A person waves a Canadian flag in front of Parliament Hill on the 15th day of a protest against COVID-19 measures that has grown into a broader anti-government protest, in Ottawa, on Feb. 11, 2022.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Ottawa Police say they are preparing for protests ahead of the one-year anniversary of the chaotic demonstrations against COVID-19 measures that clogged the downtown core for weeks, but that they were unable to give a clear indication of what residents should expect.
Police Chief Eric Stubbs said police are monitoring intelligence and have determined there is interest in a demonstration related to those that occurred a year ago. He said police have planned a “scalable response” with different levels of resources they can use, depending on the situation they’re managing.
“Some of the information that we have received is a little bit all over the place and our confidence in exactly what may occur isn’t 100 per cent. So that’s why we’re having a scalable response,” he told reporters in Ottawa on Monday.
When asked if the force would be supported by external policing agencies, Chief Stubbs noted the Ottawa Police have close partnerships with the Ontario Provincial Police, RCMP and the Parliamentary Protective Service, which provides security for the parliamentary precinct.
Chief Stubbs said that if a vehicle-based protest is attempted, police will take action to dismantle it “fairly quickly.” He said residents can expect to see a greater police presence downtown and there could be road closings, depending on protesters’ behaviour.
Chief Stubbs spoke to reporters ahead of an Ottawa Police Services Board meeting on Monday slated to hold an in-camera session called Major Event Operational Update: Convoy 2.0.
Protesters calling for an end to pandemic measures began to arrive in Ottawa last Jan. 28, with trucks blocking major intersections and people camped out downtown. The protests forced businesses to close and many residents said they didn’t feel safe. The protests came to an end Feb. 18, in one of the largest law-enforcement operations in Canadian history.
Police were heavily criticized at the time for not doing enough – eventually culminating in the resignation of then-chief Peter Sloly. Chief Stubbs was named to the top role in October, and began in November.
Chief Stubbs said there are a number of significant dates over the next six weeks related to last year’s event, in terms of when protesters first rolled into town, when police operations began and when the blockades were dismantled.
“There’s dates when potentially a convoy could be coming through, for the most part, Ottawa, maybe on their way to Manitoba,” he said, adding that there are dates and activities police will be monitoring to ensure they understand what might happen in Ottawa.
Chief Stubbs hesitated to give an estimate of how many protesters police think could show up this weekend.
“Some of what we’re being told, it varies a lot … [but] we’re seeing a range up to a couple hundred people that might want to participate in this. But we’re monitoring that daily,” he said.
“However, we have been very clear that we are not supporting vehicle-based protests.”