According to a tweet from the city, he has declared that all vehicles essentially stolen from "Freedom Convoy" demonstrators will be sold -- not returned to their rightful owners -- to cover the "costs" of China-loving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's authoritarian crackdown.
Ottawa's mayor says vehicles seized during downtown protest should be sold to cover costs incurred by the city: https://t.co/7nupLOVIvN
— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) February 20, 2022
"We actually have the ability to confiscate those vehicles and sell them," Mayor Jim Watson said Saturday, citing the Emergencies Act that Trudeau invoked earlier this month, according to the CBC. "And I want to see them sold. I don't want them return to these people who've been causing such frustration and angst in our community."
Spoken like a true fascist.
The CBC adds:
The mayor told CBC News that Ottawa has that power due to the Emergencies Act, which was invoked by the federal government last week.
Watson said he's been pleased by the level of professionalism shown by law enforcement since officers began stepping up their efforts Friday to clear the protest. But he also said he worries about demonstrators who have been "taunting police, being completely irresponsible, and don't want to seem to leave."
"DEMONSTRATORS: You must leave. As night falls, it is unsafe to stay. Get out of the cold and cease further unlawful activity. Anyone within the unlawful protest site may be arrested," the Ottawa Police noted in a tweet over the weekend.
DEMONSTRATORS: You must leave. As night falls, it is unsafe to stay. Get out of the cold and cease further unlawful activity. Anyone within the unlawful protest site may be arrested. #ottawa #ottnews
— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) February 20, 2022
The state-run outlet went on to 'report' that police officers from several agencies throughout Canada "retook Wellington Street from protesters," using journalistic language that is more akin to RT.com or the old Soviet "Pravda" outlet.
Police were seen "herding" Freedom Convoy demonstrators "away from the parliamentary precinct," the outlet added (imagine using the term 'herd' in a report dealing with a police response to a Black Lives Matter protest).
In the wake of the crackdown, nearly 200 Canadians were arrested and dozens of vehicles were subsequently confiscated and towed by the city of Ottawa.
Ottawa resident Zexi Li, who took part in launching a class-action lawsuit against convoy organizers, told the CBC that the weekend actions taken by Trudeau and police were long overdue but a welcome 'relief' nonetheless.
"While I think the response is long overdue, it's definitely a relief either way," she said.
She went on to claim that the suffering city residents have endured has been "absolutely unacceptable," noting further that police downplayed it for too long (protests and demonstrations are not supposed to make people comfortable -- isn't that what former CNN host Chris Cuomo said about the BLM rioting?).
Yes, it is.
"Please, show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful," he said in early June, just a few days after George Floyd's death lead to widespread violence and looting around the U.S. "Because I can show you that outraged citizens are what made the country what she is and led to any major milestone. To be honest, this is not a tranquil time."
As for Trudeau's use of emergency authority to clamp down on protests he doesn't agree with, he just got the green light to continue using them from the country's left-wing parliament.
"Canada's parliament on Monday backed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to invoke rarely-used emergency powers to end pandemic-related protests that have blocked streets in the capital Ottawa for more than three weeks," Reuters reported.
"The Emergencies Act was approved in parliament by 185 to 151, with the minority Liberal government getting support from left-leaning New Democrats," the newswire added.
Translation: As in the U.S., it's always the left that turns authoritarian, not the right.
Sources include: