Tens of thousands of people filled Parliament Square, LeBreton Flats, the ByWard Market and other areas of Ottawa on Canada Day as anti-government protesters marched through the Centretown neighbourhood.
“Given what we know and what we’re dealing with, we’ve taken an enhanced and extended stance that starts well before July 1st and extends well into the past to ensure we’re properly protecting our city,” Interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell. week.
Officers from the Ottawa Police, OPP, RCMP and other municipal police forces will be stationed throughout the downtown area to monitor any protests and protect residents and visitors.
A motor vehicle control zone remains in place this weekend in an area stretching from Sussex Drive/Colonel By Drive in the east to Booth Street in the west and Wellington Street in the north to Laurier Avenue in the south, along Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway between Wellington Street and Parkdale Avenue.
A look at the Motor Vehicle Control Zone in downtown Ottawa for Canada Day. (City of Ottawa/Publication)
Roads are not closed, but no motorized vehicles participating in any demonstration, event, protest or gathering will be allowed.
There is no on-street parking or standing on streets in the control zone, and drivers who don’t follow the rules may be ticketed and towed.
From 8 a.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Friday, Ottawa Bylaw said 284 parking tickets were issued and 79 vehicles were towed.
“We’ve developed options for multiple scenarios,” Bell said of policing the capital on Canada Day.
