
Trucker convoy: Police chief calls for 1,800 more cops and civilians to handle protest
The “Freedom Convoy” that converged in Ottawa on Jan. 28 began in response to the federal government’s move to require that Canadian truck drivers crossing the U.S.…
2:50 p.m.
An Ontario Superior Court judge has granted a 10-day injunction to prevent truckers parked on city streets in downtown Ottawa from honking their horns incessantly.
Justice Hugh McLean says the injunction is temporary because he needs to hear more evidence, but has heard enough to make this ruling today.
The case was brought to court by a 21-year-old downtown resident, Zexi Li, who said the noise in her apartment had been measured at more than 80 decibels, which lawyer Paul Champ said was the equivalent “of having a lawn mower running in her living room, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
1:28 p.m.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair urged convoy protesters to go home in a joint message from federal ministers and Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi, where Blair spoke directly to the demonstrators and told them the protest “needs to end.”
“The charter of rights protects the freedom to protest,” Blair said. “However, when an event is no longer peaceful, when the event is disrupting the lives and jeopardizing the livelihoods of fellow Canadians — local residents have been harassed for wearing masks; business owners have been forced to close out of concern for the safety of their staff; families with young children haven’t been able to sleep due to the constant honking of horns. And this, frankly, needs to end.”
12:42 p.m.
Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly said he’s calling for more resources from all three levels of government.
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Sloly said police are moving in on the fuel supplies.
“We’re going after any vehicle conveyance, including horseback, people carrying jerry cans and we are arresting and seizing and we are interdicting fuel going into the demonstrations,” Sloly said.
Sloly said the operation on Sunday night at the Ottawa Stadium parking lot, which has been turned into a protest logistics camp, started with negotiation, but when the talks failed, it turned into “public order operation” involving, in part, “covert assets.”
Seven people were arrested and criminally charged and thousands of litres of propane and fuel were seized, Sloly said. Police also took out an oil tanker, he added.