Experts say the 100 children living in the Independence convoy are a deliberate tactic aimed at complicating Ottawa’s occupation.
Also read: “Freedom Convoy”: Chaos continues as nothing happens in Ottawa
“Bringing children is purely strategic to improve their image and ease the situation, and it complicates the choice of police operations,” explained Andre Gelinas, a retired police officer in Montreal.
Earlier this week, the Ottawa Police Service estimated that about 25% of truck drivers had children on board, for a total of 100 people.
The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa has received numerous reports.
“Social workers go around to see how they are doing, if their parents are aware of their safety, to keep them warm, to eat well and to do some school work,” explains psychologist Anne Lacasse.
On Saturday afternoon, inflatable games were planned for them. A tent with heaters was set up to warm them up, where coloring books were also distributed.
A little further on, a clown notices a dozen people having fun in plastic modules a few meters away from the trucks.
AFP
Andre Gelinas says people who have been paralyzed for 16 days in Ottawa are using it to enhance their image as well as children as human shields.
Their presence simply prevents the police from being used to forcibly dismantle the occupation, which the Detective Sergeant explains is a well-known tactic.
“Using energy, scattering gas or stun grenades in their presence becomes very difficult. The consequences are particularly severe for their health, ”he explained.
“It simply came to our notice then [les camionneurs] They are ready to frustrate and disrupt our community, “said Charles Bordello, former chief of the Ottawa Police Service.
Many Ottawa citizens at the counter-demonstration considered this a completely unacceptable tactic.
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