February 14, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, police in Ottawa began an operation to clear the capital city of convoy protesters who had been on the streets for over 21 days. Spanning the course of 4 days, nearly 200 people were arrested and several were injured by police.

Horses are back today and mounted with Toronto police officers.https://t.co/VfgKKYKzKr@OttawaPolice pic.twitter.com/RwvpC0kFce

— Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) February 19, 2022

I had the chance to speak with one of the protesters who was severely injured by the Toronto police mounted unit when they charged in front of the crowd.

The riot police were lined outside of the Chateau Laurier, and had just aggressively pushed the demonstrators. They pushed back slightly to make way for the Toronto police mounted unit to rush through in front as a show of force.

Candice was present and was trampled by the police horse along with her mobility scooter.

Police in Ottawa trampled protesters with horses today. pic.twitter.com/VPLX5XpDhf

— Marie Oakes (@TheMarieOakes) February 18, 2022

She went to the hospital shortly after and had her injuries taken care of. Bruising on the back of her leg, a broken collar bone and sore ribs are just some of them. Despite all this, she’s in high spirits, saying: 

I’m still alive, I’m still here. Thank you to everyone out there. I’m okay.

After filming this interview on February 19, private text messages from an RCMP musical ride mounted unit were leaked. Those messages mocked protesters who had been trampled.

You can read our full investigative report on the messages officers included here.

On February 20, the RCMP issued a statement acknowledging the authenticity of the text messages. The police force is investigating but no officers have been suspended.