“

I felt trapped in my own apartment, felt threatened by the occupiers using the parking lot directly facing my building as a mustering point, and had ongoing headaches, likely due to the noise and fumes.

Anonymous

“

It is an occupation. And the occupiers are domestic terrorists. But because they are Angry White Men, they are allowed to have the run of our city, immune to the laws and policing that is always so judiciously (and often viciously) doled out on more vulnerable members of our community – Indigenous folks, Black Canadians, queer folks, women, immigrants, the unhoused, the unwell, the downtrodden. This failure to hold these angry white men accountable for their violence and hatred has starkly revealed the rot that quietly underpins so many of our government and policing institutions. This is a devastating failure of justice which will have ripple effects across the entire country, and the fabric of our democracy.

Amy

“

I took it upon myself to walk up Kent Street every morning to get the lay of the land. What I saw there was a neighbourhood living in fear.

Allan

“

These protestors claimed to defend the freedom of all people, yet brazenly ignored the voices of others. What about my freedom to enjoy life in my community? What about my freedom to walk down a street in my own neighbourhood unharmed? What about my freedom to sleep at night, concentrate on work, or breathe the air outside? What about my freedom to simply exist without encountering violence and hate?

Anonymous

“

If those truckers had been Black or Indigenous, they would have been cleared out.

Sarah

“

No protesters have the right to shut down the livelihood and threaten the residents so that they become prisoners in their own homes. The blaring of truck horns traumatized families and seniors that lived in the downtown core. This three-week threat will have long lasting trauma on those residents and their children for years to come. The convoy protesters have no right to do this amount of destruction. This should have never been allowed to get out of hand.

Diane

“

I will never be able to look at the Canadian flag the same. Whether people are flying it or wearing it, now, for me, it's a symbol of the occupation. I find myself watchful, looking over my shoulder, fearful in a way I was never before

Christine

“

This was not a protest anymore, this was just saying we can do this and there is not a darn thing you can do about it so live with it.

Sue

“

The convoy occupation was anything but a love fest. Our local businesses had to close and residents feared venturing out as they normally would and going about their regular daily activities. We were all impacted by their presence in one way or another. Everyone has been struggling in their own way after COVID came. The last thing the businesses and residents of downtown Ottawa needed was to be dealt another heavy blow from a group of irate and volatile convoy people.

Stephanie

“

They took away all of our freedoms to enjoy the city, to enjoy our local communities and to support local businesses.

Amanda

“

There is a schizophrenic man who went up and down my block once or twice a day. He also frequently slept in that parking lot across the street. I have not heard or seen him since the convoy. This gentleman did not suddenly decide to enter a shelter so I really question – my block was his home so where is he now? And why was he driven out of his home?

Pat

“

I really call them weapons, those trucks. I’ve been quite direct in saying that.

Mathieu Fleury

“

On weekends, the convoy vehicles were so tightly squeezed together on Kent at Somerset that there was no way emergency vehicles would have been able to get through, if residents required them. This created unacceptable (additional) navigational challenges for our City's emergency services. Completely unsafe.

Stephanie

“

People could not move freely in the city. Many people couldn’t go to the Good Companions Seniors Centre because of blockades, and couldn’t socialize with their usual circle.

Jessica

“

I noticed how organized and well-funded the protest was. Every morning at the corner of Kent and Nepean, I witnessed a gathering of 40-50 or so protesters, listening to a man wielding a clipboard. He was doling out the information like ‘get your laundry here by 11 AM every morning so it could be done the next day’, ‘fuel will be delivered at this time so you need to let us know’, ‘please avoid engaging in debates over the rally to avoid any negative news’. This information was delivered like a military briefing.

Cliff

“

I, myself, a disabled senior had a bullhorn pointed in my face and had negative comments yelled at me about wearing a face mask and taking vaccines. I was pushed by a young protester wearing a Canadian flag as they walked down the street.

Cliff

“

My 13-year-old neighbour was standing on Carling Avenue after school, waiting for the bus to bring her back home. There were a few girls at the stop. A pickup truck with male convoy supporting twenty-somethings began yelling out at the girls to "take it off, take it off!" The girls who wear school uniforms were also masked. In the context of the way the twenty-somethings were behaving, it was more about 'stripping', period! Once the bus arrived and the girls boarded, for a bit, the truck stayed alongside – and the convoy twenty-somethings continued to target and yell at these young girls (even though they had boarded the bus).

Stephanie

“

I was only 6 years old when I saw a swastika on the sidewalk in front of our home. I never imagined that I would feel that same fear 80 years later living here in Ottawa. That same feeling of anxiety walking through my neighbourhood to do errands. That same paranoia for choosing to wear a mask for my own safety and the safety of my fellow human beings.That same suspicion and distrust in a system I came to have confidence in. A system that turned upside down overnight and let chaos take over the city.

Mario

“

The intimidation for wearing a mask while outdoors was non-stop.

Pat

“

During the course of the occupation, the participation of protesters carrying symbols of hate like the swastika, the Confederate flag, and those carrying anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans messaging without any actions by protest leaders or protest participants to remove these elements said to me and many others that this was a protest that accepted and promoted hate.

Fareed

“

The convoyers and their supporters were drunk and drinking in the streets, cooking on open
fires. Fireworks going off on Rideau Street, fuel containers all over the streets. The streets completely blocked by trucks including laneways. The constant noise was exhausting and nerve racking. It was lawless.

Evelyn

“

Many people in the building missed medical appointments. Para Transpo couldn’t come.

Anastasia

“

I went to the corner store and this lady holding a sign went behind me and started pushing me in my wheelchair towards the intersection.

Troy

“

The most permanent, personally damaging thing for me was that they had decorated their new home with signs everywhere comparing themselves to the Holocaust and its victims. Paper stars of David and fabric ones attached to clothes were littered everywhere. Seeing them compare themselves to my grandfather and our family just infuriated me.

Portia

“

I was operated on and my friends brought me back on the 29th, up Nicholas, went to turn left on Laurier and the streets were closed. I walked six blocks afterwards. While I was on the bridge, I also had protesters coming at me because I was wearing masks.

Pierre

“

On the second day of the convoy, I was awoken by the sounds of a truck down the street from my building. The truck was repeatedly honking at 7 AM directly in front of a daycare. I work as an emergency call centre operator and I was coming off the overnight shift. The truck was causing me to be unable to sleep but unfortunately I couldn't call in sick due to the current labour shortages. I was petrified the entire night that I would make a mistake due to sleep deprivation.

Mathew

“

have been called a c*nt while walking to the compost bin beside my building. I have been spat at while walking down the street. I have suffered multiple panic attacks after weeks of horns blaring their hate and violence into my home day and night. I am completely undone: socially, psychologically, professionally, personally. I can't accomplish many basic life tasks.

Amy

“

Throughout the occupation, I could not shop at my supermarkets as they [protesters] were gathered around the entrances and blocking people going in with masks.

Gaye

“

Staff and parents were harassed and were honked at by truckers when they were walking their children to childcare. This impacted parents' ability to go to work and school. There were preschoolers in tears and one asked, ‘why are the people who hate us still here?’. After they left, this same one asked, ‘are they going to come back?’

Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition

“

The STORM (Street Team OutReach Mobile) van and the food van could not get downtown to deliver food, medical supports, and personal hygiene products to community members who are living on the street or working on the street. Minwaashin Lodge staff being harassed by white men was triggering and reminded them that it is not safe to be an Indigenous woman.

Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition

“

I’ve had back surgery and sometimes rely on grocery delivery which was not possible
during the occupation. Many seniors and wheelchair-bound residents of the building felt trapped as well. Complaining was futile as the police did nothing!

Anonymous

“

My 89 year old father was at the General Hospital ER and I couldn’t get out of my parking garage to get to him because it was blocked with trucks.

Anonymous

“

As a female small business owner in Centretown, I was afraid to go to my office during the occupation. I heard many stories of my friends and colleagues who live downtown as to the harassment and intimidation they were experiencing, especially young women, BIPOC persons, and our LGBTQ+ community members.

Anonymous

“

The most significant impact was a 60 per cent decline in people coming into Wabano to get their vaccines due to cancellations. They were afraid to come downtown.

Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition

“

Residents also had to endure the stench of diesel fumes mingled with the odour of fecal matter and roast pig. Some parking lots were used as open air toilets. Other areas outside of the downtown core were used as gathering places for drinking and honking at all hours (e.g. Lansdowne).

Anonymous

“

Outsiders were watched, weighted and often singled out. I was chased down Lyon Street by three large men spewing obscenities at me about masks. This happened because I was alone.

Allan

“

The constant noise, smoke, and often frightening horn blasts wreaked havoc on a population that is greatly impacted by mental illness. I understand that the people with better financial situations suffered under this occupation, and I by no means mean to disrespect the plight that they suffered, but the disadvantaged have no options for escape, none. They had no other place to go.

Cliff

“

Big rigs parked on Queen Elizabeth Dr. were kept running 24-7, right beside homes where
children lived. Diesel fumes filled the air, various liquids dripped from the rigs on the road, honking occurred, garbage was left.

Christine

“

The protests and occupation severely affected Knox Church’s weekly take-out meal distribution for our neighbours in need on the Saturdays of January 29, February 5, 12 and 19. Approximately one third of our guests did not show up, we presume due to anxiety and fear about the protests.

Jim

“

My brother’s best friend, who lives in Hintonburg, took down her Trans flag. Pick-up trucks with regalia had been circling her block all weekend and she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.

Anonymous

“

I had three cancer operations in three weeks during the convoy occupation. My daughter helped me go to the grocery store because my prepared meals had run out. We had to walk the gauntlet of protesters jeering at us, totally disregarding our rights as citizens just because we were walking with masks.

Pierre

“

It was very apparent that we’re an Islamic Care Centre and they smashed our window.

Abdulrahman

“

‘I ran into one just now, my entire body seized up from fear and anger and I almost blacked out’. That is just one line from text messages that were going back and forth between friends and neighbours in Overbrook who are experiencing the terror and fear of being invaded and occupied by this far-right so-called Freedom Convoy.

Richter

“

What was most amazing to me was how the police were only comfortable walking in groups. I'm a single person who lives by myself. Where is my option to walk in a group? The people with authority who generally can respond to calls on a single person or a partner basis, all of a sudden had to start walking our neighbourhood in groups. That, to me, spoke volumes.

Kim

“

The sound was non-stop. You can feel it in your chest with the transport trucks. It's like a shock through your whole nervous system and it was non-stop.

Rachel

“

I was verbally threatened by three protesters. The incident was recorded by a local resident walking past. I'll never forget how the loudest person's unmasked face shouted directly into mine from about four inches away ‘get the hell out of my face’

Jim

“

I have never had to use a security guard in my life in Canada in 30 years of reporting.

Evan Solomon

“

Metcalfe Street was everything the journalists said it was – parties, it was laughing, it was fine. However, you’d go over a few streets to Kent Street and it was a completely different vibe. It was menacing, it was hostile, and it looked like at any point in time violence could erupt. I realized that Metcalfe was the veneer, Kent was real.

Erica Ifill

“

I got personally threatened a lot. People had my address. They were threatening to come to my home and we had to move our daughter out of our home for some time. It wouldn't have even occurred to me to call police at that time.

Catherine McKenney

“

The gaslighting was that the protest was non-violent. It was quite obvious on the two excursions I went down to the convoy that people’s freedoms and safety were impacted by the actions of convoy participants, resulting in non-consensual participants being injured in many, many ways.

Anonymous

“

What really stuck with me as an immigrant myself and from the experiences of other newcomers, experiencing the convoy was traumatic because it mirrored things people fled from.

Anonymous

“

Trapped, isolated, abandoned are the words that come to mind.

Anastasia

“

I have never felt so unsafe and stressed in my life. I felt completely abandoned by our police force.

Anonymous

“

I felt very ignored and left out by the police and the City from the get-go. This is a little bit of a problem from before with Ottawa that when something happens they tell downtown residents to avoid downtown, don't drive downtown, just don't go there. They completely ignore the people who live downtown who cannot leave.

Lisa

“

The condo’s board decided to hire private security after calls to police led to nothing.

Evelyn

“

Despite all of the daily impact on my life, I can honestly say one of the things most hurtful to me, and harmful for all Canadians, was the repeated mantra from the media and supportive politicians that “this is largely a peaceful demonstration

Pat

“

It literally felt a lot longer than three or four weeks. It was living hell. I couldn't go to the grocery store, I couldn't go to work because I had no way to get there and my fear was that something would happen and they’d cancel the bus routes and I'd be stuck.

Troy

“

There are living, breathing people who live in these buildings in downtown Ottawa. And you need to see us.

Amy

“

The saddest thing is that the Ottawa Police Services did nothing. They did not issue noise violations for blaring horns or blocking of roads. Rather, they joined in to have selfies taken with protestors. Further to that, they were handing out parking tickets to people who were unable to get to their streets while the protest vehicles blocking roads faced no consequences.

Anonymous

“

To watch the police do nothing was the worse part. I was made to feel like I would never feel safe again. How would I ever have faith the police would protect me, us, the community ever again?

Evelyn

“

This hit the rooming house and homeless communities with the force of a hurricane. It was a
real injustice to people living at the edge of society and people struggling on a day-to-day basis with addictions and mental illness.

Allan

“

I saw mobs of people standing around in shut-off streets, open-air barbecues, mammoth playgrounds for children, and petrol cans everywhere. And most disappointing, I saw the police doing nothing. They were fraternizing with the very element creating the disruptions to our daily lives.

Mario

“

I was shocked to see basic planning in advance was not done by the City, and the mitigation of the protest impact was not only omitted but the convoy was encouraged to take up residence in the streets.

Anonymous

“

This was a situation that we should have been protected from by our civic officials. Our municipal, provincial and federal governments failed the citizens of Ottawa.

Diane

“

I no longer have any trust in any of our police forces. I no longer have a feeling of safety in my community.

Beth

“

Messaging continued to gaslight and ignore residents, with media reporting mostly on
‘peaceful’ protesters, despite residents reporting excessive noise, yelling, harassment, and
antisocial behaviour like urinating in public. Again, it felt like the City, police, and media were
ignoring the people who lived here and had no choice in the event, to support and facilitate
participation by those who were able to choose to come party and then leave as they wished.

Lisa

“

During the Freedom Convoy, disabled people were left without access to food, medical appointments, and services that they would normally access. This is unacceptable and can never happen again. An entire population going without food and support is not an acceptable outcome ever.

Ro

“

ODSP failed. When you create a system where people are getting less and less money every year with inflation, there's no money for emergencies and so there was no money. There's no money for delivery, groceries. There's no money to take an Uber, so people are left scraping out the cabinets because they are always on the verge of starvation and I wish that was hyperbole but it's not.

Ro

“

It was a three-week invasion. I saw police cars escorting the trucks downtown and joking with the invaders. None of the aggressive and offensive behaviour was stopped, except by citizen action.

Judy

“

I had zero trust in the police because I was watching from my window as they also blocked access, they also interacted with the occupiers, they refused to enforce the laws.

Lisa

“

You need to see us. Because we have been left behind. This occupation is White Supremacy on steroids – and you have left us to languish in their torrent of hate and violence.

Amy

“

The neighbourhood was living in a state of siege and felt cut off. There was no delivery into this neighbourhood, there was no service from OC Transpo, Para Transpo, there was no service from taxis or Uber or anything. There were no police so there was very much a sense of lawlessness and being cut off from the rest of the city.

Tim

“

We couldn't help but tell ourselves that the reason the world allowed this far-right ‘Freedom Convoy’ to park in our backyards was because the people of Overbrook and Vanier don't matter to anyone in the world or the city. People in prominent positions in the city still forget to mention and include us when they're out there telling their version of the events.

Richter

“

It was not okay that the police directed the traffic to Kent Street, to Lowertown, and to Overbrook, the three poorest parts of town. It is not okay that the occupation happened in Somerset Ward which is the poorest ward in town. It is not okay that Chief Sloly and Mayor Watson allowed this to continue.

Paul

“

On one occasion, a vehicle inched right up towards myself and another pedestrian. Immediately after that, on my walk home, there were a couple of cruisers right by the station and I told them about what had just happened. They said ‘well did you get hurt?’ and I said ‘no I didn't get hurt, but this is what happened’, but there was nothing further done or asked of me.

Jim

“

If anything, area police, security agencies, and political officials designated to uphold peace, order and good government failed downtown Ottawa residents. They did not perform well and block the hundreds of vehicles entering downtown to get near Parliament Hill

Ken Rubin

“

Messaging should never just say to ‘avoid downtown’ or only note the best ways to avoid traffic, as this ignores the people who live here, and gives the impression that events are not impacting real people.

Lisa

“

Many of the concerns and anecdotes of this report were relayed to various OPS members who often parked there. Though the officers were respectful and empathic, their constant refrain until the final weekend of the occupation was that they didn’t have adequate resources to deal with the challenges of the occupation, and they could only respond in accord with directives from their higher authorities.

Jim

“

For the duration of this occupation, I had my phone on 24 hours a day. I was scrambling to get food to people who were afraid to leave their home.

Troy

“

I need you to understand that Centretown is not a bunch of empty office buildings. It is full of people.

Amy

“

As tensions in the city escalated, the people at our rooming house made an unspoken rule to never roam the streets alone. If a guy went out, someone went with them. It just made everyone's lives easier and none of us wanted to see our neighbours harassed, taunted, or god forbid, injured.

Allan

“

Devonshire Public School requested assistance of bodies on the streets for mornings and afternoons from the Hintonburg Community Association – after two mothers and their children were harassed for wearing masks by convoy participants. One incident occurred in front of the school, and the other close to Rosemount at Wellington. At seven o'clock in the morning, we stood out on the corners. We were not counter-protesting. We were just there to make sure that the parents of those young primary school children were not harassed or intimidated.

Stephanie

“

We sustained a program that ran for six days each week throughout the occupation. Roughly 50 percent of our requests came from ODSP recipients. Many of our recipients had limited mobility using devices like wheelchairs and walkers. These recipients told me that the convoy made the city unsafe for them.

Ro

“

Some of my amazing organizer friends in the Centretown Helpers Discord set up a worker relief fund that raised thousands of dollars for people in the downtown area and they did disperse that money so again we're seeing grassroots reacting much faster than any level of government did.

Ro

“

I’ve had wonderful citizens of this city wearing head coverings pull up in their vehicles, roll their windows down and thank us for being there [counter-protesting in front of OPS headquarters] when they did not feel safe.

Clayton

“

My building is full of seniors so some of us residents got together to offer any sort of assistance we could to fellow neighbours, like picking up meds or food for them, etc.

Anonymous

“

I started to get updates from residents closer to the staging area at the Hampton Inn parking lot. This is when I realized that we would have to be our own sources of intelligence if we wanted to survive this thing because there was zero communication coming from any level of government. We became glued to our smartphones and mobile devices. The sparse reporting on the occupation given by news outlets was providing a very broken picture of what was happening in our neighbourhood but it was at least better than nothing.

Richter

“

One thing that I witnessed during the occupation is that people were craving the space to have that story shared. People were dying to speak to someone who would listen. That Twitter space was supposed to be an hour, it lasted two hours and 45 minutes because we just felt that we needed to hear everybody.

Erica Ifill

“

Q: You said you protested because you felt powerless and angry. Did you also feel scared? A: I did, absolutely I felt scared. I felt scared for people in my community but I feel like at that time people needed some sort of hope and some sort of symbol of resistance or some sort of somebody doing something, anything.

Mat

“

I am grateful to Zexi Li, the man in the blue jacket and the other heroes of Ottawa, thanks to whom I believed during this difficult time that we were going to get through this.

Evelyn

“

I had to regularly cross the red zone on foot so I made it a habit to record everything I could see and posted it on my personal social media. Over time, I acquired a rather large following which relied on my posts to understand if it was safe for them to work and visit downtown given that reporters themselves could not provide footage. I started receiving a lot of comments and messages from residents, particularly members of the LGBT community like myself, who were thanking me for keeping them informed.

Mathew

“

A beautiful thing that came out of the disaster of the convoy was neighbours coming together to support each other and developing bigger bonds. To me that was the overriding thing I walked away with, when all hell breaks loose you come together as a community and that’s where you can find safety. That’s where we found safety and action, it wasn’t from our governments and it wasn’t from the police.

Judy

“

Over the course of many intense days of work as we endeavoured to pull together all of the necessary plaintiffs, evidence, legal arguments and paperwork in support of the injunction application, the stress was incredible, including mounting concerns about our own safety. What was heartening, however, was how assistance kept coming from unexpected corners. Zexi Li courageously agreed to be the lead plaintiff. People volunteered to hand deliver legal notices to truckers. Residents shared tips and information and evidence. Commissionaires carried out security patrols of our law office in their free time. Lawyers in Ottawa and from across the country shared advice and precedents. We would not have been able to pursue the injunction without the community coming together

Paul Champ

“

[On the Battle of Billings Bridge] I think it was over a thousand people. We stood there all day, it was the most organic thing that I've ever participated in. It was not a planned event. There was no one organizer. These were folks who showed up and were at a breaking point with the lack of action by government, by the lack of action and complicity of the police in all of this. We're taking a stand and saying enough is enough. And I truly feel like that was the domino that knocked everything over, that led to the end of this occupation.

Andrea