A hearing into a proposed class-action lawsuit seeking an injunction to silence the constant honking of horns as part of the "Freedom Convoy" protest in downtown Ottawa has been adjourned until Monday.
Lawyer Paul Champ was in court Saturday afternoon to argue for an injunction to stop the incessant horn honking, which has been used as a tactic by the demonstrators for more than a week.
"The air horns and train horns that they use go from 105 to 120 decibels non-stop. If you’ve heard a train horn going by you, that can be quite loud. Imagine it going on for 20 minutes xjmtzywstraight, every hour on the hour. It’s become unbearable to live in downtown Ottawa," Champ told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Saturday morning.
Ken Wilson, representing the convoy organizers named in the suit, told the court that the truckers have an accord between themselves not to sound the horns between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Wilson asked the court to adjourn for several days to allow him time to prepare a case, as he had only received the motion record and affidavits late Friday night.
Champ argued for an interim injunction in the meantime, but Justice Hugh McLean said that with the present information, he could not craft an injunction that would be enforceable.
"I can’t enforce it because I don’t know who it is directed to," he explained.
The hearing is being put over until 1 p.m. Monday, which will give lawyers the time to prepare documents. McLean did suggest, in the interim, that the truckers co-ordinate to honk their horns only once a day. "Perhaps at noon, and that’s it," he said.
According to a statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Friday by Champ, the lawsuit is seeking $4.8 million for “private nuisance” and another $5 million in “punitive damages.”
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Protesters gather on Parliament hill as trucks continue to block the downtown core in protest of COVID-19 restrictions, in Ottawa, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
