SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
Washington Post they did not
expect to pay and would litigate
in court.
Police say they can retroactive-
ly fine or charge people docu-
mented to be violating laws.
Use of the act is expected to be
approved, although the move has
drawn criticism from both the
left and the right.
On Thursday, police set up
about 100 checkpoints and other
road closures in Ottawa’s down-
town to keep out protester rein-
forcements.
Among those arrested were
three key protest organizers: Al-
berta separatist Tamara Lich,
far-right agitator Chris Barber
and Pat King, who said “bullets”
were the only way to end health
mandates. Another key influenc-
er, former Royal Canadian
Mounted Police officer Daniel
Bulford, turned himself in Fri-
day.
Barber was released on bail
late Friday on the condition that
he leave Ottawa and not contact
or finance the protest, according
to the Canadian BroadcastingCorp. Lich appeared in court
Saturday on charges of counsel-
ing to promote mischief, but the
judge in the case said she would
have to wait a few days for a
decision on bail.
Lich, Barber and a third orga-
nizer, Benjamin Dichter, who left
Ottawa on Friday, are named in a
class-action lawsuit filed by Otta-
wa resident Zexi Li, 21, over
damages caused by the demon-
strations.
Peter Sloly resigned as Otta-
wa’s police chief Tuesday after
heavy criticism of his depart-
ment’s handling of the unrest.
While protesters held block
parties the past three weekends
as police stood by, many Ottawa
residents complained of being
harassed and intimidated by
some demonstrators and being
unable to sleep or work amid
incessant honking and blocked
streets.
Some protesters have de-
manded an end to all pandemic-
related mandates. Others said
they wanted Trudeau ousted or
tried in court. The protests inCanada, which have also targeted
and shut down border crossings,
have inspired copycats in Euro-
pean capitals.
But Stephanie Carvin, an asso-
ciate professor of international
relations at Carleton University
in Ottawa, said it was not “a
movement driven by truckers
frustrated by mandates.”
“It is a movement of anti-gov-
ernment extremists that have
successfully tapped into the ex-
haustion of a lot of Canadians
who are frustrated after four
lockdowns and going onto year
three of this [pandemic],” she
said. “They were able to frame
their grievances around this is-
sue.”
Patrick Philon, 33, of Spanish,
Ontario, said Saturday that he
had great respect for the truck-
ers, even those who left.
“They did their part to start a
worldwide movement,” he said
by a police standoff next to the
prime minister’s office. “We will
stand here and hold the line.”
Philon was gearing up for
what was next for him: Joininganother protest or satellite dem-
onstrator camp around Ottawa.
Michael, a 66-year-old from
Hamilton, Ontario, who would
give only his first name because
he said he feared his neighbors
finding out he was here, grew
emotional as he contemplated
the end of the protest.
“I’m so moved by what these
guys are doing, and I’ve been
doing nothing,” Michael said.
He acknowledged that what
drew him out, in part, was what
some would acknowledge as a
“conspiracy” — the false claim
that Trudeau was controlled by
“globalists” and “the World Eco-
nomic Forum,” a sentiment
shared by several protesters in-
terviewed by The Post.
Michael said he had donated
to the protest’s now-frozen on-
line fundraisers on GoFundMe
and GiveSendGo, as well as more
than 500 Canadian dollars in
person.
“It’s over,” he said. “But just
wait until the summer.... There
will be something else like this
that we didn’t expect.”LARS HAGBERG/REUTERS
A man lies in the snow in front of police officers as truckers and supporters continue to protest coronavirus vaccine mandates in Ottawa on
Friday. Police cleared out most protesters, but some said they planned to regroup or join future anti-government demonstrations.BY MIRIAM BERGERottawa — Police escalated op-
erations Saturday and cleared
out the bulk of Ottawa’s self-
styled “Freedom Convoy” pro-
testers to bring an end to more
than three weeks of disruption
declared illegal under an unprec-
edented emergency order.
The protests opened a new
chapter in far-right and anti-
health mandate movements at
home and abroad while shaking
up Canadian politics and raising
numerous questions about law
enforcement and why it took so
long to unclog the streets of
Canada’s capital city.
Defiant demonstrators,
draped in Canadian flags, ac-
knowledged that the protest’s
end was near Saturday, even as
some made a last stand. But
several told The Washington Post
that they planned to regroup or
join future anti-government
demonstrations.
“We are going to win!” people
shouted at police even as they
were forced to retreat.
Interim Ottawa police chief
Steve Bell warned them of conse-
quences ahead. “If you are in-
volved in this protest, we will
actively look to identify you and
follow up with financial sanc-
tions and criminal charges,” he
said.
Police said they had arrested
170 protesters as of Saturday
afternoon, but standoffs contin-
ued in the snow and freezing
temperatures, which dipped into
the teens, as law enforcement
officers pushed to disperse strag-
gling demonstrators, and tow
trucks slowly pulled away the
remaining parked big rigs that
have paralyzed parts of the city,
including Parliament Hill, the
seat of Canada’s government.
As protesters’ numbers dwin-
dled, law enforcement officers
armed with batons and guns,
some on horseback, appeared to
advance at a faster and more
forceful pace than the day before
as a drone hovered above.
Though largely restrained, ten-
sions remained high, as protest-
ers, facing hefty fines or prison
time, continued to gather along
the remaining front lines, some
bringing with them children and
dogs.
At midday, organizers of one
key group, Freedom Convoy
2022, much of whose leadership
has been arrested or left Ottawa,
issued a call for truckers to move
from a central encampment in
front of Canada’s Parliament “to
avoid further [police] brutality.”
They asked for police to give time
for vehicles to move.
With so many moving parts —
the presence of children, the
possibility of violence, the tightly
packed vehicles and combustible
fuel — the police have taken a
largely restrained approach,
even by Canadian standards. Po-
lice officers, some in tactical gear,
have continued to leave open
exits for demonstrators and driv-
ers who decide to leave.
Alongside arrests, police said
they used a “chemical irritant,”
pepper spray, against some dem-
onstrators they described as “as-
saultive.” Police said in a tweet
Saturday that some of the arrest-
ed had body armor, smoke gre-
nades and fireworks on them.
“We told you to leave,” Ottawa
police said in a tweet Saturday.
“We gave you time to leave. We
were slow and methodical, yet
you were assaultive and aggres-
sive with officers and the horses.”
As conditions unfolded on the
ground, Canada’s Parliament re-
sumed debate Saturday over
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s
invocation Monday of the 1988
Emergencies Act, which gives the
government broad powers for up
to 30 days. Parliament must vote
within seven days of the act’s
invocation to approve or reject it.
Under the Emergencies Act,
banks can freeze assets suspect-
ed of being used to fund the
protest and can suspend the
insurance and business accounts
connected to vehicles found
here. Thousands of dollars in
fines have been imposed on driv-
ers, several of whom told The‘Freedom Convoy’
protest nears its end
Police clear out most
demonstrators, making
arrests, towing vehicles2022World-Class Programs for Middle and High School Students!Join Us On-Campus or Online!
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