Canada's Parliament must decide to what extent to apply the Emergency Law
So far, the government's only success has been the lifting of the bridge blockade.
By the evening of Tuesday, February 15, a detailed proposal for specific measures planned by the government had not yet been presented to Parliament. Both Houses of Parliament are required to set up a special committee, discuss the government proposal and vote within a week. But they are not in session every day, so Conservative MPs have raised concerns that discussions could drag on until March for technical reasons.
The most important issues that need to be addressed:
-
whether the government can order private companies to evacuate trucks;
-
Whether the government can require a full report from crowdfunding organizations;
-
how much to use the army when the police can't cope.
After dispersing the demonstrators who blocked the Ambassador Bridge, 43 people are officially charged with violating the injunction and causing more than $5,000 CAD in damages. Police are now blocking roads near the bridge to prevent the situation from happening again. It is forbidden to turn off the main road, to park, and only emergency vehicles can pass on some streets. The owners of stores and cafes in the area complain about the lack of customers.
Trucks are still blocking downtown Ottawa. The head of the city's police force has resigned. The executives of private companies that own tow trucks claim that their business will be ruined after participating in the forced evacuation. The Canadian military has 11 armoured evacuation vehicles, but so far they are not even going to move them into the protest area, as there have been no orders to do so.
