A State of Emergency has been declared in Ontario by Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford.
Ford has called the protest in Ottawa “an illegal occupation”.
The Cabinet will convene on Feb 12 to “urgently enact orders that will make crystal clear it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure”
Ford states that the declaration will include;
protecting international border crossings, 400-series highways, airports, ports, bridges and railways. It will also include protecting the safe and essential movement of ambulatory and medical services, public transit, municipal and provincial roadways, as well as pedestrian walkways,
During his statement, Ford called the protests a “siege.”
When speaking about the situation he said; “It’s an illegal occupation. This is no longer a protest” and he directed comments to to “…please, go home”
The Premier also discussed the repercussions for any violators;
“Fines for non-compliance will be severe, with a maximum penalty of $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment. We will also provide additional authority to consider taking away the personal and commercial licenses of anyone who doesn’t comply with these orders.”
Both OPP and RCMP have provided more officers on the streets and other aides.
During the press conference, Doug Ford also spoke about the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s future plans for mandates and restriction milestones.
He said that Dr. Kieran Moore is developing a plan that would end the use of vaccine passport, but no details or timelines were given. Ford also noted that the province is on track to with the next wave of eased restrictions (Feb. 21st), he didn’t indicate that anything would be moved ahead of schedule yet.
