As of 3 p.m. EST, at least 70 people had been arrested for various offenses and 21 vehicles had been towed, according to Acting Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell.
“We are monitoring the situation on the ground and continuing to move forward to clean up our streets,” Bell told a news conference.
Canadian police launched an unprecedented operation Friday morning to remove protesters and their trucks and cars that have blocked Ottawa streets for weeks.
The operation includes municipal, state and federal law enforcement officers.
Riot police, some with tactical gear, along with officers on horseback, held back protesters as they continued their demonstration against Covid-19 health restrictions.
Several trucks and cars voluntarily left the protest, but dozens continue to block the streets in and around Parliament.
“Children will be taken to a safe place,” the tweet read.
“Even through all the planning, it still shocks and surprises me that we see children in danger, in the middle of a protest where a police operation is taking place,” Bell said. “We will continue to keep them safe, but we implore all parents who have children in there, get the children out of there.”
Local media showed live footage of several arrests that passed without incident. Searches and police arrests take place within half a mile of the main protest site on Parliament Hill.
Bell said no protesters were injured during the day and one officer was lightly injured.
Debate in Parliament on the use of the Emergencies Act was scheduled to continue on Friday, but the House of Commons will not meet due to police activity in downtown Ottawa, the speaker says of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, in a press release.
Ottawa police on Friday confirmed the arrest of two protest organizers, Tamara Lich, 49, and Christopher John Barber, 46.
Lich was charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief and Barber was charged with counseling to commit the offense of mischief, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying a court order and advised to commit the offense of obstructing the police.
Both are due in court on Friday.
Video posted to social media shows Lich interacting with a police officer, then being handcuffed and taken to a police car.
Overnight, the three police forces reinforced the downtown perimeter, which includes checkpoints at highway on-ramps and side streets.
The secure zone would ensure that those seeking entry for an “illegal reason such as joining a protest cannot enter the city center”, according to Bell.
With nearly 100 checkpoints, the perimeter encompasses most of downtown Ottawa and is much larger than the protest’s footprint to date.
Those who live, work or have a legal reason to be in the area would be allowed access, authorities said.
Trudeau defends call for emergency powers
Officials said a primary goal of invoking the Emergencies Act was to stifle funding for protesters in Ottawa.
“These illegal blockades are strongly supported by individuals in the United States and around the world,” Trudeau said. “We find that about half of the funding that is flowing to the barricaders here comes from the United States. The goal of all the measures, including the Emergency Measures Act financial measures, is to deal with the current threat only and to get the situation completely under control.”
The law, passed in 1988 and never invoked before, can temporarily suspend citizens’ rights to freedom of movement or assembly. It may also provide for the use of the military, but Trudeau said that would not be necessary.
“We did it to protect families and small businesses. To protect jobs and the economy. We did it because the situation couldn’t be fixed by any other law in Canada,” Trudeau said. “For the good of all Canadians, illegal blockades and occupations must end, and borders must remain open.”
“The first act he does when he has the ability to do something – he doesn’t go through stages one, two, three – he goes straight to 100 and invokes the emergency law,” Bergen told CTV News. “I don’t think anything we see will change our minds, we will oppose it.”
The government must propose a motion to both the House and the Senate explaining why federal officials need the powers and specifying the actions that will be taken, and then the House and Senate must confirm the motions, according to CTV.
The federal government will work with premiers across the country “until the situation is resolved,” Trudeau said.
CNN’s Raja Razek, Chris Boyette, Amir Vera and Jenn Selva contributed to this report.
