Ottawa under 'attack' in the midst of cross country 'uprising' - specialists

CANADA 06 FEBURARY 2022 (VOE WORLD)

Ottawa Police Services Board held an emergency meeting on Saturday afternoon, but failed to devise a clear plan of action against truck drivers and their supporters protesting the country’s Covid-19 mandates for over a week now. 

Worldwide Look Press/John Woods

“We are on day eight of this occupation. Our city is under siege. What we’re seeing is bigger than just a City of Ottawa problem. This is a nationwide insurrection. This is madness. We need a concrete plan to put an end to this,” said the chair of the board, Ottawa City Council member Diane Deans, at the beginning of the nearly 2-hour-long virtual discussion.

Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly agreed with her portrayal of the situation, saying that local law enforcement “were never intended to deal with a city under siege,” and decried the lack of resources – and legal authority – to disperse the protest.

Deans asked Solly what kind of resources and help he needs to put an end to the demonstration “right now,” and whether he wants the city to request the assistance from the federal government or even the military. Solly said there is “no quick answer” as the situation is constantly evolving, and reiterated that “we do not have sufficient resources to adequately and effectively address this situation.”

At one point, Deans wondered whether the city had legal grounds to declare an unlawful assembly and then a riot, in order to conduct mass arrests, instead of pursuing “one criminal charge at a time.”

“There are so many people out there engaged in a broader act of… mayhem, that we need to be able to bring it all under control,” she said.

As of Saturday afternoon, police estimated at least “500 heavy vehicles associated with the demonstration to be in the red zone,” as thousands of people joined the protest at Parliament Hill and elsewhere across Ottawa for a second weekend. Smaller groups of counter-protesters were also reported in the streets, even as a major rival event was called off last minute.

The anti-mandate movement spread far beyond the nation’s capital, with a major protest in solidarity with the Freedom Convoy held in Toronto, where police set up road blocks throughout downtown on Saturday.