Catherine McKenney

The inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act will hear first-hand testimony on Monday, October 17, 2022, from top City of Ottawa officials about February's "Freedom Convoy" protest, including the mayor.

Ottawa has dealt with a fair number of serious crises over the last few years. A massive and destructive windstorm, floods, a giant sinkhole that swallowed a busy downtown throughway and, of course, a global pandemic.

The Ottawa woman who filed for a court injunction to stop truckers from continually honking their horns during the "Freedom Convoy" in February is among the first witnesses at a public inquiry exploring the government's use of the Emergencies Act.

The protests staged in Ottawa over the weekend that caused only minimal disruptions were a far cry from the "Freedom Convoy" demonstrations that occupied downtown streets for three weeks earlier this year.

Canada’s institutions and police services were unprepared for the scale of the “Freedom Convoy” protest, says Ottawa’s former police chief, who resigned amid heavy criticism of the force’s handling of the demonstration.

The Ottawa police services board has approved the appointment of up to 831 RCMP officers to help municipal police, who are promising a heavy presence in the capital and zero tolerance for hate this weekend.

The "Rolling Thunder Ottawa" convoy plans to do a loop through downtown next weekend, with a stop planned at the National War Memorial.

On a frosty Friday, February 4, 2022, morning, a few dozen masked people gathered on the corner of Bank and Somerset Street in downtown Ottawa.