Protests in Canada over Covid-19 rules enter second week; Ottawa declares emergency

Ottawa, February 7: With claims of hate-related incidents under investigation and arrests made amid reports of rocks and eggs thrown, Canada on Monday (local time) entered the second week of protests over Covid-19 regulations, primarily driven by truckers. The mayor of Canadian capital Ottawa has declared a state of emergency following a week of protests against Covid-19 regulations by truckers. The mayor has said the city is “completely out of control”, with demonstrators outnumbering police. Also read | Elections 2022: ECI grants further relaxation for physical public meetings The agitation, “Freedom Convoy”, started as a protest against a government order calling for truckers crossing the US-Canada border to get vaccinated against Covid19, but has since grown to oppose other Covid-related restrictions. The protest was started by a group of truckers who drove into the heart of Ottawa on January 29 to protest new coronavirus vaccine and testing rules that required truckers entering Canada to either be fully vaccinated or face testing and quarantine requirements.

It spread to other major cities across the nation. Moreover, more than 60 criminal investigations are underway in Ottawa that involves hate crimes, property damage, thefts and mischief, the local police said. At least seven arrests were made Sunday and at least 450 citations issued since Saturday morning, the Ottawa Police Service said. The police have responded to more than 650 calls for service in relation to the demonstrations since they began. The city's hate-motivated crime hotline -- established after reports of anti-Semitic, racist and homophobic acts at Covid-19 protests -- has also got more than 200 calls, according to the police. "We already have a number of hate-related incidents that we're investigating," Ottawa Police chief Peter Sloly said last week. "We encourage anyone who's been the victim of a hate crime or think they may have been the victim of a hate crime or exposed to hate incidents to contact us." Also read | Work from home ends; schools also reopen for Classes 9 to 12 in Delhi In Vancouver, several hundred vehicles travelled through the city en route to the demonstration there, the Vancouver Police said. Five persons were arrested Saturday amid reports of "rocks and eggs being thrown, cars being kicked, and nails being strewn on roadways," the police said. Among them was a 29-year-old US citizen from Washington state who was arrested after officials saw him wearing a balaclava and pulling a wagon full of egg cartons, the police said.  The man had a knife in a sheath tied to his belt, and two eggs in his jacket pocket, they said. In Winnipeg, a demonstration Friday night turned dangerous when a man drove into a crowd, hitting four persons, according to the Winnipeg Police Department. Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with about four in every five  Canadians fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. -PTC News