The City of Ottawa has begun enforcing special parking restrictions in the downtown core in anticipation of the One Year Anniversary of Freedom Convoy this weekend.
Ah news release The restrictions will come into effect from January 27-29, according to a document issued by the city on January 26. “Residents and visitors are encouraged to follow the posted signs and park their vehicles accordingly,” it said.
The city and the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) are working together to ensure that “city ordinances regarding parking, noise, garbage and fireworks are respected” during the “scheduled event,” according to the release. am.
Additional ordinance officers will be deployed to ensure parking rules are followed. “All vehicles found to be in violation of these regulations will be ticketed and towed,” it added.
The City also prohibits individuals or individuals violating other ordinances, such as unnecessary noise, installation of structures on City property, public urination and defecation, open fires, littering, lighting, or setting off fireworks. I mentioned that the group would be issued a ticket.
There will be no traffic closures, although OPS may impose temporary closures to manage “high traffic volumes” as needed. Yes,” said Reese.
The Freedom Convoy began arriving in Ottawa on January 28 and 29 last year to protest federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers traveling between Canada and the United States. After many Canadians across the country joined or expressed their support for ending various his COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, it turned into a much bigger movement.
The streets of downtown Ottawa were filled with rigs, trucks, live music and bouncy castles until police escalated their operations on February 18, 2022. He comes four days after the federal government invoked emergency laws to quell protests and subsidize banks. Ability to freeze Fleet Organizer and Supporter accounts without court order.
Convoy organizers had hoped to speak with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but were not given an audience during their stay in Ottawa.
“i am ready”
OPS Chief Eric Stubbs said earlier this week that the city will increase its downtown police presence this weekend.
He added that the city has resources, tow trucks and a staffing plan in place should a protest be held.
“Our goal is not to have a vehicular protest. If someone tries to do a vehicular protest, we will take steps to dismantle it fairly quickly.” Stubbs made the comments ahead of the January 23 meeting of the Ottawa Police Service Commission.
He said the police were “prepared” and that “the ultimate goal of all this planning and preparation is to prevent what happened last year from happening this year.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the truckers’ protests as “illegal and dangerous”.
“We have taken over the city, harassed people and broken the law. This is not a peaceful protest,” he said on February 14.
‘No violence happened’
A security report the same day by the Center for Government Operations, an internal arm of Canadian public security, characterized the Freedom Convoy protests as small, peaceful, and having little impact on federal government operations.
“There are no concerns at this time,” said an assessment by the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency included in the report.
Other daily updates on the convoy protests at the time include confirmation of: ), “Minimum people in the Capitol” (10 February), “The situation is stable and plans are underway” (11 February).
20 October 2022, public survey The Liberal government’s use of the Emergency Act, Craig AbramsChief of Operations for the Eastern Region of the Ontario Police Department.
“Overall, we weren’t assaulted, we weren’t committing a crime, we weren’t aware we were being charged,” he said, adding that the convoy hadn’t damaged the highway. Added
“They said what they would do. They kept one lane. They entered the city of Ottawa in order.”
Ottawa City Commission voted Reopen Wellington Street in front of the Houses of Parliament by March 1st.
Marnie Cathcart and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.