Almost 50 arrested as police say ‘important progress made’ in clearing Ottawa protesters

Police say 47 people have been arrested and “very important progress” has been made to clear protesters from the heart of the downtown core in Ottawa on Saturday.

Interim police chief Steve Bell says for their safety officers are now wearing helmets and wielding batons after facing a “barrage of resistance” from protesters who refused to heed repeated requests to clear the area they’ve occupied for nearly four weeks.

Bell said officers had little choice but to use greater force after protesters assaulted officers a day before and once tried to trip up a police horse.

“At one point a flare was ignited by a protester,” said Bell. “Officers used a chemical irritant, also known as pepper spray, to disperse unlawful demonstrators who were resisting police orders.”

Police say they made an arrest before noon, when a protester “launched a gas canister.” Other arrests were made of protesters wearing body armour with smoke grenades and fireworks on them.

“Additional smoke grenades and fireworks were located and seized in a vehicle on Wellington,” police said.

While police have denied using tear gas on protesters at any point, they did confirm the use of an ARWEN weapon Saturday night to stop what they said was the “violent actions” of protesters who were allegedly assaulting officers. Police said they were not aware of any reported injuries.

The 47 arrests brings the total number of protesters detained since the operation began to 170. Police say they’ve towed 38 vehicles since Friday and have cleared a stretch of Wellington Street that runs in front of Parliament which protesters and trucks had jammed for weeks.

Tom Marazzo, a self-declared spokesperson for the Ottawa protest, told a news conference that truckers were prepared to leave if police would remove barriers that would allow them to refuel their rigs. He said police hadn’t responded to the request.

Speaking from an Ottawa hotel, Marazzo said truckers would “withdraw, regroup and decide the next course of action,” insisting protesters have been peaceful and accusing officers of violent conduct.

“As a movement, we’ve chosen to peacefully withdraw from the streets of Ottawa,” he said. “There is nothing to be gained by being brutalized by police, we will simply regroup as a grassroots movement.

Bell would not put a timeline on this operation would end.

“We’ve been clear from the beginning, this is an extremely large, complex operation. The progress needs to be measured, needs to be methodical, needs to be safe and lawful,” he said.

“We are in this until it is over.”

Bell once again expressed concern about the presence of children on the front line of the demonstrations.

“Sadly, we again saw young children being brought to the unlawful demonstration and to the front of our police operation,” he said. “This is dangerous and is putting young children at risk.”

The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa says in a statement it has teams on standby in case any children face imminent risk or become separated from their parents during police action, but they have not had to intervene in the demonstrations.

As police action unfolds, the society says parents should make alternate care plans in case they become unable to care for their children.

RELATED: Children at Ottawa protest face increased risk of trauma: expert

Meanwhile, an Ottawa judge says she will decide on Tuesday whether to grant bail to protester organizers Tamara Lich. The 49-year-old was charged with counselling to commit mischief in connection with the protests that have snarled Ottawa for more than three weeks.

Lich appeared in person in court Saturday, wearing a mask in the prisoner’s box, telling Justice Julie Bourgeois she just wants to return to Alberta to be with her husband and kids, and pledged a $5,000 bond, saying that was all she could afford.

She promised to leave Ottawa by vehicle and give up her advocacy of the protest, saying she would need several days to make those arrangements because she does not have the required vaccine passport enabling her to fly and because her bank accounts are now frozen.

Lich will be returned to the local Ottawa detention centre until Justice Bourgeois renders her decision.

Ontario courts are closed this Monday because of the Family Day holiday.

On Friday night, Bourgeois released another protest organizer, Chris Barber, on a $100,000 bond and conditions he leave Ontario by next Wednesday and not publicly endorse the convoy or have any contact with the other major protest organizers.

Another prominent protest organizer, Patrick King of Alberta, is expected to appear at a bail hearing early next week after he was arrested by police on Friday.

WATCH: Our Adrian Ghobrial is in Ottawa as police push in on protesters.
WARNING: Video contains graphic language

In the West Block, where the House of Commons was up and running, MPs resumed their debate on the government’s historic invocation of the Emergencies Act that had to be paused Friday because of security concerns.

“I talked earlier about my frustration with the failure of Ottawa police, but what we saw yesterday was policing at its best in this country,” NDP MP Charlie Angus told the Commons on Saturday to a light smattering of applause.

Angus called for a public inquiry, saying it was needed to determine why Ottawa police let large trucks enter the national capital and set up a blockade that included bouncy castles while members of the freedom convoy harassed local residents and forced businesses to close.

He has also called for an inquiry into foreign funding of the so-called freedom convoy.

“We cannot be made to look like a failed state to the world,” he added.

Government House Leader Mark Holland has said MPs will vote early next week on the Emergencies Act motion.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, meanwhile, said the government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act is giving police additional tools to restore order in downtown Ottawa.

“We will only use the Emergencies Act as long as it is necessary,” he told a virtual news conference.

Mendicino noted that authorities used the measure to freeze 76 bank accounts with $3.2 million attributed to the illegal blockades.

The federal government announced Saturday that $20 million will be made available to downtown Ottawa businesses to help recover from the occupation, with individual eligible businesses able to get a maximum of $10,000.

Several trucks came into the city last night to cause disruption. We made the decision to close further roads to ensure more couldn’t get in. Thanks to the quick work of officers, the vehicles left. We continue to monitor the situation and will adapt our plans when needed 1/2
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— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) February 19, 2022

Toronto police closed off a portion of downtown to vehicle traffic to prepare for possible demonstrations over the weekend.

They include around Queen’s Park and Hospital Row, Spadina East to Church Street, and Davenport South to Queen Street.

TPS said online, ensuring Hospital Row remains clear is its priority.

As in previous weeks, some protests in solidarity with the Ottawa demonstrators unfolded in other parts of the country.

In British Columbia, the Canada Border Services Agency announced the busiest Canada-U.S. border crossing used by the province’s truckers was experiencing a service disruption due to protest activity in the area.

It said the Pacific Highway port of entry remains open, but advised travelers to use an alternative route. RCMP said an arterial road near the border crossing had been closed and access to the border was blocked as a preventative measure to help ensure public safety.

In Quebec, thousands of protesters converged on the provincial legislature to take part in a rally inspired by the Freedom Convoy protest. Horns could be heard as a convoy of vans and cars circled near the legislature. Quebec’s government has already announced its phasing out use of its vaccine passport and intends to withdraw most COVID-19 health measures by March 14.

Protestors in Fredericton, N.B. also staged another anti-mandate rally, in the city with police saying the crowd reached about 100 people at the peak of the protest.

Organizer Adie Pearson of Hampton, N.B., said the demonstration was an effort to maintain momentum.

“We had a rally here last weekend and it was supposed to go non-stop but it petered-off through the week, so we decided to rally some more people up here today,” she said. “We are all here with the common goal of standing up for our human rights. We are all here to end mandates.”

Pearson told the crowd she is planning to head to Ottawa next week and encouraged others to do the same.