The city of Ottawa said thousands of tickets issued during last year’s “Freedom Convoy” protests went unpaid, and only about half of the total fines it received a year later.
Between January 28 and February 18, 2022, when protesters gathered in the capital, authorities issued a total of 3,812 parking tickets and 318 state violation notices for illegal parking, including on private property and in no-parking zones. gave out a total of $320,545. .
So far, just over $141,000 of its value is reportedly still outstanding. canadian press.
Unpaid fines can lead to license plate denial, and fines can be passed on to property taxes, seized from wages, or referred to collection agencies, but Ottawa has decided to take these steps. It is not clear whether or not it was taken.
This week marks the one-year anniversary of nationwide protests that began as protests against the liberal government’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination orders for cross-border truck drivers. Other protesters joined at the time, calling for an end to other pandemic restrictions such as mandatory masks.
The protests were followed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who refused to meet protesters, invoked an unprecedented state of emergency law on February 14, 2022, forcing tow truck companies to remove demonstrators. Finished after giving additional powers to wipe out participants. protester’s vehicle.
There was a public inquiry last fall into the justification for using the law for the first time since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988. A final report on that investigation should be submitted to Congress in February.
According to the City of Ottawa, the protest cost the municipality about $7 million and the Ottawa police $55 million. The city has asked the federal government to cover these costs, but no funding announcement has been made.
Minister of Public Security Marco Mendicino announced In December 2022, the federal government will help the City of Windsor, Ontario, pay for the border closure that took place at the busy Canadian-U.S. announced that it will provide funding.
The actual amount Windsor will receive is still up for debate, but the city was seeking millions of dollars in compensation for the alleged cost of business closures due to the border closure.
Similar protests closed border crossings in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Coutts, Alberta. Because last winter, at the height of his Freedom convoy, protesters across the country united with those who gathered in the capital.
Canadian Press contributed to this report.