Incessant honking and cries of “Freedom” returned to Ottawa on March 26, as hundreds of protesters and vehicles converged on the city to protest federal vaccine mandates..The ‘Next Generation Convoy,’ originally from Quebec City, rolled through the Capital on its way to.Vankleek Hill..Earlier in the day, over a hundred people gathered to protest on Parliament Hill, where they waved Canadian flags and signs, danced to music, and listened to guest speakers..“The people’s convoy is here, and we are going to keep on winning all summer long,” said Bethan Nodwell, a former nurse and organizer for Freedom Fighters Canada, the group that organized the protest. “We are not alone, and there are more of us than there are of them,” she said..The original Freedom Convoy 2022, which began in opposition to vaccine mandates for truckers but morphed into a movement against all COVID restrictions, was cleared out of Ottawa by police forces in late February..But since then, smaller groups of protesters have gathered in Ottawa every weekend, including a ‘Freedom Chain’ formed on Parliament Hill on March 5..Danny Bulford, a former RCMP officer who worked closely with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and was head of security for the Freedom Convoy, spoke out against additional intimidation charges recently laid against the organizers of the movement..“The biggest offenders of intimidation in Canada are the Premiers and the Prime Minister,” Bulford said to the protesters. He added that vaccine mandates have interfered with Canadians’ Charter rights of mobility, security of the person, and freedom of thought, belief and expression..“I plead with law enforcement in this country to finally stand up and do something about it. Investigate the evidence and you will see that the criminality is within government, not within the citizens.”.Aaron Lynn, a participant at the protest, said he joined the initial Freedom Convoy back in Janurary because he was evicted from his house during the first lockdowns and lost his engineering job due to vaccine mandates..Lynn said while he is glad the provincial vaccine mandates are being dropped, he is still unable to fly on a plane or train, “which is well within my Charter Rights.”.“We’re just not going to take it anymore, and nobody’s going anywhere,” Lynn said, adding that he’s heard rumours on social media of more convoys preparing to come to Ottawa. “People get mad at us and say ‘the mandates are over,’ but I don’t have a job or a house to go back to. It’s not over.”.Shortly after 4:00, the ‘Next Generation Convoy’ arrived in the city. As protesters gathered on the corner of Laurier Avenue West and Elgin Street, Ottawa Police directed both transport trucks and regular vehicles through the downtown area..On Twitter, Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said they had established a restricted “non-stop, no horn” route for the vehicles to pass through. But despite police directives, the sounds of cars incessantly honking echoed through the downtown core..Convoy vehicles were prohibited from accessing all non-designated roads in the downtown area, such as the ByWard Market, Lower Town, north of Laurier Avenue, and residential areas, police said..OPS said they had considered towing vehicles, erecting barriers, and deploying additional officers in anticipation of the protests. “We appreciate that this convoy was unwelcome for many residents and businesses. All legal authorities were examined or used in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” they wrote..Closer to 6:00 p.m., OPS Tweeted that the demonstration had passed through Ottawa and was now proceeding eastbound on Highway 417. “All bridges, roads and intersections have re-opened. There are no incidents to report,” they said..Matthew Horwood is the Parliamentary Bureau Chief of the Western Standard
