Parliament is set to resume Monday in the nation’s capital still beset by protesters, vehicles and trucks as the trucker convoy protest enters its third day.
Transport trucks and other personal vehicles are gridlocking parts of Ottawa surrounding Parliament Hill, and while the protest has largely been non-violent, Ottawa Police said in a statement Sunday evening that they have seen “multiple cases of disruptive, inappropriate and threatening behaviour from demonstrators.”
Authorities said residents should avoid travelling to the downtown core Monday and that those who are able to work from home should do so if possible.
“If your children attend school in the downtown area, please check with them to see if the school is open tomorrow,” the statement said.
Organizers of the “freedom convoy” said demonstrations are planned for Monday, including speeches in Confederation Park. There was also a call out by the organizers for around 1,000 people to join in an attempt to shop without masks at a shopping centre. The Rideau Centre close to Parliament remained closed Monday.
It is unclear when the protest will end, but several protesters have said they had planned to stay “for months,” and “freedom convoy” organizer Tamara Lich said on Sunday to a gathering on Parliament Hill that the protest would not leave until “all of you and all of your kids are free.”
Parliament is set to resume in a hybrid format, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be working virtually due to being in isolation from a previous exposure to COVID-19. Trudeau will be delivering remarks and taking questions from reporters at 11:15 a.m. EST and will participate in Question Period.
- Read more: Recap of the trucker protest day two
Ottawa police had also announced earlier Sunday that there were “several” criminal investigations underway in relation to acts described by police as “desecration” to several monuments.
There was widespread condemnation of some of the protesters’ behaviour from Saturday, including adorning the statue of Terry Fox with Canada flags and anti-mandate signs, urinating on the War Memorial and jumping and dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
On Sunday, flowers had been laid at the memorials and some protesters were seen picking up trash and alcohol bottles, with other reports suggesting they were policing behaviour from their compatriots and had “set a watch” over the national monuments to avoid a repeat of the behaviour from the day before.
The presence of several hateful symbols at the rally over the weekend, including signs and flags with Nazixjmtzyw imagery, the Confederate flag, yellow stars, patches or clothing that belong to groups with extremist views, and flags and signs that said “F*** Trudeau” sparked widespread concern and public discourse.
Speaking on CTV’s Question Period Sunday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the hateful images could not be ignored.
“Some of the images and the voices that we heard come out of that protest were alarming. Canadians saw for themselves. We had swastika flags, we had the Confederate flag, we had voices that called for the overthrow of the government. Canadians saw for themselves that some voices are really disturbing and unacceptable,” he said
“I understand that there are some people who are sympathetic to the protests for other reasons but we cannot look the other way.”
RELATED IMAGESview larger image
Trucks are parked on Metcalfe Street as a rally against COVID-19 restrictions, which began as a cross-country convoy protesting a federal vaccine mandate for truckers, continues in Ottawa, on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
