Ottawans warned to avoid downtown
Police concerned about ‘lone wolf individuals’ and other groups inciting violence during protests
Ottawa police are warning that unspecified individuals or groups could try to incite violence as a so-called “Freedom Convoy” of truckers descends on the city to protest vaccine mandates and health restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Speaking at a virtual press conference on Friday morning, Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly urged city residents not to visit the capital’s downtown core during the protests, which he said are expected to be “massive” and could continue into next week.
Sloly said he trusts that the “vast majority” of participants in the demonstrations will protest peacefully, citing communication with eight “core” organizers of the convoy, which reportedly includes hundreds of vehicles that have travelled east across Canada in recent days to congregate in Ottawa for the coming protests.
However, Sloly also said Ottawa police — who have held security briefings about the protests with the RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police — remain concerned about “lone wolf individuals” and “parallel groups” who may try to incite violence during the demonstrations.
Sloly declined to specify which groups he was referring to, but said police are aware of activity online involving people who are “inciting hate” and “encouraging acts of violence” at the protests. He called the situation “fluid” and “risky,” even if police currently have no information about a specific or targeted threat.
“We have yet to receive a direct threat assessment,” he said. “We cannot, however, ignore the rhetoric. We cannot ignore the direct hate language and threats, and we cannot ignore the direct attempts to incite violence and criminality in and around the demonstration.
“Should the situation change and we can identify individuals or groups where there is clear enough information that they intend to act in a criminal or violent manner, there are a range of options for us to interdict those individuals as early as possible, prior to them being able to cause significant harm,” he said.
Chris Barber is one of the convoy organizers. Speaking to the Star from the highway outside Sudbury, Ont., on Friday, Barber said he was leading a cohort of vehicles that was separate from the stream that travelled past Toronto on Thursday. Barber insisted the protest planned for Saturday will be peaceful, stating that organizers are regularly speaking with police and holding safety meetings, and want to distance themselves from anybody who is instigating violence.
“This is just a bunch of truck drivers rallying around each other, and people trying to get their point across, and doing it as peacefully and safely as possible,” said Barber, 46, who is a truck driver based out of Swift Current, Sask.
Asked about the police concerns around protest supporters who are expressing hate, such as a pickup truck seen in Ottawa on Friday flying a Confederate flag, Barber said such views don’t mesh with the message the convoy organizers want to send.
“Of course you have those kind of people in every crowd,” he said. “The only person you can control is yourself.”
Earlier this week, Global News reported that far-right and white nationalist groups have expressed hope of violence when the convoy arrives in Ottawa this weekend. On Thursday, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons — the official who is responsible for the security of the House — sent a memo to all MPs warning of online “solicitations” for the residential addresses of elected officials in the Ottawa area.
The memo went on to warn MPs to close and lock all exterior doors of their offices and residences, and “refrain from posting anything related to the demonstration on social media.”
Asked about the warning on Friday, Sloly said he has had briefings in the last 24 hours with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and the head of the Ontario Provincial Police “on the status of threat assessments” relating to provincial and federal officials and elected MPPs and MPs.
The Parliamentary Protection Service, which provides physical security on Parliament Hill, said by email that it would not comment on “security matters,” but that it is closely monitoring the situation.
Reporters covering the convoy as it rolled across Canada have also flagged safety concerns. A CBC journalist posted a screen shot on social media of a death threat he received via text message from an identified phone number, while a photographer said he was shoved and spat on by supporters of the convoy as it passed through the Greater Toronto Area on Thursday.
In a release published Friday morning, the Canadian Association of Journalists urged media attending the protests to take extraordinary precautions. These include working in pairs or small groups, filming or taking photographs from a distance, avoiding live broadcasting from the scene, “minimizing professional equipment that could attract attention.” The association also advised media organizations to “consider assigning reporters with prior experience covering conflict zones.”
The convoy protest has travelled across Canada in recent days, and is ostensibly fuelled by disagreements over new requirements in Canada and the U.S. for truckers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to cross the border. Ottawa police said Friday that they could not estimate how many protesters will converge on the city, but that they expected vehicles to arrive from all directions.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, a federation of provincial associations representing truckers, has denounced the convoy protest and says more than 85 per cent of the 120,000 Canadian truck drivers who regularly travel across the Canada-U.S. border are vaccinated. That leaves up to 16,000 truckers who could be impacted by the cross-border vaccine mandates.
Stephanie Carvin, a Carleton University professor who specializes in national security issues, said it appears that extremist groups have latched onto the truckers’ grievance over the vaccine mandate in an effort to amplify their own views. Citing a recent paper she co-authored on anti-COVID lockdown activity in Canada, Carvin said such groups likely include far-right Christians, far-right media networks, violent extremists and certain political figures.
“You are dealing with heading into year three of some collective trauma, and people are upset, angry and tired,” said Carvin. “All these groups are trying to tap into this anger and resentment for a variety of reasons.”
Barber, the convoy organizer driving to Ottawa in his truck on Friday, said he is concerned their message could be overshadowed by such groups. But he insisted the goal of the protest is clear: to stay in Ottawa until all pandemic health restrictions are lifted. To that end, he said, several truckers travelling with him have booked hotel rooms for the next 10 days.
“We want it back to normal,” he said. “People are just tired of it.”
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Of course you have those kind of people in every crowd. The only person you can control is yourself.
CHRIS BARBER, FREEDOM CONVOY ORGANIZER