The latest on protests against COVID-19 measures in Ottawa and beyond

The House of Commons resumed sitting Jan. 31, but Trudeau was isolating after having tested positive for COVID-19

He has also been staying at a location in the National Capital Region that was not being publicized for security reasons.

Trudeau says in the debate that the protesters are trying to blockade Canada’s economy, democracy and their fellow citizens’ daily lives and that “it has to stop.”

He also says the federal government would provide whatever resources are required to deal with the protests.

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7 p.m.

Ottawa City Council has voted to formally petition the federal government to assume responsibility for public safety in the parliamentary precinct.

Coun. Catherine McKenney, who represents downtown Ottawa, says they want the RCMP to take over the situation so local police can return to other residential communities.

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6.50 p.m.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says during an emergency debate in the House of Commons that Canadians are demanding to know who is funding the ongoing protest in Ottawa and where the money is going.

He also criticized what he called a lack of leadership by the federal government and called on Trudeau to take what is happening in Ottawa seriously.

Singh had earlier called for an emergency debate in the House of Commons and blamed the Liberals for using the protest as “a wedge issue.”

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6:30 p.m.

Ottawa city council has voted to ask Ontario Premier Doug Ford to bring legislation into force that would allow the government to charge protesters for some of the exorbitant costs the city has incurred during the anti-vaccine mandate demonstration.

The demonstration has stretched on for more than a week, and police have described it as a volatile and dangerous situation.

Police estimate they are spending $1.8 million to $2.2 million per day to monitor, supervise and attempt to end the demonstration.

The city’s lawyer says Ontario has approved legislation that would allow the Ontario Solicitor General and the Ottawa Police Services Board to charge the protesters for those costs, but the legislation has not yet been brought into force.

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6:20 p.m.

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly says it is disingenuous to compare the response to the anti-vaccine mandate protests in Toronto to the situation that is still unfolding in Ottawa.

Sloly was briefed after a meeting of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, and says Toronto credits its relative success during last weekend’s demonstrations with watching how Ottawa handled the demonstration in the capital.

He says police services should not be set against each other, but should be working together as partners.

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6 p.m.

Ottawa city council has voted to request aid for about 200 businesses that have suffered lost income during the downtown demonstrations against COVID-19 measures.

Council voted to ask the federal and provincial governments to provide funds for the affected businesses and their employees.

Many businesses downtown, including the Rideau Centre mall, have closed their doors during the protest because of safety concerns.

Council also voted to ask for financial support for social support services that have helped Ottawa’s most vulnerable through the demonstration.

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3:45 p.m.

Scores of people gathered in front of Parliament Hill near the Prime Minister’s Office to listen to speeches and music this afternoon.

Almost no one was masked and the smell of marijuana hung in the air.

Three jerry cans sat on the trunk of a car while the occasional protester walked past carrying their own can, with at least one labelled “juice bottle.”

Small crowds of police gathered on the edges watching and talking while the protest continued to clog the area around the Hill and the National War Memorial.

2:45 p.m.

The two Liberal MPs who represent most of the people directly affected by the ongoing protest in central Ottawa say workers, businesses and residents are suffering.

Ottawa-Vanier MP and Treasury Board President Mona Fortier says this is the furthest thing from a peaceful protest.

Ottawa Centre Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi says his constituents have been harassed and tormented for more than a week, and no words can accurately describe the agony.

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2:35 p.m.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Hugh McLean has granted a 10-day injunction to prevent truckers parked on city streets in downtown Ottawa from honking their horns incessantly.

McLean says the injunction is temporary because he needs to hear more evidence, but has heard enough to make this ruling today.

McLean will hear further submissions from lawyers on how the injunction could be enforced, so today’s court hearing will continue.

Paul Champ, a lawyer representing Ottawa residents in a proposed multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit, had argued the loud and prolonged honking is causing irreparable harm.

Keith Wilson, representing three of the respondents in the case, had told McLean the ruling on the injunction would carry national importance.

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2:10 p.m.

Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly has asked the mayor to request 1,800 additional police and civilian personnel for immediate use until the end of the demonstration in the city.

That would nearly double the existing resources of the entire Ottawa Police Service, which has 2,100 police and civilian members.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says he will make the request of the Ontario and federal governments.

He says the police service has negotiated a change to the Ottawa officers’ collective agreement so they can work without days off during the “occupation” of Ottawa.

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2 p.m.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says protesters in Ottawa have “crossed the line” of acceptable behaviour “many many times.”

He says the “angry, loud, intolerant and violent crowd” that is holding Ottawa residents hostage in their own city need to leave, and that all political parties need to be united in that call.

Mendicino says he is happy to see the success of police in dismantling some parts of the Ottawa convoy but that more progress is needed.

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1:55 p.m.

The National Gallery of Canada is delaying its public reopening until further notice as Ottawa’s state of emergency continues.

The gallery says the decision to keep its doors closed was informed by reports from “several levels of government” and Ottawa’s recent declaration of a state of emergency in response to the convoy protest that has snarling the city for more than a week.

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1:45 p.m.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says he will write to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford for help to dramatically increase the city’s law enforcement capacity as quickly as possible.

He denounces the protests against COVID-19 measures that have seized downtown Ottawa for more than a week as an aggressive and hateful occupation of the capital city.

The city is also asking Ontario to increase fines for many unlawful acts that have punctuated the demonstrations.

The city wants an increase in the fine for idling from $100 to $1,000, the noise bylaw fine from $490 to $1,000 and the fine for encumbering a roadway from $350 to $1,000.

Watson says the loud honking that has reverberated through downtown Ottawa for the last several days is “tantamount to psychological warfare.”

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11:50 a.m.

Authorities say three people were arrested during the four-day protest against COVID-19 health measures in Quebec City, which wrapped up Sunday evening.

Police handed out 50 tickets for municipal violations including noise complaints, 72 tickets for highway safety code violations and 48 parking tickets.

One person had their vehicle towed.

Police Chief Denis Turcotte tells reporters today officers will be ready if protesters decide to return in two weeks as one organizer promised on the weekend.

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11 a.m.

A protest against COVID-19 restrictions continues outside the Manitoba legislature.

About a dozen large trucks and farm vehicles continue to sit by the main entrance to the legislature grounds.

Police have advised motorists to avoid the immediate area if they can because of some traffic delays.

Politicians are not scheduled to return to the legislature chamber until next month.

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10:30 a.m.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling the anti-vaccine mandate protest in Ottawa a crisis, and he wants an emergency debate in Parliament tonight to deal with it.

Singh says the protesters are looking to overthrow the government and he wants to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meet with municipal leaders and offer them help to solve the problem.

He says people in Ottawa are going through a horrible situation.

Lawyers for some downtown residents are going to court today to try to get an injunction to stop the truckers from blaring their horns.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

The latest on protests against COVID-19 measures in Ottawa and beyond

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