Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked rarely used emergency powers Monday to confront protests led by truckers that have clogged streets in the capital, Ottawa, as well as several key border crossings with the United States.
Trudeau said the Emergencies Act would give authorities more power to arrest protesters and seize their trucks.
He said at a news conference, “We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue.”
A woman faces off with police during a protest over pandemic health rules outside the parliament of Canada in Ottawa on February 11, 2022. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government would also use anti-money-laundering regulations to target crowd-funding sites that have helped finance the blockades.
Protesters in trucks and other vehicles have gathered in Ottawa for two weeks, expressing objection to vaccine mandates for truckers and other coronavirus measures.
One U.S.-Canadian border crossing was cleared Sunday after nearly a week, with police arresting dozens of people.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.