Ottawa mayor and “Freedom Caravan” agree to move trucks from residential areas

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says he reached an agreement with the Freedom Caravan command to remove trucks from residential neighborhoods this week.

Watson’s office told Canadian council members Sunday that it had reached an agreement through “back channel negotiations” for the convoy to remove trucks blocking residential streets, According to CTV News.

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“We have put in place a plan to unite our protest efforts around Parliament Hill,” Tamara Leech, president of Freedom Caravan, said in a letter to Watson, adding that the Freedom Caravan council is agreeing to a request to relieve pressure on residential areas and that organizers are urging truck drivers to: “the purchase”.

“Freedom Caravan Council approves your request to reduce pressure on residents and businesses in the city of Ottawa,” wrote Leech. “We have made a plan to unite our protest efforts around Parliament House. We will work hard over the next 24 hours to get purchases from our truck drivers. We hope to start rearranging our trucks on Monday.”

Freedom Caravan protest
(Fox News Digital/Lisa Banatan)

Watson wrote to Leech saying that residents were “exhausted and nervous” and that the blockade was “teetering on the brink of a permanent closure” of some businesses.

“I do not believe that these adverse effects on our society and its inhabitants were the intended results of your protest,” Watson wrote.

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Watson said he wants to see “clear evidence” of trucks moving off residential streets by Monday and will meet with the caravan organizers if they meet certain conditions.

First, “all trucks shall be removed from residential areas south of Wellington Street, and from all other residential areas including the market, Ottawa baseball stadium in Coventry, etc.”

Second, they should “agree not to backfill residential areas currently occupied with trucks, other vehicles, and/or protesters.”

Third, they must “agree not to move the convoy of trucks, vehicles, and/or protesters to other residential areas of the City of Ottawa.”

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The Caravan, which closed major roads and border crossings in Canada for 17 days, claimed its initial protest of 1,600 trucks swelled to 36,000 during the first week, despite Washington Post It puts the number closer to 8000. The case has attracted international attention and support, with the prospect of an American truck driver protesting start The Department of Homeland Security announced this weekend in Los Angeles about the Super Bowl.

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators stand on a trailer carrying logs as truck drivers and supporters participate in a convoy to protest mandates for a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for cross-border truck drivers in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Jan. 29, 2022. REUTERS/PATRICK DOYLE/FILE Picture

in the current situation Spread On Facebook on January 26, Canadian truck drivers articulated their demands, which they linked to personal freedoms from government overreach: In the letter, the truck drivers demanded that the Canadian government remove vaccine mandates and end any government-supported digital tracking platform such as the COVID-19 vaccine passport and contact tracing software.

Peter Aitken of Fox News contributed to this report