Toronto sees police presence, road closures after trucks in support of Ottawa protest turned away

For the third Saturday in a row, Toronto police implemented extensive road closures around the city’s downtown area ahead of potential protests.

Using garbage trucks and transit buses, the goal, they say, is to protect infrastructure, keep access to hospital row clear and prevent a convoy of trucks similar to those in Ottawa from setting up.

“We had some trucks who came to the area in support of what’s going on in Ottawa, so we did move those trucks along,” Supt. Lauren Pogue said in an interview with CTV News Toronto Saturday afternoon.

Pogue said five or six trucks arrived in the Bedford Road and Bloor Street West area Friday night. From there, police made the determination to put in the closures, stretching from Davenport Road to the north, Queen Street to the south, Church Avenue in the east, Spadina Road in the west.