OTTAWA: The mayor of Canada’s capital Ottawa has declared a state of emergency in response to more than a week of truckers’ protests against Covid restrictions, BBC reports.

Jim Watson said the city was “completely out of control”, with demonstrators outnumbering police, it said.

He said the protests posed a threat to the safety and security of residents.

The truckers have paralysed the centre of Ottawa with vehicles and tents blocking roads.

The “Freedom Convoy” began as a movement against a government requirement that the truckers be vaccinated against Covid, it said.

Watson said the protesters were behaving increasingly “insensitively” by continuously “blaring horns and sirens, [setting off] fireworks and turning it into a party”.

The mayor did not give specific details about what measures he might impose, but police said on Sunday that they would step up enforcement, including possible arrests of those seeking to aid the protesters.

(BBC)