Police say that they're closing Queen’s Park Circle in response to numerous social media posts concerning a possible demonstration involving “numerous autos.”
The precaution comes after one of many organizers of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ in Ottawa posted a video to Tik Tok on Tuesday evening, during which he claimed that some individuals could be travelling to Toronto to proceed their demonstration.
There has thus far been no indication of truckers concerned within the Ottawa protest truly leaving the nation’s capital and plenty of concerned have beforehand indicated that they plan to remain within the space round Parliament for a protracted interval.
“What we're doing proper now is definitely making ready ourselves and basically getting a footprint so we've got officers in place,” Insp. Michael Williams instructed reporters on Wednesday afternoon. “We have seen demonstrations proper throughout the province, significantly in Ottawa and Windsor, and I actually don’t suppose based mostly on what we've got seen that we will take this frivolously.”
A whole lot of enormous autos have been illegally parked on downtown Ottawa streets for almost two weeks now as a part of an illustration towards vaccine mandates and different public well being measures to restrict the unfold of COVID-19.
An identical protest has additionally partially blocked visitors alongside the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor in latest days, leading to important delays.
Talking with reporters on Wednesday afternoon, Williams stated that the choice to shut Queen’s Park Circle for the second time this week is being made “out of an abundance of warning” relatively than any particular threats.
However he emphasised that the police response is “scalable” and that extra street closures may be carried out ought to they be required.
Final week police closed numerous downtown arteries forward of a convoy protest, together with a portion of College Avenue.
“We’re not searching for any sort of confrontation. However we actually do have plans in place if there may be criminality,” Williams stated.
TORY RELEASES STATEMENT
Solidarity protests involving giant autos have been happening throughout Canada over the past week, prompting issues about occupations of public arteries just like the one in Ottawa.
In an announcement launched on Wednesday afternoon, Mayor John Tory stated that whereas “peaceable, respectful protests are an necessary a part of the Canadian lifestyle we can not settle for a state of affairs which sees one group's rights exercised in a approach that rolls over the rights of others.”
To that finish, Tory stated that he helps police doing the whole lot they will to “keep away from the conditions we've got seen in different cities.”
“Stability is a necessity and can hopefully information us to the suitable place in these difficult issues,” he stated.
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