Ottawa police issue new warning amid convoy blockade: ‘leave the area now’

Some demonstrators in the convoy blockade in Ottawa have remained defiant in the face of the Emergencies Act and are vowing to remain.

People still participating in the so-called “Freedom Convoy” blockade of downtown Ottawa are being warned by police to “leave the area now” as questions heat up about when police will act to remove the demonstrators who have paralyzed the nation’s capital for 20 days.

“You must leave the area now. Anyone blocking streets, or assisting others in the blocking streets, are committing a criminal offence and you may be arrested. You must immediately cease further unlawful activity or you will face charges,” reads a notice issued by Ottawa police on Wednesday morning.

“The people of Ottawa are being denied the lawful use, enjoyment and operation of their property and you are causing businesses to close. That is mischief under the Criminal Code.”

The federal government invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act on Monday amid intense frustration and anger among Ottawa residents over police handling of the convoy so far.

Peter Sloly resigned as chief of the Ottawa Police Service on Tuesday, and federal officials have for days offered increasingly clear rhetoric that the blockades are now “illegal,” and that police must end them.

Yet demonstrators have remained defiant in the face of the Emergencies Act, with hundreds still parked in blockades along residential streets of downtown Ottawa and vowing to remain.

The convoy organizers originally said they wanted to force elected officials out and force an end to all public health measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, most of which are under provincial — not federal — jurisdiction.

Organizers later removed reference to calls to remove elected officials from their websites, and have since claimed they never called for such action.