(16 Feb 2022) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4366402
Police in Canada's capital are telling protesting truckers who've paralyzed the city for more than two weeks that it's time to leave.
Ottawa police began handing out notices and threatening arrests Wednesday near the Parliament building.
Authorities are warning truck drivers that they could lose their licenses if they don't go now.
But truckers and other protesters remained defiant, some ripping up the notices on the spot, saying they will refuse to leave.
"If it means that I need to go to prison, if I need to be fined in order to allow freedom to be restored in this country -- millions of people have given far more for their freedom," said David Paisley, an HVAC worker that travelled to Ottawa with a friend who is a truck driver.
"Unfortunately, the government insists on playing divisive games, calling us names, attacking us, throwing down these new powers upon us instead of just having a conversation," he said.
The protesters decrying vaccine mandates for truckers and other COVID-19 precautions have jammed the streets of the capital since last January.
The warnings from police come just days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave authorities clearance to ban the blockades and tow away the trucks.
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