OTTAWA — The police presence in downtown Ottawa grew Thursday as efforts to begin clearing a three-week long occupation around Parliament Hill appeared imminent, but many antigovernment demonstrators with large trucks showed no signs of moving on.
With rain and sleet falling on the national capital, workers began putting up fencing around the Hill and several other places downtown, including the Senate. Access to the Hill grounds was still open in some places but media were told the fencing could be closed off at any time.
Police in bright yellow vests walked the downtown core, most of them moving in groups, handing out leaflets and warning those present they could be arrested and should leave.
"The Ottawa Police Service wants to inform you that under provincial and federal legislation, you will face severe penalties if you do not cease further unlawful activity and remove your vehicle and/or property immediately from all unlawful protest sites," a written warning said.
The stern cautioning appeared to have little effect on many. Several people, one wearing a Canada flag as a cape, moved wagons full of jerry cans towards the trucks without any sign of police intervening to stop them.
Measures under the Emergencies Act, invoked earlier this week, make it an offence to supply people in the demonstration, which has been branded illegal, with food or fuel.
In one food tent a woman operating two barbecues yelled out the national anthem in French while police stood nearby. Other demonstrators walked around, appearing generally relaxed despite the swelling police ranks.
On Wellington Street, which runs immediately in front of the Hill, some police trying to give leaflets to demonstrators were swarmed and backed off quickly.
Police have warned protesters who stay they might be arrested and criminally charged. In addition, their vehicles and other property could be seized, their driver's licence suspended, commercial vehicle registration cancelled, and personal or business bank accounts frozen.
The City of Ottawa warned protesters their dogs would be impounded, and the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa told parents who have children with them to make alternate care arrangements for the period "following potential police action."
As tensions built on the streets, a debate on use of the Emergencies Act began inside the House of Commons.
The Ottawa occupation was the largest remaining blockade after four border crossings reopened following police actions. A small demonstration also continued outside the Manitoba legislature in Winnipeg.
Some demonstrators claim they are in Ottawa simply to end COVID-19 restrictions, but others, including those who claim to be leading the convoy in Ottawa, have demanded the Liberal government be ousted. They have offered to work with opposition parties to make this happen.
Deputy Ottawa police chief Steve Bell said Wednesday police were ready to use methods people are not used to seeing in the capital and that efforts to clear the streets were imminent.
The Liberal government has characterized the border blockades and the Ottawa protest as events driven by a highly co-ordinated, targeted and partly foreign-funded criminal attack on Canadian interests.
They point to the arrest of 13 individuals and seizure of multiple weapons at a convoy in Coutts, Alta., earlier this week, as evidence of the involvement of a dangerous, criminal element. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Wednesday some of those arrested have ties to people known to be participating in the occupation in Ottawa.
Border blockades in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia ended earlier this week and police have been methodically preparing to clear the Ottawa demonstration. The blockade began late last month and has paralyzed large parts of downtown, with hundreds of trucks and other vehicles blocking roads, many of them antagonizing residents by honking incessantly.
Many businesses including the city's largest shopping mall have temporarily shut their doors, and residents and workers say they have been harassed and sometimes physically assaulted for wearing masks in and around the protest.
The Emergencies Act and the enhanced powers it allows are already in effect, including authority to freeze bank accounts of convoy members and ban the presence of public gatherings in specific zones including on Parliament Hill.
However both the House and Senate must confirm the decision to use the act. The House will vote on the act in coming days, while the Senate is expected to take it up Friday.
The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois said they would not support the motion, but NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh signalled Wednesday his party will back the minority Liberals, calling the situation a crisis.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2022.
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