OTTAWA - Federal cabinet ministers are set to address the protests that have paralyzed the national capital around Parliament Hill for more than a week, just as a class-action lawsuit lands before an Ottawa judge.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier and Yasir Naqvi, MP for the downtown Ottawa riding snarled by the protests, are set to provide an update this afternoon.
There have been numerous calls for the federal government to manage the protest response, but ministers and MPs have taken a guarded approach so far, citing the imperative to keep politics separate from policing.
The press conference is being held online instead of on Parliament Hill, the scene of what some have called an occupation or a siege with numerous big-rig trucks and other vehicles parked in the city core.
Amid blaring truck horns, the demonstration has included open fires, makeshift feeding stations, encampments and numerous — sometimes profane — anti-government signs.
Some local politicians have called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take a more active role in the situation. Trudeau's itinerary says he is having private meetings today somewhere in the national capital region.
Protesters and some MPs are urging Trudeau to meet the organizers but the prime minister took that off the table a week ago, saying he had no intention of meeting with a "fringe minority" that holds "unacceptable views."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized Trudeau today for a lack of leadership, saying the prime minister "needs to be present" to deal with the protest, but had "not been visible" so far.
Singh said people felt the federal government "has been missing" and wanted to see leadership from ministers.
Singh wants an emergency debate in Parliament and blames the Liberals for using the protest as "a wedge issue." He said all parties should work together to find a way to get the protesters to “go home now”.
Meanwhile, an Ontario court is scheduled to hear arguments in a proposed multi-million-dollar class-action lawsuit on behalf of Ottawa residents who want protesters encamped in their downtown to stop honking their horns.
Superior Court Justice Hugh McLean had set a 1 p.m. deadline to get all documents and cross-examinations done before he would rule on one part of the proposed action.
Downtown residents seek an injunction to prevent truckers parked on city streets from honking their horns incessantly. Their lawyer, Paul Champ, says the loud and prolonged honking is causing irreparable harm.
Keith Wilson, representing three of the respondents in the case, told McLean the ruling on the injunction would carry national importance.
The hearing comes as Ottawa police get ready to provide more details on a series of arrests and seizures in response to what local officials have called an illegal occupation of the capital's core.
The so-called Freedom Convoy rolled into the national capital over a week ago and many in the hundreds of vehicles in the core have vowed to stay until all COVID-19 restrictions, including mask and vaccination mandates, are lifted.
City police say the situation has taxed their resources, and Ottawa's mayor has declared a state of emergency partially aimed at underlining the need for extra help from upper levels of government.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Sunday the province has given Ottawa everything the municipality has requested, and will continue to do so.
Ottawa police are expected to provide updates today on arrests and raids Sunday night, when officers walked away with litres of fuel and propane from protesters. Police have warned that anyone bringing items such as gasoline to demonstrators could be arrested.
