Canada dispatch: ‘the state of emergency reflects the serious danger that demonstrators pose to Ottawa residents’ Dispatches
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Canada dispatch: ‘the state of emergency reflects the serious danger that demonstrators pose to Ottawa residents’

Law students from the University of Ottawa are filing dispatches for JURIST on the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Canada’s capital that has paralyzed the city for over a week. Here, 3L Amanda Werger reports.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency for the City of Ottawa at 4:20 PM on Sunday. The statement cites the ongoing trucker demonstration as the cause of the state of emergency. The state of emergency was issued in the wake of a gathering of an estimated 1,000 vehicles and 5,000 people on and around Parliament Hill on Saturday afternoon.

The city says that the state of emergency will give the city more flexibility to manage essential services for its residents. It would also allow for more flexible procurement to purchase more equipment for frontline workers and first responders.

The city also says that declaring the state of emergency reflects the serious danger that demonstrators pose to Ottawa residents. The city is calling for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. Diane Deans, Ottawa Police Services Board chair and councillor, made a similar call Saturday, asserting: “This group is emboldened by the lack of enforcement by every level of government.”

The call for help follows Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s statement on February 4 that, “it’s not a protest anymore, it’s become an occupation.” It also follows the swearing in of an additional 257 RCMP officers with Special Constable Status to assist with demonstration enforcement.

Ottawa’s state of emergency came hours after Ottawa Police Services released a statement reporting that they have issued over 450 tickets since Saturday morning. These tickets were issued for excessive noise, use of fireworks, stunt driving, obstructed license plates, driving with suspended license, driving with no insurance, and several other violations.

OPS said that they worked through the night to reduce the impacts of the demonstration and attempted to improve neighbourhood safety in the downtown core. Their statement indicated that on Saturday night protestors had become extremely disruptive and had begun to exhibit unlawful behaviour presentin a public safety risk to Ottawa residents.

In the same statement, OPS revealed that they have opened 97 criminal offence investigations related to the demonstrations. This is a significant increase from the total of 50 criminal offences that OPS stated they were investigating prior to 6:30 PM on Saturday February 5. 11 of these criminal investigations are related to hate crimes, resulting in charges against four people. Following this statement, OPS tweeted at 1:52 PM Sunday that anyone attempting to bring material support, such as gas, to the demonstrators could be subject to arrest.

But these calls to action by OPS have come too late for some. Ottawa residents have been critical of the lack of action and response that OPS has taken against the protestors. At a counterprotest held on February 5, criticism of OPS was visible as among the protest signs included one that read “OPS, what are we paying you for?”

Many across Canada have compared the lack of police action against the Freedom Convoy to other protests where police were faster to act, such as the Wet’suwet’en protests that recently took place in British Columbia. This protest was conducted by Wet’suwet’en and Haudenosaunee in opposition to the construction of a multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline. In November 2021, the RCMP arrested 14 people and cleared a service road that was barricaded as part of the protest. This was the third time the RCMP acted against barricades erected by supporters. Comparing these protests clearly underlines the privilege and leniency that the police are giving to the “Freedom Convoy.”