Ottawa police say that they expect that the number of protesters joining the Freedom Convoy will increase this weekend.
Trish Ferguson, who is acting deputy chief for the police force, said that intelligence suggests that more people will be joining the protests against vaccine mandated and other draconian covid measures this coming weekend.
Breitbart reports: The intelligence report was echoed by a search of local hotel availability in downtown Ottawa for the weekend, which as of Thursday showed most downtown hotels completely sold out on the booking website Expedia.
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The Freedom Convoy protest has gone on for nearly a week and local government officials have expressed their displeasure with the continued actions of the protestors, which has included truckers and others constantly honking their horns in downtown Ottawa.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson also condemned members of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), including former CPC leader Andrew Scheer, after Saskatchewan CPC MPs took photos with the Freedom Convoy protestors and expressed support for the protest, broadcaster CBC reports.
“This is an absolute disgrace that you would come out & praise this illegal action that has caused stress and hardship to residents who have been putting up with horns blasting throughout the night and residents harassed for wearing a mask & businesses forced to close. Apologize,” Mayor Watson said Wednesday evening.
Ottawa city councillor Catherine McKenney has also called for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to manage the Freedom Convoy demonstration on Parliament Hill and stated, “Residents downtown have been abandoned during a national crisis and an occupation of our city.”
As the protests continue, Ottawa police have expressed a desire to end the protests entirely, with Police Chief Peter Sloly suggesting that the city may request aid from the Canadian armed forces to halt the protestor’s activities.
Sloly added that bringing in the military could increase tensions and came with significant risks but admitted the city’s police force did not have the manpower to stop the protest.
A spokesman for the Canadian Defence Ministry, meanwhile, responded to the police cheif’s remarks saying, “The Canadian Armed Forces are not involved in law enforcement in this situation, and there are no plans for such CAF involvement.”
