Ottawa’s top police officer resigned on Tuesday amid a driver-led protest against vaccine mandates in Canada’s capital that is now in its third week.
Police Chief Peter Sloly had drawn criticism for his handling of the lorry driver protest that has paralysed the city for weeks.
Deputy Chief Steve Bell has been named interim chief by the Ottawa Police Service Board.
“The unlawful occupation has been a tremendous stress to our community,” interim Chief Bell told the service board. “I'm confident we've reached a turning point.”
“I'm shocked,” Michael Kempa, associate professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa, told The National.
“In any emergency, continuity of leadership is almost always the preferred course, unless it has been deemed that it is so problematic, that it's worth a disruption to go in another direction.”
Mr Sloly’s decision comes a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers to quell the protests and choke off the flow of money to demonstrators.
The measure gives the government the power to ban public assemblies in certain locations while ordering financial institutions to freeze the accounts of demonstrators and those supporting them.
Mr Kempa said that with Mr Trudeau's move and Mr Sloly's resignation, it's clear “the feds are now in the driver's seat".
He cautioned that Mr Sloly's resignation would not fix the Ottawa Police Services, which is widely seen to have underperformed over the course of the past two weeks, making a series of mistakes that ultimately allowed the protesters to take control of a huge portion of the city centre.
“If people think that this solves the problem, they are deeply misguided,” Mr Kempa said.
“We have had a systems failure that led to this problem.”
For more than two weeks, hundreds of lorry drivers and thousands of their supporters have “occupied” Ottawa, shaking many Canadians' faith in their governmental institutions.
On Friday, the Canadian province of Ontario declared a state of emergency over the protests.
The former Ottawa chief, on the job since 2019, had emphasised negotiations with protesters and avoiding confrontations between the demonstrators and police.
Mr Sloly said in the early days of the crisis that there may not be a policing solution to the problem.
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A police officer stands guard at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National. -
A woman carries a sign that says "For Sale: Trudeau." Willy Lowry / The National. -
A man holds a boombox and a Canadian flag. Willy Lowry / The National. -
Three men pose for a picture while attending the anti-vaccine protests in Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National. -
Thousands of people attend an anti-vaccine mandate protest in Ottawa on Saturday, February, 12. Willy Lowry / The National. -
A man holds a sign reading "A global coup d'etat" at a protest in downtown Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National. -
Two people pose for a picture while attending the anti-vaccine protest in Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National. -
Thousands of people protest against government vaccine mandates in front of Peace Tower in Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National. -
Mike Card, right, poses with two friends. They drove in from Sarnia, Ontario, to support the lorry drivers. Willy Lowry / The National -
A sign that reads 'my body, my choice' sits in front of the Canadian Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
A sign thanking drivers hangs on Wellington Street in central Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National -
A woman waves a Canadian flag in front of Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
A woman hands out soup to protesters. Willy Lowry / The National -
A sign calling for an end to mandates sits on the fence around the Canadian Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
Police officers stand guard at a city intersection in central Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National -
A car is decorated with an anti-vaccine sign and both the American and Canadian flags. Willy Lowry / The National -
Donna Curry holds a sing saying 'God keep our land glorious and free' outside of Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
Ant-vaccine signs litter and block a city intersection in central Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National -
Police cruisers block an intersection in central Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National -
Children play hockey on the street in front of the Canadian Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
A man cracks an egg to help prepare food for the protesters. Willy Lowry / The National -
A protester wears a Hockey Canada jersey outside of Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
Two men pose outside of Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
Signs fill the windshield of a parked lorry in central Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National -
A giant Canadian flag hangs at an intersection near the Parliament. Willy Lowry / The National -
Portable toilets have been set up near the main protest site in Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National -
A counter-protester stands near the anti-vaccine protesters in central Ottawa. Willy Lowry / The National -
A man holds a sign criticising Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Willy Lowry / The National
