There is a fence on Parliament Hill, an exclusion zone around a few blocks in the center and hundreds of additional police officers on call as Ottawa prepares for the arrival of Rolling Thunder riders on Friday afternoon.
The group is not clear about the cause they are gathering for, except that they will be in Ottawa to “celebrate our freedom peacefully.”
Hundreds of motorcyclists are expected to arrive on Friday before the rally on Saturday morning. They plan to tour the city center, stopping at the National War Memorial and marching to a rally on Parliament’s hill.
Read more: Ottawa will not tolerate another occupation, warns police chief of Rolling Thunder motorcycle convoy
Vehicles participating in the rally will not be allowed in an area that includes the war memorial and parliament, police said, nor will they be allowed to stop along the route, but participants can walk through the area.
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“We will not prevent protesters from attending the nation’s capital to have their voices heard,” Ottawa Interim Police Chief Steve Bell said at a briefing Thursday.
Neil Sheard, one of the organizers, had previously warned about “free for all” if police did not allow the group to bring their bicycles through the streets around Parliament Hill. Sheard has been involved in earlier protests against COVID-19 restrictions
Bell said this week that people displaying hate symbols, including swastikas, would be charged. Several such symbols were spotted during the Freedom Convoy protest earlier this year.
In fact, it is not illegal to display a swastika in Canada. Police did not immediately answer a question Friday about what charges will be brought against those with hateful images.
In February, NDP MP Peter Julian re-introduced a private member bill that would amend the Penal Code to explicitly ban the sale and display of such symbols. The Liberal government has not signaled whether it will support such legislation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that his government would always defend Canadians’ rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.
“It is not legal to incite violence or spread hateful messages,” he told a news conference in Montreal. “We trust the police to enforce the law if necessary when it comes to this weekend, when it comes to every day.
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He said his government was supporting Canadians to protect them from harassment and hate behavior, citing plans in the federal budget to ban Holocaust denial.
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“We will certainly work within the government, between the parties, between government orders, to ensure that we do this very clearly for all Canadians,” he added.
Brian Begby, principal of Elgin Street Public School in downtown Ottawa, sent a note to parents Thursday from the Ottawa-Carlton School Board, saying the board is in contact with police to ensure safety concerns in school are addressed.
“We understand that many families had a difficult experience in February and may be concerned about another downtown demonstration,” the note said, directing parents to liaise with community support organizations.
Protesters say they plan to leave the city on Sunday.
This led to criticism that they could disrupt the planned fundraising for cycling for the Ottawa Children’s Hospital, CHEO, scheduled for the same day. Rolling Thunder organizers have added a link to their website and are encouraging supporters to donate to CHEO.
Police said they would not tolerate a long-term protest like the one that occupied the center for weeks in February, and all camps would be dismantled.
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Ottawa police have also been under intense scrutiny since February. Chief Peter Sloley resigned, and Bell said the service had learned a lot from the experience.
Police also confirmed that a woman who danced at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the Freedom Convoy protest will not be charged.
Read more: More than 800 RCMP staff approved to help Ottawa police before motorcycle convoy
In a statement, police said the woman, who lives outside of Ontario, has shown remorse for her actions and after an “in-depth investigation” they are confident she will not commit another crime. Her name has not been released because no charges have been filed.
Suffice it to say that the investigation into the video of a woman standing and shouting at the tomb of an unknown soldier affected people across the country, police said, adding that the inspector overseeing the criminal investigation was a veteran and understood the importance. of the “sacred monument”. ”
The earlier occupation of Ottawa, which prompted the federal government to invoke the Emergency Situations Act for the first time, ended after hundreds of police officers dispersed to disperse the crowds, making dozens of arrests. For three weeks, the protest disrupted traffic, closed businesses and led to complaints of harassment, intimidation and hate behavior.
Rolling Thunder has partnered with several groups, apparently linked to the Convoy of Freedom.
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A statement from the group’s website attributed to Sheard said they did not support “blockades, obstruction of the police in the performance of their duties, damage to property or hatred and rage against Ottawa residents.”
The statement also encouraged supporters to abide by the law and said police would be held accountable in court for their actions during the event.
“Finally, as seen during the legal protest in Ottawa, spread as much peace, love and patriotism as possible to your fellow Canadians,” the statement said.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
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