Saturday afternoon, hundreds of cars traveling from Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon, Que. bypassed downtown, honking at King Edward Avenue, Laurier Avenue and O’Connor Street as they headed for Vankleek Hill. “I think visibility will be there, it’s good for the visuals. They will pass, they will inform Ottawa that we are still here, we are not gone and we will not go anywhere until these orders are lifted,” said Jerome O’Sullivan. one of the organizers of the protest. Ottawa police at the scene told CTV News Ottawa that they estimated about 300 vehicles were part of the so-called “Next Generation Convoy.” The police accompanied the course at points of the city and say that there were no episodes related to demonstrations. “We believe that this escort was undesirable for many residents and businesses. All legal authorities were examined or used in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” the Ottawa Police Department wrote in a tweet. The return of the protesters, flags and horns, is an unwelcome spectacle for some residents of the city center. “More than anything else I would like them to go home,” said Centretown resident Erica Lucky.
Lackey says she often goes to Parliament Hill, where smaller demonstrations in support of Freedom Convoy have continued since Wellington Street reopened to pedestrians. “If they do not really cause upset and harm people, then they can do whatever they want, but when they start to cause upset then we have a problem,” he said. The convoy, which did not stop in Ottawa, started in Quebec, gathering supporters in Drummondville and Montreal on its way to a rural headquarters just outside Vankleek Hill. “We’re growing up, we’re coming back, we’re going to rebuild better to say it,” O’Sullivan said. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. “I hope all the orders will be lifted. Federally we can not travel yet, we do not have the right to mobility, the university still can not go to school without being vaccinated and that is completely wrong, they have the right to education,” said Sarah. Marcesano, supporter of the escort. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. “If it catches the eye, then this is a protest. We are here to upset until our voice is heard,” Marcesano added.
But those living in downtown Ottawa say another parade along Laurier Avenue is the last thing they want. “At the end of the day, we’ve been enduring this for months now and we’re tired,” Lackey said.