Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency on Sunday due to the ongoing Freedom Convoy demonstration.
The 43-mile long Freedom Convoy started in Vancouver more than a week ago and reached Ottawa last Friday night.
Advertisement – story continues below
WATCH:
Anti-vax protesters and truckers last Friday night descended on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The peaceful protests continued all week and now Mayor Watson is doing everything he can to shut down the Freedom Convoy.
Advertisement – story continues below
“Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government,” Watson said in a statement.
“It also provides greater flexibility within the municipal administration to enable the City of Ottawa to manage business continuity for essential services for its residents and enables a more flexible procurement process, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.” he added.
Today, February 6, Mayor Jim Watson has declared a state of emergency for the City of Ottawa due to the ongoing demonstrations.
For more information, visit: https://t.co/1ga2tHegDd pic.twitter.com/UO3hdSnQeq— City of Ottawa (@ottawacity) February 6, 2022
Reuters reported:
Advertisement – story continues below
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson on Sunday declared a state of emergency to help deal with an unprecedented 10-day occupation by protesting truckers that has shut down much of the core of the Canadian capital.
Watson, who complained earlier in the day that the demonstrators outnumbered police and controlled the situation, did not give details of what measures he might impose.
The “Freedom Convoy” began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Source material can be found at this site.