Urgent A declaration of emergency in the Canadian capital.. and the situation is "out of control"

The mayor of Ottawa declared a state of emergency on Sunday in the Canadian capital, paralyzed for more than a week, due to demonstrations by opponents of health restrictions, believing that the situation has become “out of control”.

Protests that began in Ottawa on Saturday spread to other major Canadian cities over the weekend, as dozens of trucks and protesters continued to paralyze the center of the capital on Sunday.

As a result, Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency in Ottawa in the afternoon “due to the ongoing demonstration”.

The municipality said in a statement that the decision "reflects the grave danger and threat to the safety and security of residents following the ongoing protests, and underlines the need for the support of judicial authorities and other government bodies." .

She added that the measure also "provides greater flexibility within the city administration to allow the City of Ottawa to continue to work on providing basic services" to residents.

Watson said earlier Sunday that "the situation is completely out of control (in Ottawa). We are losing the battle... We have to take our city back."

The mayor also described the protesters' behavior as "unacceptable" by blocking roads in the city center and constantly sounding the horns of their trucks.

In turn, the Ottawa police, criticized for their inability to prevent the paralysis of the center of the capital, announced a ban on supplying protesters with fuel.

And the police warned in a tweet on Twitter that "anyone who tries to provide material support (like fuel) to the protesters risks being arrested. This measure is now in force".

The movement, which was called the "Freedom Caravan", was originally intended to protest against the decision to force since mid-January truckers to be vaccinated against Covid to cross the border between Canada and the United States. 

United States, but it quickly turned into a movement against health restrictions as a whole and against the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Protesters say they will continue their protest until health restrictions are lifted.

Similar demonstrations, but on a smaller scale, took place on Saturday in several major Canadian cities, including Toronto, Quebec and Winnipeg, and continued on Sunday in Quebec in particular.

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