Ottawa

Police officers descended on anti-government protesters in Ottawa on Friday, arresting 70 people and towing vehicles in a push to end a three-week occupation that has reverberated across Canada and around the world.

Steve Bell, Ottawa's interim police chief says officers will clear the streets of people who oppose the government and COVID-19 restrictions in the next few days, warning they are ready to use methods people are not used to seeing in the capital.

The winners of a Toronto business and finance ethics competition will have to think faster about conflict-of-interest dilemmas and other challenges when they move on to a national version in May.

Alongside signs promoting freedom and unity, protesters in Ottawa have displayed swastikas, Confederate flags and other white nationalist imagery. A hate crime expert says convoy organizers may be tokenizing BIPOC protesters to build support.

Political patience with the protesters has run thin as calls grow for vehicles choking the flow of goods at border crossings to leave, including at Coutts, Alta., Emerson, Man., and the busy Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge.

The police also warn that protesters' vehicles and other property may be seized and possibly forfeited and that charges or convictions related to unlawful activity may lead to them being barred from travelling to the United States.

With policing costs chewing up nearly 10 per cent of the city’s overall budget, Ottawa residents have a right to ask what they’re getting for their money — and why police funding keeps going up, writes columnist Max Fawcett.

With the right message and the right leadership, the occupation of Ottawa can end, writes columnist Max Fawcett. And when it’s over, we need to take full stock of who was really behind it — and what they wanted to achieve.

OTTAWA — Ontario Superior Court Justice Hugh McLean has granted a 10-day injunction to prevent truckers parked on city streets in downtown Ottawa from honking their horns incessantly.

Bergen's Tory colleagues greeted her with a standing ovation in the House of Commons Thursday as she made her debut as interim leader during question period, where she took aim at the Trudeau government for refusing to extend an “olive branch” to the demonstrators.

Still, Chief Peter Sloly warned there "may not be a policing solution" to the demonstration.

But Ottawa remains at a standstill, as trucks and big rigs remain along major roads in the downtown core. Many businesses have remained closed since Friday over safety concerns. 

The ire of Ottawa residents about traffic gridlock, the incessant blare of truck horns, harassment of service workers and fouling of property has sparked questions concerning the role of police in ensuring public order.