Some Calgary convoy drivers ticketed, more summonses on the way

Police say they wrote 30 summonses — an order to appear in court — to Calgary convoy drivers Monday, and another 50 are in the mail. 

YYC Transportation, the city's Twitter account for transportation news, said a public demonstration slowed traffic in parts of downtown Monday as protesters made their way to Calgary City Hall. 

Convoy participants — made up of anti-mandate protesters — received tickets for impeding traffic, failing to stop for a peace officer, having an unregistered vehicle, failing to produce insurance, displaying an obscured licence plate and other offences. 

Police said in a release that due to the heightened emotions around this and other demonstrations, and due to safety concerns for both law enforcement and members of the community, they will not always issue tickets at the time of an alleged offence. 

"Much like today, tickets are issued in the hours or days after an infraction based on evidence obtained at the time of the event," Calgary police said in the release.  

Elsewhere in Alberta, the number of protesters at the land border in Coutts, Alta., has dropped over the weekend, RCMP say, but officers are trying to encourage protesters who remain to change their illegal protest to a legal one. 

"Currently, being on the roadway is not encouraged at all. It is illegal and we just want the citizens and everybody to understand that our goal is to get this moved off that roadway. And it moves it from illegal to legal, which makes it a little easier on everybody," said RCMP Supt. Roberta McKale. 

McKale says access to the U.S. border remains open and vehicles are able to travel north and south, though there are still delays.