Ottawa won’t tolerate another occupation, police chief warns biker convoy

Ottawa’s interim police chief is warning that the city will not tolerate any kind of long-term occupation of the capital as hundreds of motorcyclists prepare to descend on the city starting Friday.

During a briefing Thursday, interim boss Steve Bell told reporters that Rolling Thunder organizers convoy they have said they plan to leave the capital on Sunday. If they don’t, he added, his officers are ready to act.

“We have been very clear: We are not going to tolerate any type of illegal activity that indicates any type of long-term occupation of any area of ​​our city,” Bell said. “We will be very responsive and very proactive in identifying and dismantling any type (of encampments).”

The warning came as police and Ottawa residents, many still shaken by “Freedom.” Convoy” that occupied the city center for more than three weeks in February, prepare for another round of disruptions and protestyes

The group “Rolling Thunder” has not been clear about why they are joining, except to say that they will be in Ottawa to “peacefully celebrate our freedom.” However, the organization has partnered with several groups apparently linked to the “Freedom Convoy.”

That occupation disrupted traffic, forced businesses to close and prompted reports of intimidation, harassment and hateful conduct. Police Chief Peter Sloly resigned after many residents criticized the police for not taking a tougher line with the protesters.

The demonstration, which also disrupted several border crossings with the United States, saw protests against COVID-19 restrictions and demands that the Liberal government step down.

It ended after the federal Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Law and the police stepped in to detain and arrest dozens of people.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reflected Thursday on the latest protest convoy in comments at a Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, event.

“Earlier this year, our country and people around the world were shocked and dismayed to see Nazi images displayed in our nation’s capital,” he said.

“For the Jewish community and for all Canadians, those images were deeply disturbing.”

Bell, who promised a heavy police presence this weekend, told reporters the service has learned a lot from that experience. He said the hate crimes unit has already been involved in preparing for the event and anyone displaying hate symbols will be charged.

He added that officers will arrest any “Freedom Convoy” protesters ordered by the courts to stay out of town as a condition of their release.

“Many of the people charged in the illicit protest in February they have the conditions to not be in Ottawa”, he said. “Those people must respect the conditions established by the court. If those conditions are breached, those people will be arrested and charged.”

Convoy organizers have said they plan to arrive Friday before meeting Saturday morning and touring downtown, with a stop at the National War Memorial, as well as a march and rally on Parliament Hill.

One of the organizers of convoyNeil Sheard, who has been involved in protests against COVID-19 restrictions, he had previously warned of an “all against all” if the police did not allow protesters take their bikes to the streets around Parliament Hill.

But Ottawa police have designated a large part of downtown as a no-car zone, including several blocks around Parliament Hill and the National War Memorial.

The planned route convoy will take on Saturday will skirt the edge of this “exclusion zone” and be within sight of the War Memorial and Parliament Hill. However, vehicles will be prevented from reaching both sites.

bell indicated convoy participants will be able to walk to both locations, but not bring their vehicles.

“We are not going to prevent protesters to come to the nation’s capital to have their voices heard,” he said. “What we are doing is taking steps to make sure there are no vehicles in a given area while managing foot traffic. protestyes.”

As for the motorcycle ride through the city, Bell said officers will be watching it closely and participants will be prohibited from stopping or parking the entire route.

The police will also be closely monitoring the sites where convoy participants plan to settle in by the weekend, he said, including a church east of the city center and a more rural area to the west.

Central Ottawa County. Catherine McKenney said earlier this week that many Ottawa residents who were terrified of “Freedom Convoy” are fed up and prepared to take matters into their own hands if the “Rolling Thunder” convoy enter their neighbourhoods.

Bell acknowledged “that there has been a fracture in trust between our community and the police service” because of what happened in February. But he urged residents to notify the police if they see something and avoid conflicts with convoy Participants.

“We see a lot of conflict online about this event,” he added. “It must be from people in groups behind keyboards who want to stir up discord.”

“I absolutely do not want to see this conflict on our streets this weekend.”

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, who was also at the briefing, at one point encouraged residents to continue their businesses this weekend, saying, “We also encourage residents to continue shopping downtown, to continue shopping at ByWard Market.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 28, 2022.