Canadian Goverment Outlines Steps to End Anti-Vax Protests

One day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a public order emergency, the government on Tuesday outlined further steps to end the trucker protests and blockades. Anyone participating in the blockades is urged to return to their communities immediately.

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"These blockades must be brought to an end, and the federal government will continue working on every option to end them," Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said, assuring Ottawa residents that the chaos in their city will soon end.

"No one wants to see another weekend like the last three," he pointed out, stressing that Police will establish "no-go" zones in the city's downtown core, and people who defy orders to leave will face fines or jail time, or both.

Authorities will erect more concrete barriers and press private tow truck companies into removing the big trucks that have clogged the city's streets. Meanwhile, Ottawa's police chief, Peter Sloly, unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday.

Canada's banks were waiting for further instructions on how they're supposed to enforce the government's orders. On Monday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that banks would be required to report relationships with people involved in blockades and would be given the authority to freeze accounts without a court order.

Crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers must report large and suspicious transactions to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, the national financial intelligence agency.

Thousands of Canadian truckers and their supporters have gathered in Ottawa since late January to oppose the Canadian government's vaccine requirement for truckers crossing the border into the United States.