Ottawa’s interim police chief and the city’s emergency services chief assured the council Wednesday that they will do everything they can to prevent an impending weekend biker rally from turning into another long-term occupation.
Unlike the Freedom Convoy, which arrived in the city in late January and stayed for weeks, “Rolling Thunder Ottawa” is not specifically promoting a petition to change the COVID-19 rules.
Rather, the rally has aligned itself with groups with various motives, including a veterans group aimed at restoring “fundamental rights and freedoms” and a nonprofit organization dedicated to “an end to all tyrannical bills and legislation.” .
They plan to hold a Friday night rally on Parliament Hill, a Saturday morning service at the National War Memorial, another Saturday afternoon rally on Hill and a Sunday church service on Vanier.
Ottawa Police have already announced that vehicles involved in the demonstration will not be allowed to enter an exclusion zone around Parliament Hill and ByWard Market. Normal residential and commercial traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, will be permitted.
Speaking inside council chambers Wednesday, interim Police Chief Steve Bell said residents would see a large police presence, with officers from the Ottawa Police, other municipal forces, the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP on the streets of the neighborhood.
Police are planning more than 500 motorcycles on the streets, Bell said. A “heavy” contingent of officers would monitor Saturday afternoon’s journey, he said, with tow trucks and physical barriers available should they be needed.
Any display of swastikas or other hateful symbols over the weekend would lead to charges, Bell said.
“I want to be clear with both the organizers and the participants: they will be responsible for their actions before, during and after the events,” he said.
According to a statement posted on its website, Rolling Thunder Ottawa does not “support blockades, obstruction of police performance, property damage, or hate and vitriol directed at Ottawa residents.”
Trying to find the ‘least intrusive’ route
Several city councilors near the city center raised concerns about maps floating around on social media, suggesting the rally could reach residential streets in their neighborhoods.
“[They’ve] established areas in Sunnyside, established areas in Hopewell, where there is a large school with 900 students and a community center. I’m looking at established areas in the RA Center, as well as through Old Ottawa East and up to Bronson,” said Capital District Councilmember Shawn Menard.
“What is the plan to protect residential areas when this is happening?”
We can work to find the least intrusive and least offensive way for our community, and the safest way, to move those bikes around town.– Acting Police Chief Steve Bell
Police are still talking to city staff about expanding the existing exclusion zone, Bell said.
“There are bikes in our city this weekend. And we have absolutely no ability to prevent that from happening,” the interim chief said, responding to a question from the Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury on concern that cyclists could flood Rideau Street and Montreal Road.
“What we can do is work to find the least intrusive and least offensive way for our community, and the safest way, to move those bikes around town.”
As for Saturday’s trip, Bell told the council it would go through “a part of town” before exiting on Nicholas Street toward the 417 Freeway.
He told reporters after the meeting that the official route would likely be released on Thursday or Friday.
Traffic should be running normally.
Meanwhile, the city of Ottawa has said it will have charter officers enforcing the rules over the weekend.
These include expanded parking restrictions, according to a Tuesday news release, and any vehicles found in no-stop zones will be ticketed and/or towed.
Staff are still finalizing traffic management plans, emergency and protective services general manager Kim Ayotte said. Workers would install barriers and no stopping signs both inside and outside the current exclusion zone, he told the council.
I know that I will also be on the streets all weekend, observing and reporting.– Somerset County. catherine mackenney
For now, OC Transpo buses and the LRT are expected to operate normally, Ayotte said.
There are plans to ensure that Sunday’s CN Cycle for CHEO, an annual bike ride to raise funds to fight childhood cancer, takes place safely, he added.
“The city understands that any motor vehicle-based event is a cause of trauma and anxiety within the community,” Ayotte said.
Somerset County. Catherine McKenney, whose district was the epicenter of the Freedom Convoy protests, said council officials’ comments made them feel the likelihood of another downtown occupation was “much, much less likely.”
Still, McKenney planned to keep a close eye on the weekend’s events, as did the residents of the neighborhood.
“They’re not going to take it lightly. And I know I’ll also be out on the streets all weekend, watching and reporting and hoping to take immediate action on anything that is a threat to any of our residential neighborhoods.” .”
Reference-www.cbc.ca