(OTTAWA) Elected officials from all levels of government are urging protesters crippling the federal capital to lift the siege, as organizers prepare to settle in even longer, handing out fuel and supplies to trucks blockading streets of Ottawa since the weekend.
Posted at 4:34 p.m.
Crowds dwindled considerably on Tuesday on and around Parliament Hill, where anti-COVID-19 protesters have been protesting health measures for days.
But Ottawa remains paralyzed by trucks clogging the main streets of the city center and many businesses have remained closed since Friday for security reasons.
In a video posted online early Tuesday, convoy organizer Pat King was happy to see Ottawa blocked. Protesters who are still there say they will not move until all health restrictions are lifted. The president of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association confirms that some protesters are extending their stays at hotels or asking to rebook for next weekend.
Residents of downtown Ottawa say truck horns blare at all hours in the evening and start again in the early morning. Gary Banham claims he was harassed on the street by protesters for wearing a mask while out for a walk. “It’s difficult because we don’t even dare to leave our homes anymore,” he says.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday the protesters had been heard and now was the time to go home.
“These businesses that have been closed for, you know, for a while, the restaurants, want to reopen. So, you know, I get it, I hear you. But let the people of Ottawa live their lives,” said Ford.
Federal ministers offered much the same message Tuesday morning as they arrived on Parliament Hill for a cabinet meeting.
“You have been heard, but now let the people of Ottawa go back to normal life. This is what the citizens of Ottawa want. They want their city center back, and we need to get back to normality, ”said Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
The local councilwoman and MPP who represent the area have asked Mr. Ford for financial assistance to clean up the mess left by the protesters. They are also asking for support for already struggling businesses that have been closed since the arrival of the convoy.
“Additionally, for the protesters in the convoy who are still there, we are asking for the support of the province to investigate and issue fines to all protesters in the convoy involved in parking violations, public health and safety violations. back to work,” City Councilwoman Catherine McKenney and MLA Joel Harden wrote Tuesday.
“No longer a legitimate demonstration”
While that discontent is clearly directed at the federal and provincial governments tasked with enforcing mandatory vaccinations and health measures, Ottawa residents have borne the brunt of the impact, Mayor Jim Watson argued Monday.
Police estimate they spend about $800,000 a day monitoring protesters and responding to emergencies.
Mayor Watson has previously raised the issue of cost recovery with the Prime Minister and MP for Ottawa Center Yasir Naqvi. The mayor’s office said in a statement that those requests for assistance were well received.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he would not meet with any protest representatives, pointing to incidents of harassment, Nazi flags and the desecration of the National War Memorial. Federal Justice Minister David Lametti said Tuesday that what is happening in Ottawa is no longer a “legitimate protest.”
“We need to reflect on the fact that all (individual) rights are limited by the limits that we find in free and democratic societies, and that is what our Charter does. »
The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, which represents private trucking fleets, acknowledged that the protest had gone “too far”, undermining the rights, safety and ability of other citizens to move freely. and get to work.
The association suggests that protesters use part of the millions of dollars collected to repair the damage caused by certain participants. The association cites the desecration of the National War Memorial and the statue of Terry Fox downtown, as well as the harassment of servers and patrons at the Shepherds of Hope homeless shelter.
“It would be a very nice gesture if you take part of the funds and donate to the Terry-Fox Foundation, the Royal Canadian Legion as well as the Shepherds of Hope”, declared the president of the association, Mike Millian, in a statement Tuesday.
Canada Unity, the group behind the protest, was born during the 2019 propipeline convoy in Ottawa, but morphed into a group against restrictions to contain COVID-19 after the pandemic began.
Mandatory vaccinations for truckers, which came into effect on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border last month, helped spark the largest convoy, which converged from the West and East on Ottawa last week. .