What is the given rationale behind it? I didn't really follow the news on this very closely as it's very far removed from my part of the world, but can't they just walk up to the protestors and say "knock it off mate, or we'll arrest ya"?
No a clue, honestly. They didn’t need to seize assets or declare an emergency to send in armed forces to remove pipeline protesters last year, so it’s confusing why they’ve been treating this with such theatrics.
They are able to freeze assets suspected of being used to fund criminal activity. This only applies to the corporate accounts of the owners of the trucks and the millions of dollars raised by mostly US-based anti-vaxxers. If Antifa activists were to recieve 6 figures from mostly Chinese communists with the express intent to use those funds to cause economic damage, some of the commentators here might react differently.
Of course there have been ample warnings, including the handing out of leaflets detailing the unlawful offenses. Many people were ticketed and arrested at border crossing protests, including 11 members of a splinter group, in posession of 13 long guns, ammunition, body armor and hand guns.
The Ambassodor Bridge, accounting for ~30% of the cross-border land trade has since been cleared. The damage is estimated at above $500M. Damages at border crossings in Alberta and Manitoba have been estimated at 48 and $73M respectively.
I don’t actually care which country wants to fund anti-facism. If you’re not anti-fascism, you’re the problem.
And before anyone hit’s the “i’m not anti-anti-fascist, i’m anti-antifa” there IS no antifa. You can’t join antifa, you can’t donate to antifa, they don’t give out member cards. It’s just a name people who are anti-fascism apply to themselves.