(Ottawa) Some of those who took part in the “Freedom Convoy” two years ago plan to return to downtown Ottawa on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the police operation that dispersed protesters.
Published yesterday at 5:43 p.m.
At a press conference on Friday afternoon, two members of this “freedom movement” announced their intention to hold a rally on Parliament Hill on Saturday.
Chris Dacey, an Ottawa resident who took part in the movement two years ago, assured that it is not about repeating a demonstration with vehicles like in 2022. He said the group plans to hold speeches and a march Saturday afternoon.
Thousands of people took to the streets around Parliament Hill at the end of January 2022, blocking the streets with large trucks and other vehicles and then refusing to allow them to move on.
The demonstrators were poorly organized: some had come to Ottawa to protest COVID-19-related health restrictions — most of which were no longer in effect at the time — but others hoped to topple Justin Trudeau's government.
Many downtown businesses, including the Rideau Shopping Center, were forced to close their doors due to diesel fumes and makeshift encampments on downtown streets. Some residents reported harassment and many complained of being unable to sleep at night due to the noise of horns, music and fireworks.
Other protesters also blocked the border crossings in Windsor, Ontario and Coutts, Alberta.
After weeks of unrest, the Trudeau government invoked the Emergencies Act to give extraordinary powers to police and provincial governments and freeze protesters' bank accounts.
Police officers from across Ontario and Quebec were then mobilized to clear protesters from the streets of Ottawa in a major multi-day operation that ended on February 17, 2022, two years ago on Saturday.
The use of this exceptional measure, which had never been used since its adoption in 1988, was subsequently examined by a federal commission, as required by law. In February 2023, the “Rouleau Commission” issued 56 recommendations to police and governments. Judge Paul Rouleau also concluded that the Liberals were right to invoke this exceptional law.
But last month, federal judge Richard Mosley concluded that this application of the law was inappropriate and violated the constitutional right to free speech. The federal government has already indicated that it will appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.
Two of the main organizers of the Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, are facing trial on mischief and other charges in a case that has dragged on for months in Ottawa.
In addition, the courts have not yet ruled on a request to bring a $290 million class-action lawsuit against the organizers on behalf of Ottawa residents, employees and business owners.