By: Thomas I. Likness
Eagle News Service
(Eagle News) — Residents of Ottawa hope things will quieten down after taking court action against protesters with the Freedom Convoy, which is calling for an end to all COVID-19 restrictions.
A judge in the Canadian capital issued a court injunction Monday to prevent protesters from honking their horns in the downtown area.
For 11 days, people have had to put up with the constant noise of truckers honking their air horns 24 hours a day, making life unbearable and making it impossible to sleep.
A judge today issued a temporary 10-day injunction saying he wants to hear more evidence.
How much effect the injunction will have is not known.
A court order is one thing — enforcing it is another.
After the injunction came down, protest organizer Pat King told truckers not to honk their horns.
“Need all truckers dead silent on the horns,” said King in a Facebook video Monday. “This is their grounds to arrest you and pull you out of your trucks.”
In other court action, residents are launching a class action suit seeking nearly CA$10 million in damages because of the disruption in their lives that the protesters have caused.
Mayor wants more boots on the ground
Meanwhile, police say they are overwhelmed and need more help.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Wilson Police Services Board Chair Dian Deans have written to both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford asking them to bolster the city’s police ranks.
They say they need another 1,800 officers and other personnel.
“We can contain the occupation but we cannot end it without your support,” they wrote.
The cost of policing is rising.
The city says it is running between CA$1.8 and CA$2.2 million a day.
Protest at Canada’s busiest border crossing
Elsewhere in Ontario, at a border crossing into the U.S., protesting truckers have snarled traffic in both directions on the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit.
Canadian Border Services says wait times to cross the border are up to four hours.
Travelers are being told to use other routes.
The protest is in solidarity with the demonstration in Ottawa.
(Eagle News Service)