Canada protest: Parliament cancels its work as police operation to break up protest begins

Canada's parliament was halted and MPs were warned away from Ottawa's downtown area as police began arresting protesters and clearing trucks that had occupied the capital for weeks.

Hundreds of heavily armed police went door-to-door along a convoy of trucks to remove protesters that have gridlocked the streets outside parliament in anger at the country's coronavirus restrictions.

At least eight people were arrested on Friday. Officers said the operation had so far remained peaceful, with some protesters readily surrendering.

But others remained defiant amid heavy snowfall, playing loud music and waving Canadian flags at the ends of hockey sticks.

"Freedom was never free," said Kevin Homaund, a trucker from Montreal. "So what if they put the handcuffs on us and they put us in jail?"

The capital represented the trucker-led protesters' last stronghold after three weeks of blockades that had cut off key trade routes to the US and levied huge economic damage on both countries.

The aggressive clamp down came after officers detained two leaders of the truck convoy late on Thursday.

Chris Barber, 46, and Tamara Lich, 49, were both charged with mischief. Mr Barber also faces an obstruction charge. The pair were expected to appear in court later on Friday.

Ahead of the clearing operation, MPs took the extraordinary step of cancelling a parliamentary session.

Senators and government workers were also asked to stay away from parliament.

"Should you be already in the precinct, please remain in the building and await further instructions from parliamentary protection officers," a police advisory stated.

Parliament had been due to debate prime minister Justin Trudeau's decision to invoke Canada's never-before-used emergency powers to crack down on the so-called "Freedom Convoy".

The measure gives Mr Trudeau's government sweeping, although temporary, powers including to curb public assembly, freeze the protesters bank accounts and restrict travel in certain areas.

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said the protesters were "brazenly" trying to overthrow the government, while accusing the leading opposition Conservative Party of "endorsing" the trucker convoy.

Conservative MPs shot back that the government was using a "sledgehammer to crack down on dissent."

Mr Trudeau defended his decision to resort to the Emergencies Act, saying the act was not being used to call in the military, and denied restricting freedom of expression.

While the emergency declaration took effect on Monday, Parliament was due to debate the measure Friday and into the weekend ahead of a required vote on Monday.

But given the intensive police operation underway, MPs in the House of Commons took the decision to cancel Friday's debate.

It was the first time that Canada's parliament interrupted its work since demonstrations in the capital began.

The protest had begun in response to a vaccine requirement for truck drivers crossing the US border.

But it mushroomed into a wider, less cohesive movement against all manner of coronavirus restrictions as well as Mr Trudeau's premiership.

As police prepared to clear the area officers set up 100 checkpoints around the city's gridlocked downtown area to bar entry into the zone.

"You will face severe penalties if you do not cease further unlawful activity and remove your vehicle and/or property immediately from all unlawful protest sites," Ottawa police tweeted Friday morning.

Officers also demanded that journalists covering the operation report from a distance for their own safety.