Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

"You Have To Stop": Canada Police Move In To Remove Anti-Vax Protesters

"You Have To Stop": Canada Police Move In To Remove Anti-Vax Protesters

Canada freedom convoy protests: With barricades going up and a heavy police presence forming in the area where hundreds of big rigs remained parked.

Canadian police massed in the capital Thursday, readying to clear a trucker-led protest that has choked Ottawa's streets for three weeks and provoked the government to call on rarely used emergency powers.

With barricades going up and a heavy police presence forming in the area where hundreds of big rigs remained parked, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Parliament nearby defending his decision to invoke the Emergencies Act for only the second time ever in peacetime.

"Illegal blockades and occupations are not peaceful protests," Trudeau told the House of Commons, adding: "They have to stop."

In response to critics, he said the act was not being used to call in the military against the protesters, and denied restricting freedom of expression.

The objective was simply to "deal with the current threat and to get the situation fully under control," he said.

Throughout the day police officers could be seen filing into the parliamentary precinct in Ottawa where the truckers appeared to dig in.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the situation was "precarious."

The demonstrators had been given an ultimatum late Wednesday by the capital city's interim police chief to "leave the area now," or risk arrest and truck seizures.

In a statement, Chief Steve Bell said "a methodical and well-resourced plan" would be carried out over the coming days "to take back the entirety of the downtown core and every occupied space."

"Some of the techniques we are lawfully able and prepared to use are not what we are used to seeing in Ottawa," he said. "But we are prepared to use them... to restore order."

Truckers responded by blaring horns through the night and into Thursday. Waving Canadian flags on the ends of hockey sticks, they also chanted "freedom!"

One of the protest leaders, Tamara Lich posted a tearful video to say she was expecting to be arrested. "I think it's inevitable at this point... I'm okay with that," she said.

She also called on supporters to flood the capital, saying truckers already in place "are gonna stay and fight for your freedom."

"If you can come to Ottawa and stand with us, that would be fantastic," she said. "I want you to keep fighting the good fight."

 Potential for 'terrorist attacks'


Facing growing pressure to dislodge the protesters, Trudeau this week invoked emergency powers to end their occupying Ottawa and until recently blocking border crossings to the United States -- which Mendicino said has cost the economy billions of dollars.

Such a move has only been used once before, in 1970 by his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, to crack down on Quebec separatists who'd kidnapped two officials and set off bombs in Montreal.

"It's time for people to go home," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told a news conference, warning truckers that the penalties for staying "will bite."

"Let me also be clear that we will have zero tolerance for the establishment of new blockades or occupations," she said after a convoy was stopped late Wednesday from re-occupying the Ambassador Bridge -- a key trade route between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan.

In documents filed to the Commons, the government laid out its rational for invoking the emergency powers, saying the trucker convoy has created a critical and urgent situation that cannot be dealt with under any other Canadian laws.

It cited "a risk of serious violence and the potential for lone actor attackers to conduct terrorism attacks."

In a letter to provincial premiers, Trudeau decried the protests as "a threat to our democracy."

"It is affecting Canada's reputation internationally, hurting trade and commerce, and undermining confidence and trust in our institutions," he added.

The so-called "Freedom Convoy" started with truckers protesting against mandatory Covid vaccines to cross the US border, but its demands have since grown to include an end to all pandemic health rules and, for many, a wider anti-establishment agenda.

At its peak, the movement also included blockades of a half-dozen border crossings that have now been cleared.

Police this week arrested dozens of protesters, including four people charged with conspiracy to murder police officers at a checkpoint between Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana.

They also seized dozens of vehicles, as well as a cache of weapons that included rifles, handguns, body armor and ammunition.

Freeland said bank accounts of protesters and their backers have been frozen "and more accounts will be frozen."

Authorities have also moved to choke off crowdfunding and cryptocurrency transactions supporting the protesters, she said.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Britain's Online Safety Law Sparks Outcry Over Privacy, Free Speech, and Mass Surveillance
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Grok 4 Video plus Voice, can identify wildlife!
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
The UK Does Not Have a ‘Far-Right’ Problem
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
JD Vance Warns Europe Faces “Civilizational Suicide” Over Open Borders and Speech Limits
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
×