OTTAWA — Police in Ottawa have started arresting protesters and removing big rigs that have swamped the heart of the Canadian capital for three weeks.
A systematic law-enforcement push Friday came a couple of days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave authorities unprecedented powers by invoking the federal Emergencies Act for the first time ever.
Police started to crack down on the demonstrators Thursday evening by making targeted arrests of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, two organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy protest that first rumbled into the capital on Jan. 28.
The city was bracing for a major operation.
The potential of a clash between police and protesters was enough for the House of Commons to cancel Friday’s sitting. The Senate also shut things down for the day.
Steve Bell, the interim chief of the Ottawa police, warned protesters Thursday that action was imminent. “Your time in our city has come to an end,” he said.
Police established a perimeter around the downtown core with nearly 100 checkpoints for entry.
The protest area, where hundreds of trucks are blocking the streets, was quieter Friday morning than it had been in recent weeks.
But many defiant protesters refused to budge, sitting in their idling trucks right in front of Parliament Hill.
A sound stage, which has been the main rallying point for the demonstrators, blasted hip hop Friday and people danced as though police weren’t closing in. People around the protest site are waving Canadian flags and holding placards demanding “freedom.”
The Emergencies Act has enabled police to compel heavy tow truck operators to help haul the large vehicles entrenched on the city’s streets. Protest leaders have threatened tow truck drivers who help police.
A convoy of more than a dozen heavy tow trucks in front of the University of Ottawa rolled into the occupied zone after police made a number of arrests Friday.
The slow response by authorities to the trucker convoys, which have also blockaded critical border crossings, have rattled Canadians’ faith in their public institutions.
The movement has a stated goal of ending vaccine mandates and Covid restrictions, but government officials have connected the organizers to nefarious objectives. Marco Mendicino, Trudeau’s public safety minister, has warned that some members of the movement follow an extreme, far-right ideology and aim to overthrow the government.
On the ground in Ottawa, the operation had a tangible impact Friday on the capital’s political scene.
The House of Commons canceled its sitting Friday where debate on the use of the Emergencies Act was to begin at 7 a.m.
“Stay away from the downtown core until further notice,” House Speaker Anthony Rota advised in a statement released Friday morning.
NDP House Leader Peter Julian said the decision was made around 4:30 a.m.
“All four of us — the House Leaders in the House of Commons — agreed to cancel today’s House of Commons session that was scheduled to start at 7 AM,” he tweeted Friday morning. “It is everyone’s hope that the Convoy will peacefully leave #Ottawa & will end their #OttawaOccupation.”
Government House Leader Mark Holland said in a statement that officials are closely monitoring the police operation and awaiting further advice from security personnel on when the House can reopen.
“We hope that can occur Saturday,” he said.
Holland said the pause in the debate will not influence the outcome. “The House will do its work, and MPs will vote early next week on the Emergencies Act motion,” he said.
