Secure area in Ottawa shrinks as police maintain presence following removal of 'Freedom Convoy'

Police say the "secure area" in downtown Ottawa has shrunk following the removal of the "Freedom Convoy" protesters who had occupied city streets for three weeks.

Ottawa police say the secure area is now in effect from Somerset Street West north to Parliament Hill and from Bronson Avenue east to the Rideau Canal. The ByWard Market area is no longer in the secured area.

The 'Secure Area' in downtown Ottawa as of 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. Residents may travel to the secured area if they have a lawful reason such as living there, working there or if they are shopping or visiting businesses. (City of Ottawa)

Residents can expect to see a significant number officers remain in the downtown core on Tuesday and those travelling through the smaller secured area will still need to pass checkpoints and explain their reason for being there.

"Residents may travel to the secured area if they have a lawful reason such as they live there, work there or are shopping and visiting businesses," police say. "Supporting local businesses is considered lawful if you are entering the Secured Area."

Police said businesses should feel safe to reopen. Among businesses that will reopen is the Rideau Centre, which announced it would be open on Tuesday.

Ottawa police say measures will only remain in place as long as is deemed necessary to ensure unlawful protesters do not return. Those who do return could face charges.

NEARLY 200 ARRESTS

Ottawa police also provided new details on arrests and charges related to the demonstration.

In a news release Monday, police said 196 people had been arrested as of 8 a.m. Monday and, of those, 110 are facing charges.

The charges include mischief, disobeying a lawful court order, obstruction, assault, assaulting police, causing a disturbance by fighting/shouting/swearing, weapon possession, and dangerous driving.

Some of the individuals charged include two people police say were arrested Friday and released without charge, but who then returned to the protest on Saturday and were arrested again. They are now facing mischief and obstruction charges and have been released with boundary conditions.

Police have towed 115 vehicles to date.

'REAL CONCERNS' REMAIN: TRUDEAU

Amid the first signs of normal life returning to Ottawa's downtown core, the prime minister said Monday morning there continue to be "real concerns" about what happens in the next few days.

"Even though things seem to be resolving very well in Ottawa, this state of emergency is not over," Justin Trudeau said. "There continue to be real concerns about the coming days."

Ottawa's mayor, expressing relief, also said the situation hasn't come to a complete end.

“There is a sense of relief, but it's not over,” Mayor Jim Watson told CTV News Channel on Monday. “We still have to make sure that these pockets of people that want to get in and reclaim Wellington Street do not happen and that's why we have to abide by the sage advice of our police officers.”

The prime minister, speaking ahead of a vote Monday evening on the Emergencies Act his government invoked to respond to the crisis, expressed concern about some truckers possibly returning. Trudeau cited the power under the act to compel tow truck companies to remove the big rigs from downtown as a measure that may still be needed.

"We’ve seen right now that there are trucks holding in places like Arnrpior and Embrun and other places that have indicated a desire or an openness to returning to blockades right now. So that is a power we may well need," he said.

Trucks and vehicles are seen on a farm in Vankleek Hill, Ont., on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, after officers cleared a trucker protest from nearby Ottawa, that was aimed at COVID-19 measures before growing into a broader anti-government protest that occupied the nation capital’s downtown core. (Cole Burston/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Trucks and vehicles are seen on a farm in Vankleek Hill, Ont., on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, after officers cleared a trucker protest from nearby Ottawa, that was aimed at COVID-19 measures before growing into a broader anti-government protest that occupied the nation capital’s downtown core. (Cole Burston/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

POLICE IN 'MAINTENANCE OPERATION'

Ottawa's interim police chief said Sunday the law enforcement operation that cleared trucks and demonstrators off several downtown streets this weekend is far from over.

"I still can't say when we will ultimately be completing this operation because we now need to enter into a maintenance portion of it to make sure what occurred three weeks ago can never occur again," interim chief Steve Bell said Sunday.

"We will continue to have a posture, protect the streets of our city, protect our community members from unlawful occupations ... for as long as it takes."

The area between Elgin, Bay, Wellington and Queen streets remains closed to vehicles and pedestrians. The "secured area" is limiting traffic flow into the area of the Queensway, Wellington Street, Bronson Avenue and the Rideau Canal.

Twenty-four days after convoy trucks rolled into the downtown core and stayed, vehicles have been cleared from Wellington, Bay, Kent, Lyon, Queen and Metcalfe streets, as well as the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.

Police say businesses that have been closed since the demonstration began Jan. 28 should feel safe to reopen this week.

"A strong police presence will remain in the coming days," police said on Twitter.

Sources tell CTV News the Rideau Centre mall, which has been closed since the first weekend of the protests, will reopen on Tuesday. The Metropolitain Brasserie on Sussex Drive announced it would reopen at 5 p.m. Monday.

Bell says that the OPP and RCMP remain committed to supporting Ottawa police in the days ahead to ensure no vehicles return to the Parliamentary Precinct.

"We're not done this operation yet. There's another phase that will identify how we maintain the streets, how we eventually demobilize, once we've identified there is no threat of further protests coming to our city. We aren't there yet," Bell said.

"We will, over the next several days, identify what the posture of the police services will look like to see how we maintain a presence and make sure that nobody returns to occupy our streets."

ROAD CLOSURES

Exits remain closed along Hwy. 417 through the centre of Ottawa.

• The eastbound exits on the Queensway are closed at Rochester, Kent, Metcalfe and Nicholas.
• The westbound exits on Hwy. 417 are closed at Bronson, Metcalfe, Nicholas and Vanier Parkway.

O-TRAIN

O-Train service resumes in downtown Ottawa today for the first time in three days.

In a memo to council, Transit Services General Manager Renee Amilcar said full O-Train Line 1 service will resume from Tunney's Pasture to Blair Station.

The O-Train has not stopped by Lees, uOttawa, Rideau, Parliament and Lyon since Thursday.