From Reuters:
OTTAWA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Ottawa's police chief has resigned after criticism that he did not do enough to stop COVID-19 protests that have paralyzed Canada's capital city and forced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke emergency powers, a city official said on Tuesday.
A trucker-led movement calling on the government to lift vaccine mandates and other restrictions has occupied parts of downtown Ottawa since late January. It had also blocked a major U.S. border crossing until being cleared over the weekend. read more
With protesters still standing their ground outside Canada's parliament and prime minister's office, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly has stepped down, Riley Brockington, an Ottawa city councillor, said on Twitter.
Sloly will publicly announce his decision later on Tuesday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Ottawa police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Critics alleged that Sloly and other police officers were too permissive in their approach to the protests, which have inspired copycat movements across the world and posed a major challenge to Trudeau's government.
Yuh think? The cops have stood around and done nothing about the right wing protesters who are making life difficult for everyone in Ottawa. The locals have complained that the cops have literally abandoned them to the whims of the right wing fanatics in there midst. I keep mentally adding a “w” to Chief of Police Sloly’s name.
And this is not just about vaccine mandates. This is purely political. Politics has consumed this whole sorry episode from the support the right wing protesters have gotten from other business owners and locals who think this is grand to give the government the “Fuck you!” And let’s not forget the money the protesters have been getting from fascists south of their border.
And Trudeau was slow to act because he is not popular. I suppose he was lulled into a false sense of complacency that the protesters would not stay long because it is the winter. Once they froze their asses off, they would leave, or so the thinking was. However, the protesters have been getting plenty of food and even saunas from other right wing businesses who have “donated” their services to the protesters.
Given that there are people with the economic resources to help the right wing protesters, it is well past time that Trudeau use those emergency powers:
Trudeau acted after concluding that law enforcement could not cope with the protesters, especially in Ottawa.
"This illegal occupation needs to end ... the measure of success will be, can we get our supply chains back? Can we end the disruption to livelihoods of people who rely on trade to the United States?" Trudeau told reporters. read more
Protesters in Coutts, Alberta, planned to end their protest on Tuesday morning, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported, after 13 people were arrested on Monday with a cache of weapons, ammunition and bullet-proof vests.
As part of the Emergencies Act, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced measures to choke off the protest movement's funding, saying they could lose their commercial licenses, insurance and access to bank accounts.
"I suspect following the money and then turning the money off is probably a good strategy and not one that's easily done ... temporary short-term measures that wouldn't normally be acceptable can be put in place," Jack Lindsay, department chair for applied disaster and emergency studies at Brandon University in Manitoba.
All those who are helping the protesters remain happy and fed need to have financial sanctions applied to their businesses. And ARRESTS need to be made against the protesters. It’s way past time to be nice to these people who want to bring down the government.