement officers began an unprecedented operation Friday morning to remove protesters and their vehicles.
On Saturday, Legislators resumed emergency debate on the Emergencies Act, which had been interrupted Friday, House Speaker Anthony Rota said in a statement.
The Emergencies Act – which is being invoked for the first time since it passed in 1988 – can provide for the use of the military but may not necessarily lead to that, and the Prime Minister said the government is not bringing in troops.
The points of contention have become more delicate in recent days as some protesters placed young children between them and police. CNN has observed those children on the protest site in the last several days.
“This is a reminder if you bring a minor with you to an unlawful protest you may be charged and be fined up to $5000 and potentially spend up to five years in prison,” police said in a tweet.
DC prepares for potential similar protests
A primary goal of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invoking of the Emergencies Act is to help curtail funding to Ottawa demonstrators, officials have said.
And Trudeau has pointed out that some people in the US, as well as elsewhere, are funneling funding to the protesters.
“We see that roughly half of the funding that is flowing to the barricaders here is coming from the United States. The goal of all measures, including financial measures in the Emergencies Act, is to deal with the current threat only, and to get the situation fully under control.”
Meanwhile, officials in US are concerned that similar unrest may arise in Washington, DC, as President Joe Biden prepares for the State of the Union address on March 1.
Canadian authorities carried out a massive operation at Ottawa's city center for protesters and trucks Friday
Amru Salahuddien/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Organizers face charges
Several people arrested earlier this week have been charged in the protests, which have evolved from opposition to a trucker vaccine mandate to encompassing a disdain for all Covid-19 safety measures.
Patrick James King, 44, of Red Deer, Alberta, was arrested Friday, according to Ottawa Police.
King is charged by the Criminal Investigations Section with mischief, counseling to commit the offense of mischief, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying court order, and counseling to commit the offense of obstructing police.
He was set to appear in court Saturday.
On Friday, Ottawa police confirmed the arrests of organizers Tamara Lich, 49, and Christopher John Barber, 46.
Lich was charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief and Barber has been charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying a court order, and counseling to commit the offense of obstructing police.
Barber had a contested bail hearing Friday, attorney Diane Magas said in an email to CNN. He was released on the condition that he leave Ottawa and a bond, she added. Lich is scheduled to appear in court Saturday morning for her arraignment.
This week, blockades to border crossings in Alberta and Ontario culminated in arrests as police cleared the areas. Four people were charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the blockade at Coutts, Alberta, and multiple weapons and rounds of ammunition were seized.
CNN’s Paula Newton reported from Ottawa. This story was written by Aya Elamroussi and Jay Croft in Atlanta. Paradise Afshar, Travis Caldwell, Raja Razek, Chris Boyette, Amir Vera, Chuck Johnston and Jenn Selva contributed to this report.
