OTTAWA, Canada — Police in Canada’s capital were trying to cut off the supply of fuel to a convoy of truckers and other activists occupying Ottawa’s downtown core, while a court issued a 10-day injunction against their use of ear-splitting air horns.
The unrest, which is becoming a test case for how democracies deal with public frustration over COVID-19 restrictions, has paralyzed the city for more than a week and a state of emergency was declared on Sunday.
The Bank of Canada confirmed Monday its headquarters are closed to most staff. Former Gov. Mark Carney described the unruly protest as “sedition” and called on authorities to cut off funding to the convoy.
Police broke up a logistics hub Sunday that had been set up in a now-fenced-off park in between a major tourist hotel, city hall and the headquarters of Canada’s defense department. The truckers had used the spot southeast of parliament to stockpile propane, gasoline and diesel. They also erected a wooden structure to prepare and distribute food.
Lines of big rigs remain parked on major thoroughfares. But residents in adjacent apartment buildings could get some relief from near-constant horn honking after an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled in their favor Monday afternoon as part of a class action lawsuit.
Politically, the protest has both helped topple Justin Trudeau’s main rival in the Conservative Party and exposed just how polarizing the Liberal prime minister’s nearly seven years in power have been in Canada.
Trudeau has largely been out of sight during the protest after testing positive for COVID-19 a week ago and going into isolation. On Friday, he said calling in the military was “not in the cards,” but he’s been silent since then and didn’t have any public appearances scheduled Monday.
A quintet of ministers stressed in a midday briefing that Trudeau’s government has only a limited role in responding to the disruption. But it also conceded it has heard the legitimate frustrations of the protesters.
“We all want to see a return to normal life and a responsible, evidence-based easing of the guidelines and protocols,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said. “I assure you that day is coming soon.”
He added, however, that the government doesn’t intend to back down on the vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers that are at the heart of the protest. “We cannot allow an angry crowd to reverse a course that continues to save lives in this last stretch. This should never be a precedent for how to make policy in Canada.”
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said provinces should look at using their “extensive regulatory powers over commercial trucking and road transportation to help end this unlawful occupation.” That could include suspending licenses and insurance for participating truckers.
Carney, who was governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England before joining Brookfield Asset Management Inc., issued his call to cut off funding Monday morning in an opinion piece for the Globe and Mail newspaper.
“Those who are occupying the downtown of our nation’s capital should be in no doubt. They are no longer simply advocating a different strategy to end Covid-19,” Carney said. “They are not patriots. This is not about ‘restoring freedom’ but beginning anarchy.”
Late Friday, GoFundMe Inc. removed a fundraiser for the Canadian truckers, saying their campaign violates terms prohibiting the promotion of violence — a decision Mendicino praised. But money is still flowing to the convoy via other crowd-sourcing platforms.
Although police have started to crack down on the protest, no clear end to the blockade is in sight. The class action suit was filed against the truckers on behalf of downtown Ottawa residents.
In granting the temporary order against the horns, Judge Hugh McLean said the noise constituted irreparable harm. “A right to quiet has been made out as being the overriding right here,” he said in court. “Tooting a horn is not an expression of any great thought that I’m aware of.”
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, who declared the emergency Sunday night, said increasingly rowdy demonstrations posed a “serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents.” He made a request Monday for help from the Trudeau government in putting another 1,800 law-enforcement officers onto the streets.
As the convoy was en route to the capital, Trudeau dismissed it as a “fringe minority” with “unacceptable views.” The protesters have now adopted those terms as catchphrases adorning their signs and clothing.
Meanwhile, the opposition Conservatives are deeply divided over how to respond to the truckers. Only a handful of their elected members have so far condemned the demonstrations, with one Quebec lawmaker calling for a stop to “this occupation controlled by radicals and anarchist groups.”
Other Conservatives have publicly embraced the demonstrators, including the perceived front-runner in the race to succeed Erin O’Toole as leader.
O’Toole, a military veteran and former corporate lawyer, was toppled in a caucus putsch last week. Though he was already unpopular within the party after failing to defeat Trudeau in September’s election, his attempt to embrace the cause of truckers in general while distancing himself from the actual protest helped seal his fate.
Interim Leader Candice Bergen represents a rural prairie region and has endorsed the trucker convoy from the start. On Saturday night, Pierre Poilievre — the party’s firebrand finance critic, who represents a suburban district south of Ottawa — announced his candidacy for the top job. His video message made no mention of the growing crisis in Ottawa’s streets.
