Police and city employees clean up Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, previously occupied by the Freedom Convoy, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on February 20, 2022.聽 The last big rigs were being towed Sunday out of Canada鈥檚 capital, where the streets were quiet for the first time in three weeks after a massive police operation ended a drawn-out siege over Covid health rules. (AFP)
OTTAWA, Canada 鈥� The last big rigs were towed Sunday out of Canada鈥檚 capital, where the streets were quiet for the first time in almost a month after a massive police operation ended a drawn-out siege by protesters opposing Covid health rules.
A major clean-up was underway in Ottawa鈥檚 snowy downtown, where police in riot gear had faced off with trucker-led demonstrators for two full days, finally driving them out of their protest hub outside parliament.
鈥淚鈥檓 very happy to have my city back,鈥� Jeff Lindley, who lives and works downtown, told AFP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so much better today, calmer and quieter without the ominous presence of all the trucks and protesters.鈥�
Ottawa interim police Chief Steve Bell told a news conference 鈥渕any of the unlawful protesters are gone.鈥�
But he added, 鈥淲e鈥檙e not done this operation yet,鈥� explaining that authorities were on watch to 鈥渕ake sure that nobody returns to occupy our streets again.鈥�
A few protesters stayed late into Saturday night, singing 鈥�80s protest anthems and setting off fireworks outside a hastily erected four鈥搈eter-high (13-foot) security fence surrounding the parliamentary precinct.
But the last gasp protest-turned-street-party fizzled as a deep freeze gripped the city.
鈥楥ops everywhere鈥�
Early Sunday, police were manning checkpoints restricting access to a 500-acre (200-hectare) downtown area, while a sizable force remained on standby to defend the ground reclaimed from the truckers.
An AFP journalist saw only a handful of protesters in the area, testing the perimeter.
One who gave his name only as John said he was packing it in after wandering for hours with a Canadian flag in hand.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty locked down, all I see is cops everywhere,鈥� he told AFP.
Ottawa police issued a reminder that the core area remains off-limits except to local residents and workers, and advised any remaining protesters to leave or risk arrest.
Bell said four people had been arrested inside the security zone 鈥� for a total of 191, including protest leaders, since police moved in on Friday.
He said 79 vehicles had been towed out of the city center 鈥� paralyzed since January 29 when hundreds of trucks, RVs and other vehicles parked there in protest.
Meanwhile, crews took down the last tents, food stands and other makeshift structures erected by demonstrators, and cleared snow from streets in preparation for local businesses to reopen.
For the first time since the big rigs drove into the capital, Ottawa residents were not awakened by the incessant honking that had become a staple of the protests.
Dave Chapin, out and about for the first time in weeks after feeling 鈥渉emmed in,鈥� gave a thumbs up to police patrolling his downtown neighborhood.
鈥淧eople have a right to protest, but at the end of the day after you鈥檝e made your point you go home,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese guys just stayed 鈥� honking and intimidating (locals) and disrupting our lives.鈥�
鈥淭hese past weeks have been absolute hell,鈥� he added.
Keep fighting
Refusing to admit defeat after being dislodged, many protesters told AFP they would keep pressing their cause.
鈥淭he protest will go on forever in my heart,鈥� Nicole Craig said as she headed home Saturday evening.
Although pandemic health rules in Canada have eased as case numbers trend downward, protesters continued calling for a full lifting of restrictions, which have been among the world鈥檚 strictest.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 government is meanwhile facing a lawsuit from a civil liberties group and pushback from political rivals over the decision to invoke rarely used emergency powers to crack down on the unlawful protests.
This is despite polls showing Canadians, once sympathetic to the trucker-led movement, have turned against them.
Trudeau himself kept his distance as the police operation unfolded, refraining from public comment.
The convoy began a month ago as a protest against mandatory Covid-19 vaccines to cross the US border. It has inspired copycats in other countries, with Washington girding for a possible trucker protest to coincide with next week鈥檚 State of the Union address by President Joe Biden.
And it has triggered economically damaging blockades at the US border, including a bridge that is the key transit point between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. Police cleared that blockade a week ago.
Dozens there were arrested, and at other crossings including four people in Coutts, Alberta found with a cache of weapons and charged with conspiracy to murder police officers, and authorities froze Can$32 million ($25 million) in donations and bank accounts linked to the trucker movement.