Many protesters involved in the Freedom Convoy and Rolling Thunder protests in Ottawa earlier this year have returned to the city, coordinating Canada Day events.
Several downtown events will be scheduled today, starting at 9 a.m. with an “old-fashioned family picnic” at Strathcona Park with a speech by James Topp.
Topp, a veteran marching across Canada to protest the remaining terms of the COVID-19 vaccine, ended his trip with his supporters Thursday at the National War Memorial.
He was joined during part of his last stage by the hopeful leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre.
After speeches Thursday night at the war memorial, Ottawa police said they made four arrests, including for assaulting police officers, and are continuing to investigate.
Veteran James Topp, wearing the orange vest, is flanked by supporters when he arrives at Hog’s Back Park in Ottawa on June 30, 2022. Topp marched across the country to protest the remaining vaccine warrants against COVID-19. (Jean Delisle / CBC)
March, dance party planned
After Friday’s picnic, organizers will offer a “music of freedom concert” with entertainers who became popular during the Freedom Convoy to perform on a stage that was set up in front of Parliament Hill on Wellington Street.
Protesters also plan to march on Parliament Hill and hold a dance party.
As was the case during the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in April, many of Canada Day events are coordinated by Veterans 4 Freedom (V4F), a group of central figures involved in the Freedom Convoy winter protests. for weeks.
Andrew MacGillvray, a veteran and member of V4F’s steering committee, said that although thousands are expected, it is difficult to calculate how many will actually attend.
“We hope to get many different groups of workers who have been affected by the mandate,” he said.
“Whether they are paramedics, whether they are postal workers or carpenters or, you know, teachers and all the different professions or workers who, across the country, have been negatively affected by the mandate.”
Police say officers will allow legal protests, but will close illegal activities, such as assembling structures or speakers without permission or making occupational threats.
“[We’ve] planned, we’re ready and we have the resources, ”said Steve Bell, Ottawa’s interim police chief, earlier this week.
Police nail a person to the ground outside the National War Memorial. Ottawa police said they arrested four people after Thursday evening’s speeches. (CBC)
“We are not coming to occupy your city”
It is unclear whether protesters have applied for or received permits for their planned events. MacGillvray said his group has been in contact with police and is aware they are “under a lot of pressure.”
He said V4F moved some events from in front of the Supreme Court of Canada to Strathcona Park to ease traffic in the city center.
“We will be peaceful. We will be lawful. And yes [police] You want to try to repress us for having protested peacefully on Parliament Hill, then there is nothing we can do about it. We’ll just have to deal with it at that point, ”MacGillvray said.
“But from us, it will be nothing more than peace. And we will be legal. And our organization has a code of conduct and we will not break the law in any way or form.”
While V4F coordinates many of Canada Day events, other groups that continue to file complaints with the government are also involved, and have organized as Canadian Citizens Coalition.
“We are Canadians too. We will celebrate Canada that day. We have the right to be able to do it and we have the right to be able to do it wherever we want,” MacGillvray said.
“We don’t come to occupy your city. You just live in the capital of our nation.”
Many of the participants in Canada Day events have links to the Freedom Convoy, which went down to downtown Ottawa earlier this year. (Ivanoh Demers / Radio-Canada)
Other planned events include the appearance of Josh Barber, known to fans as “Mr. Freedom” for his Braveheart-inspired costume. Barber’s social media following has grown since the Freedom Convoy ended and she has participated in several protests adjacent to Ontario in the months that followed.
V4F members also include Tom Marazzo, who was invited to come and help lead the Freedom Convoy.
The man who invited him, James Bauder, faces charges in Ottawa and continues to protest in British Columbia. Bauder is responsible for creating the group and the Canada Unity website that helped develop the convoy’s initial plan to get to Ottawa and block the city center with vehicles.
Daniel Bulford, another key organizer who helped coordinate the Freedom Convoy, also joined Topp for the final leg of his journey.
Bulford is a former RCMP officer who was at the Prime Minister’s safety retail before resigning after refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. He was the security chief of the convoy, and was presumed to have strong relations with police agencies.