A few hundred protesters converged on Parliament Hill Saturday morning, two years after thousands gridlocked downtown Ottawa.
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At a news conference Friday, organizers said the gathering would not be a “vehicle-based protest” but rather an event with speeches and a march through downtown.
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The 2022 protests brought big-rig trucks to the capital’s downtown core, where they parked for weeks. The protests were spearheaded by some who opposed the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, many of which had ended by that time. Others hoped to bring down the Trudeau government. Police from across Ontario and Quebec were brought in to clear the Ottawa streets in a massive multi-day operation that ended Feb. 17, 2022.
Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia
Invoking the Emergencies Act triggered an automatic federal commission to review the government’s decision. The Public Order Emergency Commission issued 56 recommendations for police and governments last February, and commissioner Paul Rouleau concluded that the Liberals were justified in turning to the never-before-used legislation.
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Last month, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley said the invoking the Emergencies Act was unreasonable and violated the constitutional right of free expression. The federal government has already pledged to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.
More to come.
PHOTO GALLERY
Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest. A man with very little clothing, who was here for the original protests in similar outfits, returned to the hill.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest. A man with a tinfoil hat was stopped as he entered the gates of Parliament Hill because of the length of his flag pole.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest. Brian Derksen: The Trucker That Never Left, was one of the speakers Saturday.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest. A man with very little clothing, who was here for the original protests in similar outfits, returned to the hill and posed with other protesters.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Hundreds of convoy protesters returned to Parliament Hill Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, on the two-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act that ended the protest.Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia
With files from the Canadian Press
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