{"id":406773,"date":"2022-02-16T20:33:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T17:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-tumult-in-ottawa-rages-on\/"},"modified":"2022-02-16T20:33:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T17:33:14","slug":"the-tumult-in-ottawa-rages-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-tumult-in-ottawa-rages-on\/","title":{"rendered":"#The tumult in Ottawa rages on"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#The tumult in Ottawa rages on<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Politics Insider for Feb. 16: Ottawa’s police chief steps down; the Coutts blockade disperses; Doug Ford holds a no-holds-barred press conference\n <\/div>\n
\n Welcome to a sneak peek of the\u00a0<\/em>Maclean\u2019s\u00a0Politics Insider\u00a0news<\/a>letter.\u00a0Sign up\u00a0to get it delivered\u00a0straight to your inbox in the morning.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ottawa Police Chief <\/b>Peter Sloly<\/b> has resigned<\/span><\/a> after a highly tumultuous few weeks in his city. Sloly\u2019s handling of the \u201cFreedom Convoy,\u201d which has been allowed to occupy the city\u2019s downtown core <\/span>sans<\/span><\/i> tickets, tows or more aggressive forms of enforcement, has resulted in withering critiques from politicians and citizens alike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince the onset of this demonstration, I have done everything possible to keep this city safe and put an end to this unprecedented and foreseeable crisis,\u201d wrote Sloly in a statement posted to <\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a> on Monday. \u201cI am confident the Ottawa Police Service is now better positioned to end this occupation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

News of Sloly\u2019s resignation came on the heels of <\/span>Justin Trudeau\u2019s invocation of the Emergencies Act<\/b>, which will give the government unprecedented power to disperse the protestors. <\/span>Maclean\u2019s<\/span><\/i> published a handy Q&A<\/span> between Ottawa Bureau Chief Shannon Proudfoot and expert Nomi Claire Lazar unpacking what the government will actually do with power. Lazar had this to say:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to use the prohibition of public assembly, they\u2019re going to use the power\u00a0<\/span>to limit travel<\/a> to and from a specified area, they might be designating protected\u00a0<\/span>places\u2014so for example the border crossing. They also are empowering the RCMP to\u00a0<\/span>enforce bylaws, so instead of having to deputize the RCMP as sort of honourary Ottawa\u00a0<\/span>police officers, for example, they can just go ahead and enforce things right on the\u00a0<\/span>ground.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Freeze:<\/strong>\u00a0The <\/span>Globe <\/span><\/i>also reported that the act<\/span><\/a> will allow <\/span>Canadian banks to stem the flow of funds to protestors<\/b> by freezing the accounts of those who attempt to send them money:<\/span><\/p>\n

Banks will temporarily be allowed to freeze personal and business accounts\u00a0<\/span>suspected of being used to further the blockades without obtaining a court order, and\u00a0<\/span>without fear of being sued for doing so, [Chrystia] Freeland said at a news\u00a0<\/span>conference. The measures will also allow police, government agencies and banks to\u00a0<\/span>share \u2018relevant information.\u2019 That includes a requirement that banks report financial\u00a0<\/span>relationships with customers involved in the illegal blockades to the RCMP or the\u00a0<\/span>Canadian Security Intelligence Service.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Shut it down:<\/strong> As Ottawa remains occupied, another trucker protest has dispersed, app<\/a>arently of its own volition. The international blockade in Coutts, Alta., which has caused significant grief for both sides of the border, <\/span>dismantled itself voluntarily on Tuesday<\/b><\/a>, according to the RCMP. The Mounties decided to disperse the blockade after they discovered a number of firearms during an early morning raid on Monday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s else is behind the swift exit? Attempts to control the narrative, writes Maclean\u2019s<\/em> Jason Markusoff.<\/p>\n

The Coutts gang\u2019s problem, it appears, was that their small corps included a decent contingent that was armed to the teeth, and that threatened to overshadow all other narratives with a dark one. And hours after of the blockade ended, with group photos and a\u00a0handshake-and-hugs receiving line<\/a>\u00a0with police officers<\/a>\u2014oh, the narratives police have woven these last few weeks\u2014it emerged that three of those arrested were charged with\u00a0conspiracy to murder<\/a>, reinforcing the grimmest of assumptions that some protesters had intentions that had nothing to do with a vaccine mandate for truckers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Foreign interference<\/strong>:\u00a0The Canadian Press<\/span><\/i>\u2019s James McCarten wrote a <\/span>thought-provoking piece<\/span><\/a> that <\/span>draws an interesting connection<\/b> between the protests plaguing Canada and the looming conflict between Ukraine and Russia. McCarten spoke with political science<\/a> expert Bessma Momani, who said she sees Russia\u2019s foreign interference techniques layered into the social media<\/a> firestorm surrounding the protests:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Russian strategy has always been about divide, right? Sow dissent from within,\u201d Momani said in an interview Monday.\u00a0<\/span>The goal, she said, is to feed and foster the narrative \u2013 already well on its way in the\u00a0<\/span>U.S., but less so in Canada \u2013 that western-style democracies are prone to instability,\u00a0<\/span>insecurity and social upheaval.\u00a0<\/span>They picked up on this idea of culture wars and identity politics being yet another\u00a0<\/span>demonstration that democracy doesn\u2019t work. And so it really is part of their strategy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Welcome to Canada<\/strong>: <\/span>The government of Canada will\u00a0<\/span>significantly ease restrictions<\/b><\/a> for international travellers. Namely, foreign travellers entering Canada will no longer need to take a PCR test upon arriving, nor will they need to quarantine while awaiting the results of random PCR tests administered upon their landing in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The announcement came just a day after Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his province would be easing many of its current COVID restrictions, including the vaccine passport system<\/strong> and capacity limits for restaurants, cinemas, and the like. He held a <\/span>no-holds-barred press conference Tuesday<\/span><\/a> where his personal frustration with COVID-19 shone through:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s done with this. Like we are done with it. Let\u2019s start moving on, and cautiously, and, you know, we\u2019ve followed the rules \u2014 all of us, like 90 per cent of us \u2014 for over two years. The world\u2019s done with it, so let\u2019s just move forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Don\u2019t get your hopes up<\/strong>:\u00a0In the <\/span>Globe<\/span><\/i><\/a>, health columnist Andre Picard wonders if we really are <\/span>done with restrictions for good<\/b>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the coming days and weeks, the COVID-19 rules will change markedly, an almost \u201creturn to normal\u201d in most jurisdictions. There is a period of tranquillity ahead, especially with spring coming. There is a seasonality to the spread of coronavirus.\u00a0<\/span>But, going forward, the real challenge is: What happens when infections shoot up again, or when hospital beds, and more importantly intensive-care beds, start filling up with pandemic patients again?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And some sobering news out of Saskatchewan: the leaders of <\/span>Keeseekoose First Nation<\/b> said they <\/span>found 54 unmarked graves<\/span><\/a> at a former residential school site. As of late January, more than 1,800 confirmed or suspected unmarked graves have been identified at former residential school sites across the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 KC Hoard<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n