OTTAWA's police chief resigned hours after the Canadian government invoked special emergency powers to crack down on anti-vaccine mandate protests that have brought the capital to a standstill and wreaked havoc at border crossings, reports La Prensa Latina of Memphis, Tennessee.
'It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing I have stepped down as chief of the ottawa Police Service,' Peter Sloly said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
'Since the onset of the demonstrations, I have done everything possible to keep this city safe and put an end to this unprecedented and unforeseeable crisis. I am confident that the Ottawa Police Service is now better positioned to end this occupation,' he said.
Mr Sloly has been facing criticism over the Ottawa police service's inability to control the protesters who arrived in the capital on January 29 in the 'Freedom Convoy' and occupied the centre of the city.
Since then, some 400 trucks and hundreds of people have gathered around the parliament building, in theory one of the most heavily guarded areas in the country, blocking access to it.
The occupation of downtown Ottawa led to actions of solidarity across the country, including a blockade of several border crossings with the United States and the attempted occupation of downtown Toronto and Quebec City, resulting in economic losses.
The chaos unleashed by the truckers' protests, which are being exploited by radical far-right groups, forced
In response Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act (formerly known as the War Measures Act). This gives the government special emergency powers to ban protesters from areas of Ottawa. Violation of the ban will be punishable by imprisonment.
The authorities will also put up concrete barriers to prevent the arrival of more vehicles in the occupied zone.
Meanwhile, banks and other financial institutions will stop providing funds to the organizers of the protest and may block the accounts of truckers participating in the 'illegal' occupation of downtown Ottawa.
Police cleared the blockade that truckers had maintained for a week on Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor in Canada with Detroit in the US.
Windsor police said they have arrested 46 people in connection with the blockade of the bridge, a major border crossing between Canada and the US through which US$400 million worth of goods pass each day.
Despite the clearing of the border crossing, Windsor has declared a state of emergency and has heavy police deployment around the Ambassador Bridge to ensure it is not blocked again by protesters.
Truckers who had occupied the border crossing at Coutts in western Canada for more than two weeks abandoned their protest hours after police arrested 13 people for possession of weapons.
Videos posted on social media by supporters of the protests, involving anti-vaccine mandate truckers and those opposed to Covid-19 restrictions, show the protesters hugging Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials after leaving the blockade.
SeaNews Turkey
'It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing I have stepped down as chief of the ottawa Police Service,' Peter Sloly said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
'Since the onset of the demonstrations, I have done everything possible to keep this city safe and put an end to this unprecedented and unforeseeable crisis. I am confident that the Ottawa Police Service is now better positioned to end this occupation,' he said.
Mr Sloly has been facing criticism over the Ottawa police service's inability to control the protesters who arrived in the capital on January 29 in the 'Freedom Convoy' and occupied the centre of the city.
Since then, some 400 trucks and hundreds of people have gathered around the parliament building, in theory one of the most heavily guarded areas in the country, blocking access to it.
The occupation of downtown Ottawa led to actions of solidarity across the country, including a blockade of several border crossings with the United States and the attempted occupation of downtown Toronto and Quebec City, resulting in economic losses.
The chaos unleashed by the truckers' protests, which are being exploited by radical far-right groups, forced
In response Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act (formerly known as the War Measures Act). This gives the government special emergency powers to ban protesters from areas of Ottawa. Violation of the ban will be punishable by imprisonment.
The authorities will also put up concrete barriers to prevent the arrival of more vehicles in the occupied zone.
Meanwhile, banks and other financial institutions will stop providing funds to the organizers of the protest and may block the accounts of truckers participating in the 'illegal' occupation of downtown Ottawa.
Police cleared the blockade that truckers had maintained for a week on Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor in Canada with Detroit in the US.
Windsor police said they have arrested 46 people in connection with the blockade of the bridge, a major border crossing between Canada and the US through which US$400 million worth of goods pass each day.
Despite the clearing of the border crossing, Windsor has declared a state of emergency and has heavy police deployment around the Ambassador Bridge to ensure it is not blocked again by protesters.
Truckers who had occupied the border crossing at Coutts in western Canada for more than two weeks abandoned their protest hours after police arrested 13 people for possession of weapons.
Videos posted on social media by supporters of the protests, involving anti-vaccine mandate truckers and those opposed to Covid-19 restrictions, show the protesters hugging Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials after leaving the blockade.
SeaNews Turkey
