As protest stretches on, Ottawa MPs struggle to offer resolution for worried constituents

The Ottawa MP who represents the Parliament Hill riding overrun by occupying protesters says he feels helpless in the face of appeals from his constituents, such as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who said she no longer feels safe in Ottawa. With the ongoing trucker protests, and with sightings of Nazi and Confederate flags, Ottawa Centre, Ont., Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi, relayed the story of a constituent who is now scared to the point she “does not want to leave her home anywhere because she’s of the Jewish faith.” “That should give pause to everyone that that has happened, that is the impact that someone is living through right now in our capital city,” he continued. Local MPs have been flooded with emails and calls from constituents about the ongoing trucker convoy protest, which held its main rally in Ottawa on Jan. 29 and which has since spread to other cities like Toronto and to major commerce arteries like the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., and in Coutts, Alta., and have been doing their best to respond, whether by providing information or advocating in the House. Ottawa Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi says he's heard stories of harassment and a general feeling of danger in Ottawa amid the ongoing protest. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia Most recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, hoping to end a protest now stretching into its third week by granting the government the power to freeze the personal and corporate bank accounts of participants, authorize the towing away of vehicles, and revoke the insurance on the trucks clogging Wellington Street and others, and bunking down in camps near Coventry Road and Bronson Avenue. The situation on the ground is multifaceted. Walking around through the protest-held areas, one can see passenger vehicles that have joined in, parking in spots dwarfed by the large rigs all around them. Protesters wear flags like capes and walk around unmasked revealing smiling and grim faces. Even with a 10-day injunction to stop the honking horns—which started on Feb. 7—trucks are still blaring out regularly, with contingents of cops walking away without a second glance. Naqvi described it as “extremely unsettling.” “ has not been peaceful or lawful, they have been harassing, intimidating, yelling towards people that live in the downtown core,” he said, noting that businesses have closed for their own safety. His email inbox and voicemail has been flooded “full with people calling us and telling us the challenges they’re going through.” He pointed specifically to the victimization and harassment of women and racialized people. In response he’s been advocating in the House. “I’ve been reading a lot of those emails in the House to amplify the voices of my constituents so that other Members of Parliament, the Conservative members, who are supporting the protest, understand what ordinary people in my community are going through.” Conservatives like Ottawa MP Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, Ont.) have expressed support, while others like MP Jeremy Patzer (Cypress Hills–Grasslands, Sask.) have taken photos with organizers, or even in the case of interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen (Portage–Lisgar, Man.) sat and ate pizza with protest participants. However, on Feb. 10, the federal Conservatives reversed position, with Bergen requesting in the House that truckers take down barricades and stop “the disruptive action.” The stories Naqvi said he's heard include people being called names, subjected to homophobic slurs, or otherwise being harassed for being a person of colour, a woman, and/or wearing a mask. “They want this to end, they want the Ottawa police to enforce the law and put an end to this protest,” he said. “Businesses in particular … even with the partial reopening on Jan. 31, they haven’t been able to take advantage .” He’s said he's working closely with Treasury Board President Mona Fortier (Ottawa-Vanier, Ont.) to try to find financial support for the businesses that operate in the downtown core. At times though, he said he feels helpless, as even with all the calls he’s hearing to end the occupation, he’s powerless to enforce actual police action. After weeks of criticism of his handling of the protest, Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly resigned his post on Feb. 15. Liberal MP Francis Drouin says he managed to talk a trucker into leaving. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Liberal MP Francis Drouin, who represents Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, Ont., said he had a rational discussion with one trucker that ended with them leaving. “I just said, 'are you expecting the government to back down on certain measures while there’s an occupation of Ottawa?'” Drouin said. “How would you feel if we parked a bunch of trucks in your house and started honking 12 hours a day?” In general, he said doesn’t see how the protest is generating more support. The protest has inspired similar anti-COVID-19 restriction groups, like a “freedom convoy” protest thousands strong in Paris, France. There’s definitely a feeling of frustration from observers, noted Liberal MP Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, Ont.). “The vast majority of our community have been doing the right thing in being vaccinated, so for them, the concept of freedom is being vaccinated and allowing us to go back to a more normal ,” she said. While her suburban Ottawa constituents are not living directly in the heart of the storm, she said that there’s definitely a “sensitivity of being good neighbours. We’re hearing they’re very sad to see the impact this has on our residents, on the most vulnerable.” Lalonde’s been telling anyone who sees convoy-related trucks in her riding to report to the police through a non-emergency line. “It is troubling, but we have to stay calm, we have to stay focused on our law enforcement and the people that are at this table.” Ottawa Liberal MP Marie-France Lalonde says her constituents are troubled by what's happening to their neighbours downtown. Photograph courtesy of Flicker/Municipal Affairs and Housing With Naqvi and Fortier, Lalonde’s been sharing concerns with her federal colleagues. Even farther out from Ottawa there are problems, said Liberal MP John McKay (Scarborough–Guildwood, Ont.) said. “This is counter-productive to the best interests of the people of ,” he said noting that supply chains were being disrupted by the now-cleared border blockades, indirectly affecting the livelihoods of people in his Toronto neighbourhood. “I would say we have had enough and certainly we collectively want to see an end to this convoy,” Lalonde said. On a ground operations level, she said while the feds don’t direct the actions of the city or the police, the RCMP have agreed to provide resources and support to Ottawa police. On Feb. 7, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.) announced the establishment of a trilateral table between the federal government and provincial governments and the City of Ottawa to keep lines of communication open, though on Feb. 10, Premier Doug Ford was reported as having rejected three invitations to this meeting. On Feb. 12, the Ottawa Police Service announced an Integrated Command Centre (ICC) had been set up with the RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police. "We expect that the ICC will result in a significantly enhanced ability of our police service to respond to the current situation in our city. The ICC will allow us to make the most effective use of the additional resources our policing partners have provided to us," the Ottawa police said in a press release. Alt-right may be involved, but has ‘morphed’ into a larger frustration: Drouin According to protest supporters, such as Independent Ontario MPP Randy Hillier, there isn't one central organizing force. “There are different players doing different things from all kinds of organizations,” Hillier told The Hill Times. However, some names have become more prominent than others from the outset as key fundraisers. “I do not support the organizer at all, I do believe there are , but I also believe this has morphed into people being tired of lockdowns and they're airing their grievances at the prime minister, even though the feds aren’t responsible for ,” Drouin said. Patrick King is one of the faces of the convoy, and has been reported to have shared racist conspiracy theories. Screenshot courtesy of Facebook B.J. Dichter, one of the organizers who put together the Jan. 14 GoFundMe fundraiser—which was later shut down Feb. 4 by the crowdfunding site due to alleged promotion of violence and harassment—to support the convoy was reported by Global News as making negative statements towards “political Islam.” Another prominent figure cited in that same article is Patrick King, who has a strong social media presence documenting the protests and has made public statements about the “depopulation” of the Caucasian race and shared racist conspiracy theories, it reported. The vast majority of emails from the side of protestors that Drouin has received centre on mundane things, like children being unable to play sports, or a sense of betrayal for still not lifting restrictions after they got double-vaccinated. Of course, he also said there were more extreme emails, like those detailing conspiracy theories of collaboration with Bill Gates and a connection to the World Economic Forum. Still, Drouin has taken safety precautions. “I feel safe, but I did not feel safe enough to leave my wife and kids at home … there were reports that some protestors were doxxing and revealing MPs' addresses, so for security they had to leave,” he said. Naqvi said he also doesn't feel as though he's in any danger, and acknowledges his duty to his riding. “I feel safe. I raised my hand, I ran for office to do this job, and I’m here to do the best I can for my constituents.” achen@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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As protest stretches on, Ottawa MPs struggle to offer resolution for worried constituents

'I feel safe, but I did not feel safe enough to leave my wife and kids at home … there were reports that some protestors were doxxing and revealing MPs' addresses, so for security they had to leave,' says Liberal MP Francis Drouin.

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