Ottawa police presence grows as chief vows to ‘take back’ city from ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters
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The police presence grew Thursday morning around the “Freedom Convoy” protests that have paralyzed Canada’s capital for weeks as demonstrators readied for the looming possibility of mass arrests.
The truck horns and music that have blared nearly incessantly late January were quiet at midmorning as officers began to mass in the cold drizzle, but demonstrators continued to mill among the vehicles that have jammed the streets around Parliament. On Kent Street, amid the rows of humming trucks being refueled by volunteers, a lone toilet sat on the street with a sign telling police to put their tickets inside it.
New fencing was erected on the Parliament Hill side of Wellington Street, next to the demonstrators’ encampments. The University of Ottawa moved academic activities online until Monday and said it planned to increase campus security.
As police continued to warn protesters that the encampments in downtown Ottawa are illegal, municipal law enforcement officials said that if protesters accompanied by animals in the encampments are unable to care for their pets because of police enforcement, the animal will be placed into protective care for eight days at the owner’s cost.
