Canada eyeing ‘no-go’ zones in Ottawa to quell ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests, official says – By Ellen Francis, Andrew Jeong (The Washington Post) / February 16, 2022
Canadian authorities say never-before-used emergency powers will now allow them to establish “no-go” zones in the capital, Ottawa, where protesters against pandemic restrictions from the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” remained defiant in the face of a tightening crackdown.
Soon after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, law enforcement officials said they made progress in dispersing protests that disrupted cross-border trade. The blockades at U.S.-Canada border crossings were down to their last holdouts, with key supply routes almost clear after police arrested dozens of people — charging some with conspiracy to commit murder after announcing the seizure of weapons at one location.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the new measures, outlined Tuesday, would arm law enforcement with the tools to quell unrest in Ottawa’s downtown, where the protests against pandemic restrictions — which have also focused on Trudeau’s administration — have upended daily life.
