Police increase presence in downtown Ottawa as occupation nears 4th weekend
CBC
The latest on Day 21 of the protest:
Two formal warnings went out to protesters in Ottawa on Wednesday as the city's interim police chief said a safe end to the occupation is a matter of when, not if.
Now the city waits.
The warnings — posted online and handed out as flyers — gave protesters an updated list of rules that may apply to the occupation of some downtown streets and potential penalties under expanded federal and provincial powers.
On Thursday, the city's bylaw department explained what would happen with animals if "enforcement actions" separate people from their pets.
Speaking to city council on Wednesday, interim police Chief Steve Bell said police now have the resources and a plan to safely end the protest.
He would not share a timeline for that plan for operational reasons, but said police are prepared for several levels of "lawful" escalation, including "techniques [that] are not what we're used to seeing Ottawa."
On Thursday morning, fences were being set up in front of government buildings including Parliament Hill and the Senate.
WATCH | How police may try to end the occupation:
After the first of the two warnings, which directly told protesters that what they were doing no longer fell under a peaceful protest, spokespeople for the organizers said they needed more people to come to the core so police would be outnumbered.
Wednesday also brought comments from federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino that several of the individuals involved in the blockade at the border crossing in Coutts, Alta., have "strong ties to a far-right extreme organization with leaders who are in Ottawa."
Following Tuesday's resignation of police chief Peter Sloly, there were more leadership changes when Ottawa city council voted to overhaul its police services board Wednesday during a long and unusually emotional meeting.
It included the ouster of chair Coun. Diane Deans and the resignation of some board members in protest.
The police services board is set to meet Thursday to elect a new chair.
New government regulations can be hard to get excited about — but not if you're a drone pilot like Ian Wills.
Alberta RCMP have ramped up the use of body-worn cameras for front-line officers as a push is underway to have 90 per cent of the national police force use the cameras within the coming year.
This weekend, one of the season's first strong winter storms is coming for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Periods of snow are forecast to start overnight in western Cape Breton before a winter wallop moves into the rest of the island and part of mainland Nova Scotia on Sunday.
Four new cases of measles in Quebec have been confirmed as of Jan.3 in connection with an outbreak that began in December, public health authorities say.
A vacant three-storey apartment block is set to be demolished, after Winnipeg firefighters were called Friday night to the third fire at the Mountain Avenue building since August 2023.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in the waters of a Port Moody, B.C., marina on New Year's Day.
Parts of Prince Edward Edward Island could receive up to 15 centimetres of snow Sunday and into Monday.
A Liberal MP from London, Ont., is joining several of his caucus colleagues in publicly calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign as leader of the party — and he says the number of Liberals who want Trudeau to step down will likely get even bigger.
U.S. President Joe Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the U.S., to Canadian actor Michael J. Fox and others on Saturday.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre gave a lengthy interview to psychologist and media personality Jordan Peterson, touching on his vision for Canada and how he plans to implement it.