Ottawa lifts state of emergency declared during 'Freedom Convoy' demonstration

Mayor Jim Watson has lifted the state of emergency in the city of Ottawa that was put in place to help deal with the "Freedom Convoy" demonstration in the downtown core.

Police moved in last weekend to remove the vehicles and the demonstrators blocking downtown streets as part of the ongoing protests.

Watson declared a state of emergency in the city of Ottawa on Feb. 6, saying it reflected the "serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government."

The mayor ended the state of emergency at 4 p.m. Thursday after speaking with City Manager Steve Kanellakos.

"The State of Emergency was declared on February 6 in response to the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the occupation," Watson said on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Ontario terminated its state of emergency and the federal government revoked the Emergencies Act.

"All three levels of government have now stepped down their emergency orders. But it doesn't mean that our police are going to be turning their back on potential problems this weekend because we know there are people in Vankleek Hill, Arnprior and Embrun," Watson said on Newstalk 580 CFRA.

"Police are going to be working very, very diligently over the course of the next couple of days, particularly during the weekends, to make sure that if there's any movement of those vehicles towards Ottawa they will not be allowed in the city and they'll be blocked."

The city of Ottawa previously declared a state of emergency during the flooding in 2019 and at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. When he declared the state of emergency to deal with the demonstration 18 days ago, Watson noted the state of emergency is an administrative tool to cut the red tape in the procurement policy and bylaws, allowing the city to acquire equipment without a tender process.

"What it did give us was the ability to go around our procurement policy, we could shift staff from different collective agreements to work in high-priority areas," Watson said, noting the city also shifted staff to different departments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Host of CFRA's Ottawa Now Kristy Cameron asked Watson if he feels comfortable lifting the state of emergency.

"We still have all of the powers, if you will, to make sure what happened in the last four weeks doesn't happen again. They're going to gradually shrink the red zone, but they're going to keep certain barricades up," Watson said.

"We still have the authority to direct traffic away from the city of Ottawa. I feel very confident that we still have a number of police officers from other police forces still with us, they didn't pack up just because we got rid of all the trucks."

Watson says he spoke with Toronto Mayor John Tory on Thursday to thank the city of Toronto for its support during the demonstration. 

Four weeks after the convoy first arrived in Ottawa, all vehicles have been removed from downtown streets, but a police secured area remains up in the area bordered by Bronson Avenue, Laurier Avenue, the Rideau Canal and Parliament Hill.

"We've had a lot of success, but this operation isn't over. Not everything is completed yet. We continue to have resources in place to prevent unlawful protests from returning this coming weekend and moving ahead," Interim chief Steve Bell said Thursday.

"Checkpoints and security measures will remain, and those without a lawful reason to return to the area still may be subject to arrest."

The Ottawa Police Service says the policing price tag for the demonstration is $31 million and counting. Kanellakos said the city's costs associated with the ongoing demonstration are approximately $200,000 a day.