Ax-wielding eco-terrorists attacked a British Columbia gas pipeline Thursday, shooting flare guns at frightened workers and causing millio...
Ax-wielding eco-terrorists attacked a British Columbia gas pipeline Thursday, shooting flare guns at frightened workers and causing millions in damage, but the focus of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau still seems to be on the Freedom Convoy truckers in Ottawa.
About 20 attackers, wearing camouflage and masks, surrounded Costal Gaslink workers in the early morning hours of February 17 in what the company called a 'highly planned and dangerous unprovoked assault.'
No injuries were reported, but Gaslink reported that the eco-warriors came from several directions and threatened the lives of several workers.
'In one of the most concerning acts, an attempt was made to set a vehicle on fire while workers were inside,' the company said in a statement. 'The attackers also wielded axes, swinging them at vehicles and through a truck's window. Flare guns were also fired at workers. Workers fled the site for their own safety and remain shaken by this violent incident.'
Meanwhile, Trudeau remains focused on the peaceful Freedom Convoy in Ottawa and used extraordinary powers under the Emergencies Act to clear the protester who have paralyzed the city for three weekss. Hundreds of officers have descended on the capital city to forcefully remove them from what is now a no-go zone.
Parliament was also suspended on Friday due to the massive police operation and MPs have been urged not to go into work for their own safety. No property has been damaged in Ottawa during the Freedom Convoy protests, although police have arrested 70 protesters as they use Trudeau's Emergency Act to crack down on demonstrations.
In contrast, photos of Thursday's attack in British Columbia show smashed windows and overturned heavy earth-moving equipment. Trees were downed to block roads and a gaping hole was hacked into the side of a mobile office trailer.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to the scene, but the attackers fled into the forest and no arrests were made. Smoke bombs and torches were thrown at police as they tried to make their way past fires set in the road way. One officers was injured, according to the Toronto Sun.
'This was a calculated and organized violent attack that left its victims shaken and a multimillion dollar path of destruction,' RCMP Chief Superintendent Warren Brown said.
The First Nations and environmental groups have opposed the 420-mile pipeline project that will carry liquified natural gas to the west coast of British Columbia.
'This is truly disturbing,' federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Twitter, referring to the Coastal GasLink attack. 'Violence and illegal acts are not the way forward on any matter.'
About 20 masked and camouflage-wearing attackers threated workers and overturned heavy machinery in what was described by police as a 'calculated and organized violent attack'
Millions of dollars in equipment was damaged during a 'highly planned and dangerous unprovoked assault' on the Coastal Gaslink pipeline in British Columbia. No workers were injured. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to the chaotic scene, but were pelted with smoke bombs and torches. One officer was injured
A gaping hole was hacked into a mobile office trailer at the Costal Gaslink pipeline. The attack came as Canada remains on edge because of anti-pandemic restriction protests carried on by the Freedom Convoy truckers in Ottawa
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to the scene, but the attackers fled into the forest and no arrests were made. Smoke bombs and torches were thrown at police as they tried to make their way past fires set on the road, and trees were downed to block cops (pictured)
Eco-terrorists attacked workers in British Columbia, smashing heavy equipment and shooting flare guns. Police were thwarted by trees downed in roadways and fires
In the capital, Trudeau remains focused on the Canadian truckers.
Police have descended on the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, making arrests and towing away big rigs that have formed a three-week blockade protesting the country's vaccine mandates.
Using his extraordinary powers under the Emergencies Act, Trudeau bid police to establish a 'no-go' zone around the demonstration in Ottawa's core, and on Friday morning a massive force of cops and a fleet of tow truck drivers descended to clear out the Convoy's final stronghold.
Citing the 'exceptional circumstances' of the police action, Canada's Parliament suspended Friday's debate on Trudeau's emergency powers, sparing the Liberal leader another day of uncomfortable speeches from MPs who fiercely oppose his use of the Emergencies Act.
As dawn broke on Friday, cops carrying automatic weapons and wearing tactical unit uniforms were seen going door to door along a line of trucks, campers and other vehicles parked on Ottawa's snow-covered streets.
Tow truck operators wore neon-green ski masks with their companies' decals taped over on their trucks to conceal their identities from protesters. They arrived under police escort and set to work removing the big rigs, campers and other vehicles parked bumper to bumper in the Parliament Hill blockade.
As the sweep unfolded, Ottawa Police Services threatened in a statement to arrest any journalists 'found within areas undergoing enforcement,' alarming advocates for press freedom.
On Thursday night, police took the first step in the crackdown with the arrests of key protest leaders Tamara Lich, 47, and Christopher Barber, 46.
Lich and Barber were both charged with counseling to commit mischief, and Barber was additionally charged with counseling to commit the offenses of disobeying a court order and obstructing police. They are both scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
The suspension of Friday's debate in the House of Commons was due to safety concerns, Speaker Anthony Rota said in notice to MPs, warning them that a police operation was expected and urging them to 'stay away from the downtown core until further notice.'
The initial schedule called for debate through the weekend on the motion to confirm Trudeau's emergency powers, followed by a vote on Monday night.
House leadership of all parties agreed to the cancellation of Friday's sitting, with a plan to resume debate on Saturday and vote 'early next week' on the motion, which is expected to pass despite vocal opposition from the Conservative minority and allied Bloc Québécois.
Using powers under the Emergencies Act, Ottawa cops have established a 'no-go' zone with 100 checkpoints encircling the Freedom Convoy, cutting them off from support and preventing additional protesters from joining the demonstration blockading the streets around Parliament Hill.
During Friday's crackdown, Ottawa Police issued a statement on Twitter threatening to arrest journalists covering the sweep, alarming free press advocates.
'All media who are attending the area, please keep a distance and stay out of police operations for your safety,' the department said.
'Anyone found within areas undergoing enforcement may be subject to arrest. There will be a media availability later today,' the statement added.
Ottawa Police also said as the crackdown unfolded that there was a 'concerted effort to flood our 911 and non-emergency policing reporting line.'
'This endangers lives and is completely unacceptable,' said OPS.
'Some protesters are surrendering and are being arrested. We ask protesters to remain peaceful and lawful,' Ottawa police said in an alert.
Using his extraordinary powers under the Emergencies Act, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bid police to establish a 'no-go' zone around the demonstration in Ottawa's core, and on Friday morning a massive force of cops and a fleet of tow truck drivers descended to clear out the Convoy's final stronghold
Police officers form a column to begin the final advance against the Freedom Convoy's last stronghold on Parliament Hill
Ottawa police advance on protesters in Trudeau's final crackdown on the Freedom Convoy
Police confront demonstrators against vaccine mandates in Ottawa on Friday. Demonstrators shouted 'Freedom!' as police closed in and began making arrests in the final crackdown
Protesters embrace in front of police officers on Rideau Street near the truck blockade in Ottawa, on Friday
A demonstrator is arrested by police in Ottawa on Friday morning, as they begin to remove protesters demanding an end to vaccine mandates in a final sweep of the Freedom Convoy protests
A protest truck is towed as police begin to clear demonstrators against vaccine mandates in Ottawa on Friday
A recreational vehicle is towed as police begin to clear demonstrators against Covid-19 mandates in Ottawa on Friday
A map shows the road closures and blockade that Ottawa police have erected in a 'ring of flannel' around the Convoy
Some demonstrators were seen being led away in handcuffs. One person being led away was carrying a sign that read 'Mandate Freedom.'
While some protesters surrendered, many remained defiant as the crackdown unfolded.
'Freedom was never free,' said trucker Kevin Homaund, of Montreal. 'So what if they put the handcuffs on us and they put us in jail?'
Ottawa Interim Police Chief Steve Bell had vowed that the protests would end this weekend, warning demonstrators: 'It's time to go, this is coming to an end.'
The early morning mood on Ottawa's snow-covered streets was almost one of resignation, and truckers, who refused to give their names, just shrugged their shoulders in response to questions over their concerns about being arrested.
The capital represented the movement's last stronghold after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Trudeau.
With police and the government facing accusations that they let the protests gain strength and spread, Trudeau on Monday invoked Canada´s Emergencies Act, empowering law enforcement authorities to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks, arrest the drivers, suspend their licenses and freeze their bank accounts.
Ottawa police made it clear on Thursday they were preparing to end the protest and remove the more than 300 trucks, with Ottawa's interim police chief warning: 'Action is imminent.'
Police clash with demonstrators against Covid-19 mandates in Ottawa on Friday
While some protesters surrendered, many remained defiant as the crackdown unfolded
A truck is towed as police crack down on truckers and supporters protesting vaccine mandates, in Ottawa on Friday
A protest truck is towed as police begin to clear demonstrators against Covid-19 mandates in Ottawa on Friday
A tow operator wears a ski mask to cover his identity as he prepares to remove a truck from a blockade on Nicholas St. in Ottawa. Police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week, traffic-snarling siege of Canada's capital
Pedestrians walk by trucks participating in a blockade of Parliament Hill by truck drivers opposing vaccine mandates
Police in Canada have begun a sweep to arrest the Freedom Convoy truckers who have paralyzed traffic in Ottawa for three weeks in a protest against the country's vaccine mandates
Police officers stand in formation as they prepare for a crackdown on truckers and supporters protesting in Ottawa
As dawn broke on Friday, police warned of a 'large police presence' descending on Parliament Hill and said that 'protesters are being advised to leave immediately'
'Some protesters are surrendering and are being arrested. We ask protesters to remain peaceful and lawful,' Ottawa police said in an alert
Barber, a truck driver for the last 28 years who led the Saskatchewan portion of the protest convoy that has been in Ottawa for the last three weeks, was walking down the street with several friends when police detained him.
Footage posted on social media showed him being detained. He could be seen smiling calmly as he was patted down and put in a patrol car.
'Call my wife!' he said, to a friend who was filming. 'And put this on social media.'
Lich, 47, widely seen as the main organizer of the protest, was detained on Thursday night as snow fell in Ottawa. She did not resist as she was handcuffed and calmly taken away in a police patrol car.
'Hold the line,' she shouted as she was escorted away.
A former fitness instructor who has sung and played guitar in a band called Blind Monday in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Lich was also a senior member of a separatist group that advocated for Canada's Western provinces to secede from the country.
On Wednesday night, she had posted a tearful video to YouTube telling her supporters that she expected to be arrested imminently.
'There's a pretty good chance - I think it's inevitable at this point - I'll probably be going somewhere tomorrow where I'll be getting three square meals a day,' she said.
'And that's OK. I want you to know I'm OK with that.
'I'll probably get some sleep.
'But please stay peaceful. And know that this too shall pass. There will be a tomorrow. And we will get through this.' 
Tamara Lich (left) was arrested in Ottawa on Thursday after she and her followers denied orders to leave the blockade in the center of the capital. Chris Barber (right) is seen on Thursday afternoon being arrested by Ottawa police
Police face off with a protester against COVID-19 mandates on Friday, in Ottawa. Police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week, traffic-snarling siege of Canada's capital by hundreds of truckers
Police officers detain a man on Friday morning, as truckers and supporters continue to protest vaccine mandates in Ottawa
Cops on Friday morning swooped in to the new 'no-go' zone created under powers from the Emergencies Act
A demonstrator is arrested by police in Ottawa on Friday as they begin to remove protesters demanding an end to. Police on said action to end the unlawful demonstration was 'imminent,' as barricades went up to restrict access to the downtown
A man is arrested by police in Ottawa on Thursday night as the local law enforcement officers move to clear the three-week blockade
Meanwhile, the city's Light Rail Transit line was suspended Friday in the section that runs underneath Ottawa's truck blockaded downtown.
The service runs above ground either side of district, and is normally a busy commuter route bringing people in.
Officials have cited weather reasons for the closure, following a prolonged snowfall in the city and temperatures down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
However shutting the downtown service effectively reinforces Ottawa police's new security zone around the area announced Thursday by Chief Bell.
The truckers, joined by thousands of demonstrators and some 400 vehicles, turned the streets around Parliament into a noisy party zone since first arriving on January 28, in what has become one of the worst crises to hit Trudeau since he took power in 2015.
Police made a handful of arrests Thursday evening, including of Barber, one of the main fundraisers and organizers, after authorities said action was imminent. Barber went without resistance after police told him he was being arrested for mischief.
'We absolutely are committed to end this unlawful demonstration. We have the plan, we have the commitment, we have the resources,' Chief Bell told reporters on Thursday.
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