Canadian Truck Drivers Protesting COVID Restrictions Begin Arriving In Ottawa - Police

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2022) Canadian truck drivers who have been protesting the Federal government's vaccine mandate and border restrictions because of COVID-19 have arrived in Ottawa, police said on Friday.

"As you all know, there is a major demonstration taking place over the next several days here in the nation's capital. In fact, demonstrators have already arrived, and we have already started to manage a series of pop-up demonstrators in the core over the last 24 hours," the Ottawa Police said in a tweet. "They have confirmed that there will be a large number of trucks and participants and the main planned demonstrations will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

With demonstrations of this scale, there are significant risks to be mitigated but that we cannot eliminate."

Police also said they plan to keep emergency lanes open, but warned that with thousands of trucks amassing in the core of Ottawa's downtown for the next few days, they expect "major traffic safety issues."

They said they will have a significant police presence, as well as emergency services personnel in the downtown area and on major highways and roads. The public should expect major congestion and traffic delays, the police said, while encouraging those who do not need to be in the downtown core to stay away.