Canada: ‘State of Emergency’ declared – 1st step to shutting down anti-vax protests?

Massive, ongoing anti-vaccine mandate protests have shut down the Canadian capital.

By World Israel News Staff

The mayor of Canada’s capital city declared a state of emergency on Monday and made statements to the media indicating that the government would attempt to end the ongoing mass protest against vaccine mandates that’s frozen the city for 10 days

According to Reuters, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said in a statement that announcing an official state of emergency “reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government.”

Watson did not elaborate on what specific danger was posed by the protest, but he seemed to be playing off Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim that the large demonstration was inherently unsafe.

After calling the demonstration, which started with a record-breaking truck convoy stretching some 45 miles, the action of an anti-social “fringe minority group,” Trudeau was whisked away from the capital city earlier in January due to unspecified security concerns.

Since then, the truckers and tens of thousands of other protesters have camped out in the Canadian capital, specifically in the neighborhood around the parliament building.

The demonstrators have said they will not move until the government cancels all of its vaccine mandates.

A Liberal Canadian politician told Reuters that the demonstrators’ ability to effectively shut down Ottawa was a “national humiliation.”

But patience for the demonstration appeared to be wearing thin, with Watson’s declaration of a state of emergency likely paving the way for the police or army to clear out the protesters.

Ottawa police announced Monday that they are actively “collecting financial, digital, vehicle registration … and other evidence that will be used in criminal prosecutions.”

Reuters reported that the police said they may arrest people aiding the truckers by bringing them refueling canisters, food and water.

American politicians are also weighing in on the protests.

The socalled “freedom truck convoy” has attracted support from many U.S. Republicans. including former President Donald Trump, who called Trudeau a “far left lunatic” who has “destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates,” AP reported.

“Canada US relations used to be mainly about solving technical issues. Today Canada is unfortunately experiencing radical US politicians involving themselves in Canadian domestic issues. Trump and his followers are a threat not just to the US but to all democracies,” Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador under President Barack Obama, tweeted, AP reported.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called the protests an “occupation.”