(Ottawa) Everything indicates that there will finally be no “freedom convoy” on the streets of Winnipeg next month.
The group Canada Unity, which is one of the organizers of last year’s protest in Ottawa, has announced that it is canceling plans for another rally at the end of February.
“The official Canada Unity Convoy 2.0, which was scheduled for February 17-20, 2023, is entering a 10-7 code – service completed,” group founder James Bauder wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.
Bauder initially planned to return to Ottawa for another four-day protest, where participants would gather at a venue outside the city and make daily round trips to Parliament Hill.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Canada Unity founder James Bauder is one of dozens who were arrested and charged with various wrongdoings related to failing to follow police directives during the February 2022 protest.
However, after the police indicated that they would adopt a zero tolerance approach towards such an event, Mr. Bauder had announced, on December 25, that the event would be moved to the capital of Manitoba.
But that plan also fell through.
In his Facebook post, Mr. Bauder explained the decision in terms of security risks, without specifying which ones, and personal attacks directed at him.
Even if Convoy 2.0 were to take place in Manitoba, Bauder was particularly concerned that participants could be charged under Ontario’s new Bill 100, which was passed last year following the first protest. .
The law prohibits protests at protected transportation infrastructure, including airports and border crossings. It also allows police to seize driver’s licenses and license plates used in illegal blockades.
Mr. Bauder is one of dozens of people who were arrested during the first “convoy”, in February 2022. He was charged with mischief and disobeying police directives and court orders. One of his bail conditions prevents him from traveling to downtown Ottawa.
Significant implications
The first version of the “freedom convoy” had paralyzed downtown Ottawa and various border crossings with the United States for several weeks. The federal government had resorted to Emergency Measures Act for the first time since its adoption to put an end to the demonstration.
In the weeks leading up to the protest in Ottawa, Mr. Bauder had drafted a “memorandum of understanding” and attempted to deliver it to Governor General Mary Simon. He asked her and all sitting senators to sign a deal that would overthrow the government and make Mme Simon, senators, his wife Sandra, another man and himself the official Canadian government.
This new government would then have ordered all other levels of government to end COVID-19 health restrictions and reinstate workers who were suspended or fired for not being vaccinated.
Mr. Bauder’s group then joined with other organizations to implement the blockade which also affected several other parts of downtown Ottawa and some provincial legislatures.
As the events unfolded in Ottawa, however, Mr. Bauder did not appear to be among the main organizers or leaders.
A public inquiry into the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergency Measures Act held six weeks of public hearings last fall. We were able to discover the details of the chaos and dysfunction that reigned both within the various groups organizing the demonstrations and the police forces.
The final report of this commission of inquiry is expected next month.
The City of Ottawa reported that police and municipal service costs resulting from the event exceeded $52 million. The City of Windsor, where the blocking of the Ambassador Bridge border crossing has caused the greatest economic disruption, has estimated policing costs at nearly $7 million.