Canadian protesters prepare for crackdown

Busloads of police poured into downtown Ottawa, Ontario, on Wednesday and Thursday giving out leaflets warning people to leave immediately and end the three-week-long, traffic-stopping protest over COVID-19 restrictions. About 350 of the weekend’s 4,000 vehicles remained at the site of the protest on Thursday, many chained together or with removed wheels to prevent getting towed. By Thursday afternoon and evening, police had begun arresting some protest organizers. Work crews have also erected fences outside Parliament. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared the drivers’ actions illegal under the Emergencies Act, and the city police chief said he would “take back downtown in the coming days.”

What about other protests? A similar convoy was attempted in France, but police limited traffic into Paris. Protesters tried to go to Brussels but were directed to parking lots and parks outside the city. In New Zealand, a peaceful protest of about 450 vehicles was blocking Parliament in Wellington for the ninth day. Police disbanded another convoy in The Hague, Netherlands, over the weekend. The U.S. “People’s Convoy” plans to leave California on Feb. 23 and drive to Washington, D.C.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Michaelian’s article in Compassion on the challenges of policing protests.