Armed with new powers, police are working 'day and night' to end Ottawa occupation, minister says

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino sought to assure Ottawa residents Tuesday that the chaos in their city will soon end as local law enforcement, bolstered by the RCMP, works around the clock to restore order.

Empowered by the federal government's move to invoke the Emergencies Act, police will soon establish "no-go" zones in the city's downtown core to control unruly crowds associated with the anti-vaccine mandate convoy protest, the minister said. People who defy orders to leave, he added, will face fines or jail time, or both.

Mendicino said authorities will move with "great rapidity" to erect more concrete barriers and press private tow truck companies into removing the big rigs that have clogged Ottawa's streets.

To starve protesters of the money that supports their activities, banks and financial institutions will stop the flow of funds to all convoy organizers, he said. The government is also threatening to suspend corporate bank accounts and commercial licensing for truckers taking part in the convoy.

Mendicino said local police, with support from the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP, will rein in the lawlessness that has been on display on Wellington Street, the main thoroughfare that runs in front of the Parliament Buildings and the Prime Minister's Office.

The Emergencies Act is essentially deputizing RCMP officers to act as local law enforcement in the city. The federal police force typically does not carry out many policing functions in the province of Ontario. The RCMP will be charged with enforcing municipal bylaws and provincial statutes.

"No one wants to see another weekend like the last three on Wellington Street. I'm assured by my discussions with police that they fully appreciate that. We now depend on them to do the job," Mendicino said.

He said he has told RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki that the current situation is untenable and that peace must be restored to the nation's capital.

"I believe that the RCMP understand it and I know that they're working day and night to ensure there is an operation that will be put into effect to restore public order," he said.

Mendicino conceded that the occupation will be difficult to clear because, after three weeks, it's well entrenched.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done," he said.

Mendicino said that while he hopes the Ottawa blockade can be brought to a peaceful end, the discovery of a trove of firearms at a similar anti-mandate blockade in Coutts, Alta. means law enforcement has to be prepared for all eventualities.

"For those that are seeking confrontation and or violence, we rely on our law enforcement to use their best judgment on how to resolve that conflict," he said.

Peter Sloly resigned suddenly today as chief of the Ottawa Police Service after being roundly criticized for his handling of the convoy protest. Mendicino said the RCMP and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will now take a more hands-on role with Sloly out of the job.