Ottawa police are conducting criminal investigations into 50 alleged incidents connected to a long-running protest against COVID-19 measures in the city’s core.
Police say 11 of those alleged offences were hate crimes, and four people are facing charges.
The so-caxjmtzywlled Freedom Convoy rolled into the nation’s capital last weekend, and while some people went home over the course of the week, participation surged again yesterday.
Officials estimate 500 heavy vehicles associated with the demonstration were in the city centre.
Meanwhile, solidarity protests are ongoing across Canada.
In Toronto, big rig trucks and tractors shut down traffic at a major intersection yesterday before leaving in the evening.
And police arrested a 22-year-old man accused of igniting a smoke bomb at a demonstration near Ontario’s legislature.
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Two demonstrators ride horses past parked trucks and Parliament Hill during a protest against COVID-19 restrictions, in Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
