Pressure mounts on protesters in Ottawa

Despite the arrests of 170 people in the last 48 hours, police have not avoided using force, as usual on Saturday, to increase pressure on the last hundreds of protesters who refuse to surrender.

Read more: “Independent Convoy”: Police distributed more than 3,600 criminal reports

Read more: [VIDÉO] A trucker gets paid to pay for his ticket

Ottawa’s Interim Police Chief Steve Bell has launched an investigation into the alleged possession of weapons by certain protesters at a news conference. The nature and figures of the seized weapons were not immediately available.

“If you get involved in this fight, we will actively identify you and lead to financial fines and criminal charges,” he said bluntly, adding that hard work investigations are long overdue. To be held in the coming months.

Wellington Street was demolished three weeks later

Wellington Street, the capital of the occupation, was in the process of being completely liberated from the protesters, for the first time since the end of January.

The move gradually moved to Bank Street, perpendicular to Wellington. Police is actively involved in the attempt to push the protesters in the city of the city.

On the ground, strong winds of freezing winds blowing through the Ottawa area were able to overcome some suffocating protesters who finally decided to hold their breath after spending a night “holding the fort” in front of the authorities. .

Dozens of trucks were found deserted, as well as tents and trailers where they had taken refuge. Groups from the municipality were able to see the facilities being removed.

Chief Bell is on track to win his race, he promised on Thursday that “this weekend will not be like the three weekends” when thousands of anti-health protesters joined the enhanced festival held in front of Parliament.

More aggressively than yesterday, police smashed the windows of several trucks on their way. Unlike yesterday, police banged on with helmets and batons.

Protesters were arrested with bags containing bulletproof vests, smoke bombs and firecrackers. Most of them were sprinkled with agave.

Tom Marasso, one of the co-organizers of the convoy, called on the truckers, one of the few who were not arrested, to leave the area on Saturday, promising to prevent the worst and arrest, and to wage a legal fight against the government. .

However, there are many truckers who are not waiting for his call. Already on Friday evening, a good number of trucks parked in Wellington had chosen to depart on their own.

Ottawa police have confirmed that 38 vehicles have been towed since yesterday.

The strategy of the police is to use minimal force to limit the number of arrests. Protesters should also chant “Oh Canada” on their side to avoid violent clashes.

The children were still there, which further complicated the work of the police. The parents of these children could face fines of up to $ 5,000, Ottawa Police said today.

The most unusual scene was the stone-throwing from Parliament, where MPs were debating the call for an emergency law all weekend.

The law allowed the freezing of 76 bank accounts of financial institutions across the country, for a total of $ 3.2 million, which is suspected of triggering a nationwide ban, Union ministers said this morning.

Misinformation is a weapon

Chief Steve Bell says misinformation is one of the “tricks” used by protesters to “misinform and mislead the public.”

He said he had “learned” from recent events. Bell said one of the police’s tactics is to make greater use of information exchange, especially through Twitter.

“We actively tweet and provide information through social media and other media outlets to better disseminate factual information about what is going on in the struggle without revealing the tactics of the police,” he said.

See also