Protests return to Ottawa
Concerts and fireworks are back, along with ‘freedom’ protesters
As Ottawa welcomes its first in-person Canada Day party since 2019, there is a lot of uncertainty over how events sponsored by “freedom” groups will affect the festivities.
Groups protesting vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions plan events downtown on both June 30 and July 1.
It’s difficult to predict how many “freedom” protesters will participate.
It’s a grassroots movement with no single organization in charge and encompasses people with a variety of other grievances, from hatred of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to conspiracy theories about a plot led by the World Economic Forum to control the world.
Some of the organizers are familiar faces from the “Freedom Convoy” protest that occupied downtown Ottawa last winter and the “Rolling Thunder” protest in April.
The social media feeds of key “freedom” groups are not calling on supporters to blockade streets downtown with trucks or erect bouncy castles and hot tubs on Parliament Hill like the convoy last winter, though.
That’s not likely anyway. Some streets downtown will be closed to vehicles on Canada Day. In addition, a traffic-control zone aimed at screening out protesters will be in place from June 29 to July 4.
Expect a strong police presence. The Ottawa Police Service is asking for up to 491 RCMP officers to help patrol around Canada Day and right through the summer and fall.
At a briefing, an Ottawa police officer said the force will protect everyone’s right to lawfully and peacefully demonstrate, but “we will not allow for the conditions that led to the unlawful protests in February to reoccur.”
Stephanie Carvin, a professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, said there is no reason to assume the protests around Canada Day will be like the convoy occupation last winter.
“I think it’s going to be different for a number of reasons,” said Carvin, who specializes in international law, security, terrorism and technology and was an analyst for the Canadian government on national security issues.
Most of the COVID-19 mandates are gone, taking steam from a movement that has not been able to offer something else to rally behind except for “freedom,” “unity” and opposition to Trudeau, she said.
In addition, said Carvin, key organizers of the winter convoy who were arrested are in jail awaiting trial or have court-imposed conditions to stay away from downtown Ottawa. There is no multimillion dollar crowdfunding campaign and wide exposure on right-wing media in the U.S. for the Canada Day protests as there was for the convoy. Energy is being diverted by conflict between “freedom” advocates. Police are more prepared, and groups know they are being watched by law enforcement.
However, things can change quickly, she said. “Anything I say can be outdated by tomorrow.
“Things are fluid and they have the capability to come together pretty quickly and formulate plans pretty quickly.”
On Canada Day, crossover between “freedom” protesters waving Canadian flags and other people waving Canadian flags will be limited by the fact that the governmentsponsored concerts and fireworks have been moved away from Parliament and onto Lebreton Flats and nearby Zibi in Gatineau.
However, there will be some official events during the day on Parliament Hill, where protesters have said they’ll hold a dance party in the evening.
And Ottawa Jazz Festival is scheduled to host its free Canada Day concerts at city hall, while “freedom” folks plan speeches in the afternoon there. The festival previously said it plans to close Confederation Park on July 1 as a precaution. Traditionally Jazzfest offers free concerts on July 1 at both locations.
Some of the protesters will be camping at a KOA campground in Renfrew and plan a “freedom family celebration” June 29 to July 3.
About 500 people have signed up to camp there, according to a livestream late last week from Dave of “Live from the Shed,” a multimedia company that promotes “freedom” events.
In videos, Dave has mocked the idea that there is a “convoy” coming back to Ottawa or that events around Canada Day will be anything other than fun and peaceful.
“Don’t be worried, we’ve got great stuff planned, family-friendly as always,” he said on the livestream.
“Very, very scary,” Dave joked in another video as he outlined “freedoming” events on Canada Day that include a picnic on the lawn of the Supreme Court, a “fringe march” down Wellington Street for speeches at city hall and the “dance party” on Parliament Hill.
There are also events on June 30, when veteran James Topp arrives in Ottawa on the final leg of his cross-country walk to protest COVID19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic public health measures. The march will wind through Ottawa streets and end at the National War Memorial for a ceremony.
Topp, a Canadian soldier charged for speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine requirements while wearing his uniform in February, has said in videos posted on social media that he wants the event to be respectful and devoid of profanity, including the “F*** Trudeau” flags that were common at the trucker convoy in the winter.
Another veterans group says it plans a counter-rally on June 30 to protest the use of the War Memorial for action by “far-right political propaganda by political actors such as James Topp.”