Police crackdown on vaccine mandate protesters in Canada

The police at the weekend commenced crackdown on vaccine mandate protesters, essentially, truck drivers, in Canada. The police applied force, arresting protesters, and towing vehicles to clear the space for other users. The operations which started on Saturday, after the U.S. had counseled the Canadian government to use the authorities of state to clear the protesters from the public space, resumed on Sunday. They devoted energy on clearing a key US border bridge the truckers who are leading the protesters against Covid-19 restrictions have occupied. The police embarked on mass arrest of protesters to tame the protest that has also crippled downtown Ottawa.

The Mayor of Ontario had declared state of emergency in the city in the fear that the protest was getting out of control.

Police in the city of Windsor, Ontario, had in a tweet declared that “Enforcement actions continue” at the Ambassador Bridge, and that authorities have started towing vehicles.

The police maintained that “there will be zero tolerance for illegal activity.”

Police in their operation on Saturday, concentrated efforts to clear the major border crossing to the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. They cleared one major intersection, however, several protesters remained adamant, sustaining the protest, and obstructing the flow of traffic.

The police were observed in the early hours of Sunday placing a protester at the bridge in handcuffs and leading him away.

The protests in Canada has initiated similar protests in other European countries which include France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia, while truck drivers in the US are considering mass a protest for March.

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, had threatened that “this conflict must end.” He has, however, been under pressure to scrap covid restrictions as is done in some European countries like Denmark, Switzerland, and others.