Using force to end protests is up to police, PM says, amid concerns over what’s next in Ottawa

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says using force against protesters is not his call to make, as movement begins to be seen in the Ottawa streets where trucker convoy protesters have been encamped.

“I’m not going to be using force. The decisions made will be by police doing their jobs the right … way,” Trudeau said, when asked on his way into a caucus meeting in West Block whether force would be needed to rid downtown of the demonstrators.

“What we have done with the Emergencies Act is put forward tools that the local jurisdictions of law enforcement can use in partnership – in Ottawa for example – with the OPP and the RCMP, with extra resources to actually make sure that laws are enforced in a proportional way, in an approach that will be decided by the police of jurisdiction,” said the prime minister.

Asked on his way out of the meeting if Ottawans will have their city back this weekend, Trudeau did not respond.

In a federal update on the situation, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino indicated that with blockades in Coutts, Alta., Surrey, B.C., Windsor, Ont. and Emerson, Man. all cleared or soon to be, the main area of concern remains Ottawa. There, hundreds of trucks and protesters still line streets in the downtown core and continue to maintain organizational centers throughout the city.