Frustrated Ottawa residents plan counter protest after 6 days of incessant noise

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This article was published 02/02/2022 (960 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Six days in to the occupation of Ottawa’s streets by a so-called “freedom” convoy, residents are expressing their increasing frustration and anger with the blockade, which has snarled the city and shuttered businesses since Friday.

Counter protesters have begun a movement of their own, protesting the truckers, the response from the city and Ottawa Police. Meanwhile, a petition with over 26,000 signatures is circulating on change.org demanding police evict the convoy.

Plans for a counter protest have circulated widely on social media, with two separate plans developing on Reddit and Instagram for the upcoming weekend.

A second trucker convoy protest is planned for Toronto and the GTA this weekend at Queen’s Park, while more supporters of the Ottawa convoy are set to descend on the capital again this weekend. Toronto Mayor John Tory issued a statement Thursday, writing that while he supports the right for Canadians to protest peacefully, he wants to be “absolutely clear” the Toronto Police Service has his support to take appropriate action to plan for the protest. Tory also said the protest cannot block the hospitals in the area.

The frustration of Ottawa residents is palpable. The protesters, who have honked the horns of their trucks on a near-constant basis since their arrival into the city, have vastly disrupted daily life for those who live and work in the capital. Residents have repeatedly questioned the stance by Ottawa police to take a nonconfrontational response to the protest that has lasted nearly a week.

GoFundMe has frozen funds raised for the “Freedom convoy” truckers as the fundraiser passed the $10 million mark this week.

“This fundraiser is currently paused and under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations,” reads a warning at the top of the donation page.

The fundraiser in support of those protesting vaccine mandates is now the second largest in Canada, after a campaign created following the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018.

With files from Lex Harvey.