‘Living hell’: Officials paint grim picture of fallout from lingering Ottawa protests
Posted February 2, 2022 4:54 pm.
Last Updated February 2, 2022 8:47 pm.
Officials painted a grim picture of the fallout from protests that continue to clog streets in Ottawa, saying the convoy of big rigs brought big trouble, and staggering costs, to the nation’s capital.
Chief Administrative Officer for the Ottawa Police Service Board, Blair Dunker, said to date the protests have cost the police force $3 million, with a projected cost of $800,000 for each day the protesters remain.
“We have no ability to manage these costs,” she said during a dire update Wednesday.
Aside from the monetary hit, Ottawa Police Service Board Chair, Diane Deans, said residents are enduring a “living hell” that has degraded the quality of life in the nation’s capital.
Deans said residents have complained of “verbal abuse, sexual harassment, racism and bigotry, public urination and defecation, property damage, and even fires in our residential neighbourhoods” since the protests against vaccine mandates began last Saturday.
“We have seen so many unlawful acts, from the constant blaring of horns, to the outright harassment of people simply going about their daily lives. This is not peaceful and many of residents are not feeling safe.”
“I’m sorry for the living hell that you are enduring,” she said.
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More charges coming, police vow
Deputy police chief, Steve Bell, said three people have been charged in connection to the protests so far, but with dozens of open investigations, he expects more charges to be announced in the future.
Bell said the charges so far include uttering threats, carrying a weapon to a public meeting and mischief under $5,000.
Bell said Ottawa police have 25 active investigations, including a probe into the desecration of the War Memorial.
Investigations are also ongoing into assaults, threats, and hate-motivated incidents.
Ottawa police chief, Peter Sloly, called the demonstrations “intolerable and unprecedented” and said front line officers have been stretched thin.
“Our officers have been pushed to the limit, they’ve been injured, they are fatigued beyond my ability to describe.”
Sloly vowed to track down anyone involved in illegal behaviour. “There are consequences,” he warned. “There have been arrests made, there have been charges laid, there are more coming.”
Ottawa Police Deputy Inspector Trish Ferguson said while the majority of the peak 15,000 protesters have left Ottawa, several hundred trucks remain.
“What remains is a highly determined and highly volatile group of unlawful individuals,” she said.
Cut off funding to ‘mercenaries’: Police Board Chair
Deans wants Ottawa mayor Jim Watson to demand the freezing of staggering Gofundme donations that have swelled beyond $10 million dollars, saying the only way to end the protests is to cut off the supply of money.
Gofundme initially froze the donations, before releasing the first million dollars. The fate of the remaining funds is not yet clear, but Deans wants to assure it isn’t used to prolong the protest.
“I want to ask the Mayor if he will pick up the phone and call Gofundme in the States directly and demand that they cease and desist sending money to these unlawful protesters.”
Deans said she’s been in conversations about suing Gofundme, but didn’t elaborate.
“We need to cut off the pipeline of funding to these people — mercenaries if you will, that are unlawfully protesting and occupying our communities.”
Chief Sloly said there’s a “significant element” from the United States that’s behind the funding, organizing and demonstrating, and he admitted ending the protests peacefully is a task that may elude him.
“Every option is on the table to resolve this demonstration. That said, there may not be a policing solution.”
Sloly said among the options being considered is asking the Canadian military for help.