Tag: trucker protest

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USA

Truck convoy surrounds DC

The truckers started hitting the Capital Beltway on Sunday and took a break on Wednesday due to rain….reports Asian Lite News

A convoy of truckers circled the Capital Beltway, a key interstate highway that surrounds Washington, D.C., for a fourth consecutive day since their demonstration against Covid-19 restrictions began earlier this week.

On Thursday, Senator Ted Cruz visited the convoy camping outside a speedway in Hagerstown, a Maryland city approximately 110 km northwest of the capital, before riding in one of the trucks, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Texas Republican also held a press conference in Washington, D.C., alongside Brian Brase, an organiser of the so-called “People’s Convoy”, after the ride.

Cruz’s appearance came a day after he and Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, met the convoy participants on Capitol Hill.

The convoy, a spinoff from protests in Canada staged by truckers upset with vaccine requirements earlier this year, is calling for an end to the national emergency concerning the Covid-19 pandemic in the US that led to what they called “overreaching mandates”.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on Thursday that it will “extend the security directive for mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs for one month, through April 18”, as states and cities were easing Covid-19 restrictions.

The TSA said in a statement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “will work with government agencies to help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor”.

“This revised framework will be based on the Covid-19 community levels, risk of new variants, national data, and the latest science. We will communicate any updates publicly if and/or when they change,” it added.

The truckers started hitting the Capital Beltway on Sunday and took a break on Wednesday due to rain.

Capitol Police said previously they did not expect the convoy to cause security problems in the Washington metropolitan area.

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-Top News Canada China

China accuses Trudeau govt of ‘double standards’

The Chinese diplomatic mission noted that Canadian police used violent means to disperse the peaceful protesters that set up base in Ottawa’s downtown core….reports Asian Lite News

Accusing the Justin Trudeau government of “double standards” China has slammed Ottawa for the way the Freedom Convoy in Canada was portrayed in comparison with the protests in Hong Kong.

This comes as the trucker protests in Ottawa were quelled using emergency powers what the government termed an “occupation” and “blockade” of the nation’s capital that presented a “threat to democracy.”

According to China’s Embassy in Canada, this characterization stood in stark contrast to Ottawa’s support for the unruly protests that swept Hong Kong in March of 2019 and ended several months later.

“In the eyes of some people in Canada, similar protests and demonstrations should be referred to differently in different places. In Hong Kong, they are ‘human rights movement,’ but in Canada they are ‘a threat to democracy.’ Such stark double standard is unacceptable,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a regular press conference on Tuesday.

The Chinese diplomatic mission noted that Canadian police used violent means to disperse the peaceful protesters that set up base in Ottawa’s downtown core.

Since late January, Canadian truck drivers have been rallying against the government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, as the truckers were requested to be fully vaccinated for crossing the border into the United States.

With 191 people arrested and 79 vehicles towed, the police have reclaimed Ottawa’s downtown from its occupiers 24 days after the trucker convoy rolled into the Canadian capital’s core.

After being joined by thousands of pedestrian protesters, the rally then turned into demonstrations against the government’s overall restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We promised we would return our city to a state of normalcy, with every hour we are getting closer to that goal,” interim chief of Ottawa Police Steve Bell said on Sunday afternoon in a press conference.

The streets around Parliament Hill are currently on lockdown, with only two police checkpoints for entry.

Trudeau reiterated on Sunday that the government will support businesses in downtown Ottawa impacted by the blockades and occupation.

The government on Saturday announced up to C$20 million ($15 million) in investment to support downtown Ottawa businesses impacted by demonstrations.

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Categories
-Top News Canada

Canadian govt outlines steps to end truckers protests

Police will soon establish “no-go” zones in the city’s downtown core, the minister said, and people who defy orders to leave will face fines or jail time, or both….reports Asian Lite News

One day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a public order emergency, the government has outlined further steps to end the truckers protests and blockades.

According to a press release issued by Public Safety Canada on Tuesday, anyone participating in the blockades is urged to return to their communities peacefully and immediately.

“These blockades must be brought to an end, and the federal government will continue working on every option to end them,” the release said.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday in a press conference that they would like to see the 19-day occupation end this week, assuring Ottawa residents that the chaos in their city will soon end.

“No one wants to see another weekend like the last three. And I’m assured by my discussions with the police that they fully appreciate that, and we now depend on them to do the job,” Mendicino said.

Police will soon establish “no-go” zones in the city’s downtown core, the minister said, and people who defy orders to leave will face fines or jail time, or both.

Mendicino said authorities will erect more concrete barriers and press private tow truck companies into removing the big trucks that have clogged Ottawa’s streets.

Ottawa’s police chief, Peter Sloly, unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday. Ottawa Police Services Board Chair Diane Beans confirmed in a press conference that Sloly and Ottawa Police Service had reached a “mutually agreeable separation” and Sloly is no longer employed there.

Canada truck protests

Going forward, Ottawa Police Service’s priority remains finding a peaceful end to the occupation of the city, Beans said. The board has named Deputy Chief Steve Bell temporary head of the force until a permanent replacement is found.

Canada’s banks were also waiting for further instructions on how they’re supposed to enforce the government’s orders, local media reported.

Sue-Ling Yip, a partner with global audit and consultancy firm KPMG in Canada’s Risk Consulting practice, was quoted as saying that communication between the government and the banks will be key in implementing the order correctly and the government may also need to allow the banks time to make the appropriate operational changes.

“It doesn’t happen overnight,” she said, “We have to be mindful that it’s not something that banks can snap their fingers and make it happen. There’s a lot of work involved.”

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday that banks would be required to report relationships with people involved in blockades and would be given the authority to freeze accounts without a court order.

Crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers must report large and suspicious transactions to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, the national financial intelligence agency, added Freeland.

Thousands of Canadian truckers and their supporters have gathered in Ottawa since late January to oppose the Canadian government’s vaccine requirement for truckers crossing the border into the US.

The protesters have blocked Ottawa’s downtown core and impeded border crossings between Canada and the US.

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Categories
-Top News Canada

Trudeau invokes emergency powers to crush protests

Canada truck protests

The act will be used to protect critical infrastructure such as borders and airports from the blockades and the government will enable the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to enforce municipal bylaws…reports Asian Lite News

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday declared a public order emergency to support provinces in ending the ongoing blockades caused by truck convoy protests.

Trudeau said in a press conference that he invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canada’s history to give the federal government extra and “temporary” powers to handle the issue, adding the move targets to those areas in need, not the whole country, Xinhua news agency reported.

The act will be used to protect critical infrastructure such as borders and airports from the blockades and the government will enable the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to enforce municipal bylaws, Trudeau said, dismissing the involvement of military force.

The measures also include giving banks the power to suspend or freeze accounts of blockade supporters without a court order, and force crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrencies to follow anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said at the same event that companies with trucks involved in the illegal blockades will have their corporate bank accounts frozen, and their insurance suspended.

The Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in the 1980s, provides special powers to respond to emergency scenarios affecting public welfare (natural disasters, disease outbreaks), public order (civil unrest), and international emergencies or war emergencies.

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Categories
-Top News Canada

Canada ramps up clampdown on trucker protests

The Ontario Superior Court followed up with an injunction against the protests on Friday night, giving participants until 7 p.m. to clear out….reports Asian Lite News

 Canadian police have stepped up enforcement to end the ongoing anti-Covid truckers’ protests, especially in Windsor, the Canada-US border city and Ottawa, the national capital.

Windsor Police tweeted on Saturday that they had started enforcement actions against protesters opposing Covid-19 restrictions who blocked access to the Ambassador Bridge for most of the week, reports Xinhua news agency.

“The Windsor Police & its policing partners have commenced enforcement at and near the Ambassador Bridge. We urge all demonstrators to act lawfully & peacefully. Commuters are still being asked to avoid the areas affected by the demonstrations at this time,” the tweet said.

Ontario province, where Ottawa is located, on Friday declared a state of emergency to quell convoy protests, and it is now illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure, including international border crossings, major highways, airports, ports, bridges and railways.

The Ontario Superior Court followed up with an injunction against the protests on Friday night, giving participants until 7 p.m. to clear out.

That deadline was largely ignored. Police were maintaining a heavy presence at the entrance to the bridge, a key trade border crossing between Canada and the US where protesters brought traffic to a standstill, local media reported.

In downtown Ottawa, police said over 4,000 demonstrators were present throughout the day.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, police announced the establishment of an enhanced, Integrated Command Centre (ICC) in response to a significant influx of demonstrators into the Ottawa area and an escalation of the current occupation.

“We expect that the ICC will result in a significantly enhanced ability of our police service to respond to the current situation in our city. The ICC will allow us to make the most effective use of the additional resources our policing partners have provided to us,” the statement said.

On Saturday afternoon, Ottawa Police had released another statement, saying that they deployed all available officers on Friday night as protesters in the city “exhibited aggressive behaviour,” including overwhelming officers and subverting law enforcement efforts.

Canada truck protests

The police said 28 arrests have been made while 140 criminal investigations are underway, with officers collecting various information to assist prosecuting offenders.

Another 2,600 tickets have been issued by bylaw officers in relation to what they call an “illegal occupation”, according to the statement.

Thousands of Canadian truckers and their supporters descended on Ottawa in late January to oppose the Canadian government’s vaccine requirement for truckers crossing the border into the US, which has the same policy.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday the protesters need to understand “it’s time to go home”. However, the convoy protests and demonstrations continue nationwide.

In Toronto, the largest city in Canada, more than 1,000 people gathered at Queen’s Park near the Ontario legislature on Saturday to protest vaccine mandates and other Covid-19 public health restrictions.

Protesters were seen holding Canadian flags and signs reading “freedom”.

Meanwhile in British Columbia, hundreds of protesters gathered at the intersection outside the Canada-US border crossing in Surrey to demonstrate against Covid-19-related health measures and to support the truckers’ “Freedom Convoy” protests.

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