Organizers of various community events in Ottawa say they’re disappointed at having to delay or move their events online because of a trucker ‘freedom convoy’ that caused a gridlock in the city’s downtown core.
The convoy, which has been travelling across Canada to protest vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions, arrived in Ottawa last Friday. On Saturday, thousands of protestors rallied on Parliament Hill and along Wellington Street.
“I’m very angry because this so-called freedom protest has nothing to do with freedom,” said Fareed Khan, founder of Canadians United Against Hate and an organizer of an interfaith vigil to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque shooting.
The vigil was supposed to take place in-person at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights on Elgin Street, but Khan said he was informed by city officials the location was shut down, forcing him to scramble to reorganize an online vigil for Saturday night.
According to Khan, the trucker convoy took away “the freedom of myself, the people who helped organize this, and the people who were attending … to mark a very sombre occasion.”
Khan was not the only organizer whose plans were upended by the convoy. Charlotte Akin, a board member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, said she had to reschedule a rally to advocate for a diplomatic solution to rising tensions in Ukraine, which was also planned to take place at the monument on Elgin Street.
Instead, Akin said she rented a car and went to Kingston, Ont. to avoid the freedom rally.
“I’m a dual citizen born in Canada, but I grew up in the U.S. I’m getting January 6 flashbacks,” said Akin, referring to the attacks that took place on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
Akin’s demonstration was planned in partnership with Canadian Voice of Women for Peace’s nation-wide day of action on Jan. 29. The #StandForPeace rally was going to happen concurrently in cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Winnipeg.
Akin said she also wanted to avoid having her message for peace in Ukraine conflated with the truck ralliers’ calls for freedom.
“We want to push for a peaceful resolution. A diplomatic resolution,” Akin said.
Akin said she was not surprised to see so many angry people show up in Ottawa because she has seen the shift to the far-right across North America.
“I’ve seen somebody who is part of [the convoy’s] organizing committee say that we need our own January 6 in Canada,” Akin said. “I think prior to January 6th happening, everyone thought ‘These are clowns, they will not do anything.’ Then we saw the scale of violence.”
“I don’t think this type of far-right extremist demonstration should be underestimated,” Akin said.
Leaders of the convoy have disavowed extremism and violence, including Tamara Lich and B.J. Dichter, the group’s financiers as listed on GoFundMe. However, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network has said that Lich and Dichter have a history of Islamophobic statements.
Despite organizers insisting against violence, Ottawa organizations like the Shepherds of Good Hope said staff faced verbal harassment on Saturday from protestors looking for meals at their soup kitchen.
Another prominent voice within the convoy is Patrick King, a conspiracy theorist and streamer who the network says appears to be connected to the main organizers. King has previously posted theories saying that white people are being replaced.
Khan said he also monitored the situation “after it became apparent that there were extremist and racist and violent elements.”
He originally expected up to 200 people to attend the vigil, but that number dropped to 50 when people contacted him to say they were concerned about the convoy posing a safety risk.
“It’s just a sad reality that here in the national capital … we cannot gather to mark this occasion,” he added.
Khan said the online vigil was not as impactful as an in-person event would have been. He added that about 65 people attended the vigil on Saturday night, including elected officials like Ottawa-Centre MP Yasir Naqvi.
Khan said he organizes for his nieces, nephews and young people who have been dehumanized by Islamophobia. He added that Canadian political leaders say they are taking action against Islamophobia and other bigotry, but “thoughts and prayers are not enough” because many support or accept dehumanizing legislation such as Quebec’s Bill 21.
As for Akin, she said the #StandForPeace demonstration will take place next week after enough of the freedom truckers leave.
It is currently unclear when the convoy will leave the city.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
