Police in Ottawa are poised for a crackdown on the protests that have immobilized Canada’s capital, but after three weeks of scant enforcement, images of police officers fraternizing with protesters have some Canadians questioning the gentle treatment of the demonstrations. In particular, many people are contrasting the police conduct at the trucker protests with the displays of force seen at other recent demonstrations, particularly by Indigenous people. …Many Canadians have contrasted the treatment of the demonstrations to the heavy-handed response last year to protests to protect old growth forests in… British Columbia. …The differences are real, but the Canadian police have generally been slow to escalate in response to civil disobedience by any group, said Howard Ramos at the University of Western Ontario. The protests at Fairy Creek, for example, lasted about a year before police ratcheted up enforcement. [to access the full story a NYT subscription may be required]