Demonstrations against health measures in Canada: the mayor of Ottawa asks for help from the federal authorities – Le Monde

Overwhelmed by hundreds of trucks making the ” seat “ of the Canadian capital, the mayor of Ottawa called on the federal authorities for help in putting an end to the show of force by truckers against health measures, the subject of an urgent debate in Parliament, Monday evening February 7 .

” This must end “hammered the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, back in person in the House of Commons, after a week of isolation due to Covid-19. “This pandemic has sucked for all Canadians! »he launched, visibly irritated by the protests. “But Canadians know the only way out is to keep listening to the science”, he added, before wiping out the reproaches of the opposition parties on his absence during the last days. For the Conservatives, he is responsible for a “division never seen in the country”.

Despite an increasingly tense situation, the Prime Minister, currently housed in a secret location, did not intervene after the weekend demonstrations, leaving his ministers to step up. “The federal government will respond”he promised in the evening, without however announcing new measures, demanded by the authorities of the city of Ottawa.

No honking

Its mayor, Jim Watson, thus asked Monday for reinforcements from the federal state to put an end to the ” seat “ faced by Ottawa and pleaded for the dispatch of 1,800 additional police officers. Arriving in numbers on January 29 in front of Parliament and under the windows of Mr. Trudeau, nearly 500 trucks were still blocking the city center on Monday.

“We must end this demonstration, but we cannot do it alone”Police Chief Peter Sloly acknowledged on Monday, also calling ” help “. Some streets in the city center, congested with heavy goods vehicles, are still blocked to traffic, businesses closed and makeshift shelters have been set up by demonstrators who spend day and night honking their horns, to the chagrin of residents, caught in the noise and diesel fumes.

The latter, however, won a first battle on Monday: the Superior Court of Ontario ordered the protesters to stop honking. Some residents had indeed launched a class action against the organizers of the demonstration, claiming some 10 million Canadian dollars (7 million euros).

The protests, which spread this weekend to other Canadian cities (Toronto, Winnipeg, Quebec, etc.), are reminiscent in form of those of the “yellow vests”, which had paralyzed the center of many French cities every weekend. ends for several months from winter 2018.

Running out of fuel

“We cannot allow an angry mob” to dictate its law, said Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Security. “It could set a precedent for how policy is made in Canada”he said.

Insensitive to political declarations, the demonstrators continue to demand “the lifting of vaccination obligations, restrictions, and the restoration of the rights and freedoms of Canadians”Tamara Lich, one of the organizers of the movement, said Monday during a live on YouTube. “We are trying, at this time, to reach out to all federal parties so that we can start talks and see how we can move forward”she added.

She also denounced the attempts to stifle the movement. The Ottawa police, criticized for not having been able to prevent the paralysis of the center of the capital, has indeed been preventing protesters from being supplied, particularly with fuel, since Sunday.

Even if the mobilization of truckers is only supported by a minority of Canadians, 32% according to a recent survey, this still represents a larger segment of the population than the 10% of unvaccinated Canadian adults.