The Emergencies Act helped disperse and charge some individuals who participated in the protest against Ontario’s COVID-19 mandates, and bail hearings for key organizers are already underway
UPDATE: Prime Minister Trudeau has announced that the the federal government will be revoking the Emergencies Act.
Following the declaration of a state of emergency in Ontario due to the ‘Freedom Convoy’ trucker protest in Ottawa, progress has been made in removing blockades and protestors, reopening businesses, and holding notable organizers accountable for inciting mischief and obstruction.
Under the Emergencies Act, the government utilized rights to deem tow trucks an essential service, freeze the bank accounts of those participating in the protest, and designate no-go zones. These measures have successfully dispersed many of the blockades so far, but police are “very cautious” not to declare victory yet.
Armed police officers and firefighters were also given jurisdiction to seize fuel from those protesting with the trucker convoy, according to CTV News. In one instance alone, 3,200 litres of fuel were taken into custody from the Ottawa Baseball Stadium on Feb. 6. As of Feb. 21, 196 arrests have been made and 115 vehicles were towed in conjunction with the protest.
Although the Emergencies Act is still active, the “vast majority” of affected bank accounts are in the process of being unfrozen since the Ottawa blockades have been cleared. Between 206 to 210 accounts involving $7.8 million were affected, according to Department of Finance officials.
Notably though, the bank account of Tamara Lich, one of the key organizers of the ‘Freedom Convoy,’ remains frozen.
Lich was arrested and charged with counselling to commit mischief on Feb. 17. During her bail hearing on the following Saturday, she promised to leave Ottawa and forfeit her advocacy of the protest but would need several days to do so since her bank accounts were frozen and she did not have a vaccine passport to fly.
Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois denied Lich’s request for bail because “she felt Lich was obstinate and disingenuous in her responses to the court” and “[she] cannot be reassured that if [she releases Lich] into the community that [Lich] will not reoffend.”
Lich was also ordered to have no contact with fellow protest organizer Patrick King who was arrested with the charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order, and counselling to obstruct police.
According to The Canadian Press, King “has been known to promote racist conspiracy theories online” and even made several derogatory comments about different races on video. Bail conditions and the results of his hearing have yet to be released.
As of Feb. 22, cleanup of the city is underway, and restricted areas have been reduced to the Parliamentary district with much of the fencing and police presence still in place.
Please visit www.theontarion.com/submit to find out how you can share your work with The Ontarion.