(OTTAWA) The Parliamentary Protective Service expects 500 demonstrators to converge on Ottawa this weekend to mark the first anniversary of the “freedom convoy”, which had occupied the center of the capital.
The Parliamentary Protective Service, a federal agency that is responsible for security on Parliament Hill, warns that it will reduce certain access to buildings.
The public can still use the center gates and east gates to access the lawn of Parliament Hill, but not the gates closest to West Block, where the Liberal caucus meets on weekends in anticipation of the return to parliament on Monday.
The Parliamentary Protective Service says public tours of parliament have been canceled and Ottawa Police will enforce a vehicle ban on Wellington Street, which runs alongside Parliament Hill.
Ottawa City Council voted this week to reopen Wellington Street to vehicles as early as March, after a full year-long closure.
HGVs had occupied Wellington Street for three weeks last year, until the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act.