Canadian police begin arresting protesters

Working slowly and methodically, police handcuffed protesters through Ottawa’s newly snow-covered streets.

Truck operators – dressed in green ski masks, with company labels covered – arrived under police escort and began working to remove large platforms, tents and other vehicles parked next to each other.

While some protesters surrendered, many of them remained challenging during the police action.

“Freedom was never free. “What if they handcuff us and put us in jail,” said truck driver Kevin Homaund, from Montreal.

Police made the first movement to end the blockade late Thursday with the arrest of two main protest leaders.

They also closed most of the downtown area to foreigners to prevent them from coming to the aid of protesters calling themselves the ‘Freedom Convoy’.

The capital represented the movement’s last bastion after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that closed border crossings with the US, caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

They also shattered Canada’s reputation for civilization.

In recent weeks, authorities have been reluctant to move against many of the protesters across the country, in part for fear of violence. The demonstrations have attracted right-wing extremists and veterans, some of them armed.

Demonstrations across the country by protesters in trucks, tractors and motor homes initially focused on Canada’s request for vaccination for truckers entering the country, but quickly turned into a widespread attack on precautions for Covid 19 and the Trudeau government.

The biggest border blockade, at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, disrupted the flow of vehicle parts between the two countries and forced industry to limit production. Authorities lifted the blockade last weekend after arresting dozens of protesters.

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