Canadian police secure downtown Ottawa as truckers’ protest ends

Canadian police on Sunday secured the downtown core of Ottawa with fencing, as city workers cleaned up trash and snow plows cleared streets after two days of tense standoffs and 191 arrests ended a three-week occupation.

Demonstrators used hundreds of trucks and vehicles to block the city center since 28 January, prompting the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to invoke rarely used emergency powers.

The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border Covid-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers but the blockade turned into a demonstration against Trudeau.

Seventy-six vehicles had been towed, police said on Sunday, as stragglers packed up a logistics depot that the so-called "Freedom Convoy" had set up in a parking lot to supply protesters camped several kilometers away in front of parliament. Police handed out flyers, warning them to leave or risk arrest and a fine.

"We were running support for the convoy and the people in the downtown core - food, fuel, basic necessities," said Winton Marchant, a retired firefighter from Windsor, Ontario. "This was the base camp and we are cleaning up."

On Saturday, police used pepper spray and stun grenades on protesters, clearing most of the area in front of parliament. Other demonstrators abandoned positions in downtown during the night.

Those arrested face 389 different criminal charges including obstructing police, disobeying a court order, assault, mischief, possessing a weapon and assaulting a police officer, Ottawa's interim police chief, Steve Bell, told reporters.