Ottawa: Canadian police on Saturday used pepper spray and stun grenades in a final push to clear the capital of trucks and demonstrators who occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks to protest against pandemic restrictions.
After clearing a portion of the blockade and making more than 100 arrests on Friday, 47 more arrests were made on Saturday morning as police moved quickly to disperse the main portion of the blockade in front of parliament and the prime minister’s office.
Protest organisers for the so-called Freedom Convoy said they had asked truckers to withdraw because of heavy-handed police tactics, and many trucks did exit the downtown core on Saturday. Thirty-eight vehicles have been towed, police said.
