OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked sweeping emergency police powers Monday to quell protests against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions in the capital and at border crossings.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” the Canadian leader told reporters in Ottawa alongside top cabinet officials. The federal government is stepping in because local police authorities have had difficulty enforcing the law, he said. “This is about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people’s jobs and restoring confidence in our institutions.”
The government is seeking to choke off the flow of funds to the protesters, broadening its anti-money-laundering rules to cover crowdsourcing sites such as GoFundMe that have been used to funnel donations to them, as well as cryptocurrency platforms. Banks will get temporary powers to cease providing services to people who are suspected of aiding the demonstrations.
