Various events are set to take place in the heart of the center today, starting at 9 a.m. with an “old-fashioned family picnic” at Strathcona Park with a talk by James Topp. Top, a veteran who travels across Canada to protest the remaining COVID-19 vaccine orders, ended his trip with his supporters Thursday at the National War Memorial. With him for a part of his last leg was the candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre. Following Thursday afternoon speeches at the war memorial, Ottawa police said they had made four arrests, including one for assaulting police officers, and were continuing their investigation. Veteran James Top, in his orange vest, is framed by supporters as he arrives at Hog’s Back Park in Ottawa on June 30, 2022. Top paraded across the country to protest the remaining COVID-19 vaccine orders. (Jean Delisle / CBC)
March, a dance party is planned
After Friday’s picnic, organizers will hold a “Freedom Music Concert” with entertainers who became popular during Freedom Convoy playing on a stage set up in front of Parliament on Wellington Street. Protesters also plan to march to Parliament Hill and organize a dance party there. As happened during the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in April, many of Canada Day’s events are coordinated by Veterans 4 Freedom (V4F), a group of central figures involved in Freedom Convoy’s weekly winter demonstrations. Andrew MacGillvray, a veteran and member of the V4F steering committee, said that while thousands of people are expected, it is difficult to count how many will actually attend. “We hope to have many different groups of employees affected by the mandate,” he said. “Whether they are paramedics, postal workers or carpenters or, you know, teachers and all the different professions or workers who – across the country – were negatively affected by the mandate.” Police say police officers will allow legal protests, but will close illegal activities, such as creating structures or speakers without permission or threats to possession. “[We’ve] “We are prepared and we have the resources,” said Steve Bell, a transitional Ottawa police chief, earlier this week. A man is nailed to the ground by police outside the National War Memorial. Ottawa police said they arrested four people after Thursday afternoon speeches. (CBC)
“We are not coming to occupy your city”
It is not clear whether the protesters have applied or received permits for their planned events. MacGillvray said his team had contacted police and knew they were “under a lot of pressure”. He said V4F carried some events from in front of the Supreme Court of Canada to Strathcona Park to ease traffic in the city center. “We will be peaceful. We will be legal. And if [police] If you want to try to fight us because we protested peacefully on the Hill of Parliament, then there is nothing we can do. “We just have to deal with it right now,” said MacGillvray. “But from us, it will be nothing but peace. And we will be legal. And our organization has a code of conduct and we are not going to break the law in any form or form.” While V4F coordinates many of Canada Day events, there are other groups involved that continue to complain to the government – and are organized as the Canadian Citizens Coalition. “We are Canadians too. We will celebrate Canada that day. We have the right to be able to do that and we have the right to be able to do it wherever we want,” MacGillvray said. “We are not coming to occupy your city. You just happen to live in the capital of our nation.” Many of the participants in Canada Day events have ties to Freedom Convoy, which landed in downtown Ottawa earlier this year. (Ivanoh Demers / Radio Canada) Other scheduled events include an appearance by Josh Barber, known to his supporters as “Mr. Freedom” for his Braveheart-inspired costume. Barber’s followers on social media have grown since Freedom Convoy ended and he has been involved in several adjacent demonstrations around Ontario in recent months. V4F members also include Tom Marazzo, who was invited to come and help run the Freedom Convoy. The man who called him, James Bowder, faces charges in Ottawa and continues to protest in British Columbia. Bauder is responsible for creating the team and the Canada Unity website that helped develop the original escort plan to come to Ottawa and block the city center with vehicles. Daniel Bullford, another key organizer who helped coordinate the Freedom Escort, also joined Top for the final leg of his trip. Bulford is a former RCMP officer who dealt with the prime minister’s security before resigning after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. He was the security chief of the escort and boasted that he had strong ties to the police.
