Photo: The Canadian Press
Ottawa Interim Police Chief Steve Bell.
The Ottawa Police Board has approved the appointment of up to 831 RCMP officers to help the municipal police, which promises an increased presence in the capital this weekend as a motorcycle convoy rolls into the city.
Ottawa police have asked the board to approve the rapid recruitment of “up to 200” additional officers as they prepare for a second convoy, this time including hundreds of motorcycles instead of trucks.
Up to 631 RCMP members, who were appointed to help end the blockade of the center in February, could also be redeployed as needed.
The Ottawa Police Department says it wants the appointments to expire on July 4 “pending further events and demonstrations.” They usually last five years.
Interim Police Chief Steve Bell told councilors in Ottawa earlier Wednesday that his forces have no intention of allowing the “Rubbing Thunder Convoy” to become another illegal occupation and that officers will act quickly when they see a violation. .
“Threat or intimidating behavior will be addressed with all appropriate law enforcement action,” Bell said.
“Investigative teams, including our Hate Crimes Unit, are on site focused on gathering evidence and bringing charges when necessary. Showing symbols of hatred like swastikas will lead to accusations. “
The chief also tried to reassure residents still shaken by a “freedom convoy” in which hundreds of protesters occupied the city center for three weeks to protest COVID-19 restrictions and demand the resignation of the liberal government.
The occupation disrupted traffic, forced businesses to close and provoked complaints of intimidation, harassment and hate behavior. The relentless honking of large platforms has troubled residents for days. Police chief Peter has resigned after many criticized police for not taking a harder position with protesters.
The demonstration, which also violated several border crossings with the United States, ended after the federal liberal government invoked the Emergency Situations Act and police moved to detain and arrest dozens of people.
In a statement to Ottawa residents, Bell said police would not “allow dangerous or illegal conditions that could lead to another protest.”
“We heard your concerns,” he said. “We know you’re still being treated for embarrassment and crime.”
The Rolling Thunder is not clear about the cause they are coming together for, except that they say they will be in Ottawa to “celebrate our freedom peacefully.”
The Rolling Thunder Ottawa website says it has partnered with Veterans for Freedom and Freedom Fighters Canada, both of which appear to have links to the Freedom Convoy.
Veterans for Freedom describes itself on its website as a group of Canadian veterans working to “restore fundamental freedoms for all Canadians” and “uphold Canadian law.”
All members of the group’s steering committee have links to earlier protests, including one who was among the convoy’s spokesmen. Others have appeared in YouTube videos supporting the convoy protesters.
The Freedom Fighters Canada website says it is an organization that “requires the end of all government mandates” and the end of “tyrannical legislation.” Some of its organizers also attended or publicly supported previous protests.
Bell told councilors that police are in contact with the organizers of the Rolling Thunder, who expect more than 500 motorcycles to arrive in the city. The Force is also working with the RCMP and intelligence agencies to identify potential threats.
“Residents will see a large police presence, including bylaws and parking attendants,” he added. “There will be a significant increase in Ontario police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other municipal police jurisdictions.
The convoy’s organizers said they plan to tour the city, stopping at the National War Memorial, as well as a procession and rally on Parliament’s hill, where speeches will be made.
Police do not allow protesters to carry their bicycles on the streets around the parliamentary hill, which creates a potential conflict, but Bell told advisers that there was no plan to raise a fence around the national military memorial.
Protesters from the Freedom Convoy have been criticized for standing at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and parking their trucks in the first week of the occupation. The fences were erected but later torn down by protesters.
Several councilors representing areas around the city center expressed concern about reports the convoy members plan to establish or cross through different neighborhoods, and asked what police plan to do about it.
There were also concerns that the trip was hampering a large fundraiser for bicycles for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, which is scheduled for Saturday.
Bell said police would closely monitor the Rolling Thunder convoy as it traveled through the city, backed by tow trucks and physical barriers. Police also plan to have “rapid response teams” ready to respond to emergencies, he said.
Ottawa City Councilor Catherine McKenney told Bell that residents were nervous and “fed up too. And the people I hear from will not make any incursions into their neighborhoods by white racists, racists, extreme groups of people.
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