Ottawa

It wasn’t that long ago the Maple Leaf flag was a mostly inoffensive, and occasionally inspiring, symbol of Canadian national pride, writes columnist Max Fawcett.

With another round of so-called "freedom" protests set to arrive in Ottawa on Canada Day, Centretown residents hope for a summer without disruption. 

The commissioner of the inquiry examining Ottawa's use of the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the so-called "Freedom Convoy" protest in February has granted standing to the organizers, police and representatives of all three levels of government.

The Alberta Court of Appeal's strongly worded opinion said the Impact Assessment Act is an "existential threat" to the division of powers guaranteed by the Constitution and has taken a "wrecking ball" to Constitutional rights of the citizens of Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

The mayor of Canada's capital city is urging the federal government to send its workers back to their downtown offices to bolster flagging local businesses.

Russia’s digital brigades have been busy at work here in Canada as well. The recent trucker convoy that occupied Ottawa for the better part of a month was aided and abetted by foreign forces, and that seems to have Russian fingerprints on it. RT, a major conduit for Russian propaganda and A self-described “info weapon,” ran upwards of 1,200 stories on the occupation, writes Max Fawcett.

Ottawa businesses affected by the weeks-long convoy protest will be able to apply for up to $15,000 to offset their losses starting Tuesday.

A protest planned for around the British Columbia legislature over COVID-19 mandates has drawn sharp criticism from the province's premier.

While the race to lead the Conservative Party of Canada may still only have one contender, its members of Parliament are being invited to meet with a potential second.

Pat King was arrested last Friday and faces charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order and counselling to obstruct police.

Where the protests in Canada's capital were organized, unified and bent on disruption, the D.C. endeavour appears amorphous and is still taking shape. 

"Portraying the protest as an act of collective grieving rather than a bacchanal of vandalism and constitutional hooliganism was a choice," writes columnist Max Fawcett.

Police officers descended on anti-government protesters in Ottawa on Friday, arresting 70 people and towing vehicles in a push to end a three-week occupation that has reverberated across Canada and around the world.