Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency on Sunday in response to the anti–vaccine mandate protest roiling Canada's capital, saying this declaration "reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government."
Watson told CBC News that the state of emergency "gives our staff and our city a few extra tools to speed things up like procurement. We're in the midst of a serious emergency, the most serious emergency our city has ever faced, and we need to cut the red tape to get these supplies available to our police officers and to our public works staff."
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Diane Deans, a city councilor and chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board, said on Saturday that "this group is emboldened by the lack of enforcement by every level of government." Ottawa police later announced that anyone bringing "material aid" to demonstrators, like fuel, could be arrested.
In addition to being against the vaccine mandate for drivers, many of the demonstrators are also protesting public health measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. CBC News reports that the protesters still in Ottawa say they won't leave until all COVID-19 restrictions are lifted; most of the policies were introduced by provinces.
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