Tow truck companies rejecting Ottawa police request for help: source
Local towing companies are rejecting Ottawa police requests for help towing ‘Freedom Convoy’ trucks out of the downtown core, according to a senior police source.
The source told CTV News Ottawa that even if police decided to tow the trucks from the downtown streets they have been clogging up for the past week, they wouldn’t have enough tow trucks to do it.
Police outreach to tow truck companies across the city has been rebuffed, the source said.
The source said police are considering launching a criminal investigation into whether intimidation of the tow truck companies is leading to their lack of cooperation with police.
Police would only have access to city-owned tow trucks used for OC Transpo buses, of which there are a limited number.
Asked about the concern on Friday, Mayor Jim Watson said that information had not been brought to him, but the city has its own fleet of tow trucks.
“All contingency plans are being worked on,” he told CTV News on Friday. “The city has a number of heavy industrial tow trucks as well, so there’s that availability, plus other companies that the city deals with on a pretty regular basis.”
Ottawa Police Deputy Chief Steve Bell said Friday there are between 200 and 250 trucks parked in the downtown core.
Police expect another 300 to 400 truck drivers to try making their way downtown this weekend, but they are setting up roadblocks and planning to direct the truckers to parking spots outside the core.
Until now, the police strategy with the remaining truckers was primarily one of negotiation. That succeeded in reducing their numbers throughout the week.
Friday morning, police said they are adopting a “surge and contain strategy,” which includes sending 150 more officers to affected neighbourhoods and barricading the protest “red zone” to cut off people who want to drive downtown.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.