The organizers of the "Freedom Convoy" have indicated they plan to stay in Ottawa until pandemic-related mandates are repealed, but some business owners say the protesters are doing more harm than good.
Sarah Chown, managing partner of the downtown restaurant Metropolitain Brasserie and Ottawa chair of the Ontario Hotel and Motel Association, told CTV’s Your Morning that her restaurant has been closed since the protesters arrived last weekend.
"We’ve essentially been closed since they arrived," Chown said Friday. "Unfortunately, our property was completely inaccessible for pickup drivers to come from Uber and DoorDash and other third party services so we weren’t even able to operate for takeout on the weekend."
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While indoor dining was permitted again in the province on Monday, Chown said Metropolitain Brasserie and many other restaurants in the area have been forced to remain closed due to gridlock downtown.
Chown said the environment is "not conducive to an enjoyable dining experience" and the restaurant will have to stay closed until the protesters leave.
"It’s loud all the time and there’s music and there’s horns and there’s often those smoke bombs or fireworks and bonfires," she said.
Parts of the convoy arrived in Ottawa last Friday ahead of a big rally on Parliament Hill Saturday in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truckers and broader public health measures. Earlier Thursday, some of the main organizers for the "Freedom Convoy" decried that they had been painted as "racists, misogynists…and even terrorists," and that no one from the federal or provincial government had met with them.
Tamara Lich, one of the leaders of the convoy, read a prepared statement "calling on all levels of government to lift all COVID-19 restrictions and mandates," and vowed to stay on until there is a "solid plan" to see action on their demands.
However, there was no indication Thursday of that being on the table as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau still refused to meet with the protesters, instead repeating his criticism of their tactics and calling on them to give the increasingly frustrated people of Ottawa their neighbourhoods back.
Chown said she appreciates that the protesters are frustrated, but said their actions are hampering businesses and disrupting residents. She said her employees don’t feel safe and are now concerned about financially supporting their families without being able to work for a week.
"Unfortunately, your demonstrations currently are not hurting politicians. They’re just hurting us — our small businesses, our employees and the restaurants. It’s been a long two years for us, and we need to get back to business and you’re not helping us you’re hindering us at this point," she said.
CONCERNS OVER SAFETY, SECURITY
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced late Thursday that the RCMP has approved all requests from the Ottawa Police Service to address the convoy that has taken over the city’s downtown core.
In the statement, Mendicino said that the convoy has "caused significant disruption" to local residents and that the people of Ottawa are "entitled to exxjmtzywpect that the law is upheld and enforced by police and that public safety is maintained."
Trudeau previously told reporters that he has no plans to call in the military to help Ottawa police contain or disperse the protest.
Ottawa’s police chief is scheduled to speak with the media Friday morning to discuss "increased measures to protect the safety of downtown neighbourhoods and residents" as frustrations in the city grow.
- Protesters build wooden structure in downtown Ottawa park
More serious reports of residents being harassed and threatened with rape and violence for wearing masks or being physically assaulted while walking in their neighbourhoods have caused uproar on social media and led to tense questions between city councillors, the police and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
The Cornerstone Emergency Shelter for Women released a statement Wednesday outlining the trauma their clients and front-line support staff are facing due to the protest.
"Women and staff are scared to go outside of the shelter, especially women of colour, being able to go outside is the only reprieve many women experiencing homelessness have and they cannot even do that," the statement reads.
"The incessant honking and noise from the trucks have caused significant anxiety and distress for staff and shelter residents. Women have admitted themselves into hospital due to the increased trauma from the noise and fear."
MORE PROTESTERS COMING
As of Friday, there is still no clear sign that any action to end the protest is imminent, with the convoy expected to stay in Ottawa over the weekend.
A tractor convoy is being planned from Alexandria to Ottawa on Saturday in support of the truckers, according to a Facebook group with more than 1,900 followers.
Similar convoys are allegedly being planned this weekend in Toronto and Quebec City.
"I want to be absolutely clear, I support Toronto police taking necessary action to prepare for this possible protest with a focus on doing everything they can to protect the safety of Toronto residents and businesses," Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters on Thursday.
Tory is planning a public update on the planned convoy protest in Toronto later Friday.
Meanwhile in Alberta, the RCMP managed to negotiate a partial lifting of the Canada-U.S. border blockade at Coutts Wednesday night, with many of the protesters remaining in the area, but moving their vehicles to the side of the highway.
However, after that partial reopening, a second blockade was set up 18 kilometres to the north near Milk River.
Demonstrators began parking their trucks and other vehicles last Saturday near the crossing in solidarity with similar events in Ottawa and other locations to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and broader public health measures.
Cpl. Curtis Peters, RCMP spokesperson, told CTV News Channel late Thursday that only about 10 vehicles were able to get through before the second blockade was established, but it is now also allowing vehicles to pass through a single lane both ways on Highway 4.
"With the ongoing dialogue with the group, we were able to get that traffic moving again," he said. "There’s still a significant backlog there. There’s still ongoing protest activity in two locations now."
Peters said officers are in "constant communication" with the protesters and are considering several ways to bring an end to the demonstrations near the border.
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Trucks are parked along the sidewalk and on Wellington Street outside the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council during a rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Parliament Hill, which began as a cross-country convoy protesting a federal vaccine mandate for truckers, in Ottawa, on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
National Capital Commission Conservation officers speak to a protesters at Confederation Park, as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions, which began as a cross-country convoy protesting a federal vaccine mandate for truckers, continues in downtown Ottawa, on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Tamara Lich, organizer for a protest convoy by truckers and supporters demanding an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, delivers a statement during a news conference in Ottawa, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
A truck convoy of anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators continue to block the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
