Saturday protest near Alberta Legislature -- credit M. Modney

By Dori Modney

Alberta cities deal with convoys and protests, Ottawa declares state of emergency

Feb 6, 2022 | 4:07 PM

LETHBRIDGE/EDMONTON, AB. — Ottawa police gave their city notice Sunday afternoon that it would be increasing enforcement action on demonstrators in the downtown core. Shortly before that, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency for the City, due to the ongoing demonstrations.

“Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It also provides greater flexibility within the municipal administration to enable the City of Ottawa to manage business continuity for essential services for its residents and enables a more flexible procurement process, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.”

The actions are based on civic frustration and increased anger from residents. Police had also announced that anyone bringing ‘material’ aid such as food and fuel into Ottawa’s downtown core could be arrested. Stockpiles of fuel in plastic jerry cans were being brought in on wagons and police found the stockpiles were creating a hazard. Ottawa police have stated they have eleven investigations related to hate crimes and four people facing charges.

Ottawa was not the only city to see an increase in vehicle convoys and rallies over the weekend. Lethbridge had its own event.

Calgary and Edmonton police advised residents to stay out of the downtown areas, where streets were clogged by vehicles snarling traffic and sidewalks crowded with protesters made walking difficult. The noise of shouts and honking vehicles reverberated and intensified among the close-set skyscrapers, reaching a deafening level.

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Much of the congestion in Edmonton was near the Legislature.

The gatherings, planned in support of the more than week-long event in Ottawa, dubbed ‘Freedom convoys’ and ‘Unity rallies’, involved not only big rigs but cars, SUV’s and had half-ton trucks. Most of the vehicles flew large Canadian flags, interspersed with Alberta and American flags. There were also signs supporting former U.S. president Donald Trump and others disparaging Prime Minister Trudeau, who called the demonstrators a “small fringe minority.”

Edmonton protests – credit M. Modney

City police in both Calgary and Edmonton were visible in many locations, to ensure public safety. Premier Jason Kenney called for respectful and safe protesting:

“To those involved: by all means, send your message through peaceful, lawful protest. But disrupting the lives of your fellow Albertans & creating illegal, dangerous road hazards is totally unacceptable. In a democracy we always have strong disagreements, but we must resolve them within the rule of law. Police are responsible for ensuring public safety & lawful conduct on our roads. They can issue stiff penalties, e.g. under AB Infrastructure Defence Act, to those blocking roads.”

Alberta RCMP continue to monitor the convoy and protestors at the Coutts border crossing and issued the following statement on Saturday:

“We appreciate so many of the individuals taking part in protests in the Coutts area are having their voices heard in a lawful way by being respectful & listening to police orders. We are aware not all individuals are following the law & have several open investigations underway.”

Around 1:45 Sunday afternoon, RCMP posted this message on Twitter:

Sunday RCMP statement — posted to Twitter