‘A lot to look forward to’: Ottawa residents relieved as police clear protests
By Creeson Agecoutay and Daniel Otis, CTV News
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OTTAWA, Ontario (CTV Network) — After 22 days of honking horns and diesel fumes, some Ottawa residents are expressing relief after police began clearing protestors from the downtown core.
“It’s been very difficult,” an annoyed Ottawan told CTV News. “It’s been the worst three weeks of the whole pandemic for me.”
“Walking in this part of my neighbourhood here has been sort of tough,” another said. “Mostly because the air quality has been absolutely terrible with the diesel and the trucks running all the time.”
Yet many protesters remain undeterred by the police crackdown, which began Friday.
“You know how you feel when you go to an all-inclusive vacation?” a supporter said. “That’s how downtown has been.”
Public servant Zexi Li is leading a proposed class-action lawsuit over alleged damages caused by the COVID-19 mandate protests. On Feb. 7, the 21-year-old was able to secure a court injunction to silence the incessant honking.
“I don’t think people know how terrible it was before we got the injunction,” she told CTV News. “It was literally noise torture. They laughed at us for keeping us up at night, but they didn’t care because their rights superseded ours.”
The lawsuit is now seeking over $300 million in damages. On Thursday, an Ontario judge froze as much as $20 million in cash and cryptocurrency tied to the protest movement.
“Really what this convoy has been doing is holding businesses and people hostage to get government to give in to their demands,” lead lawyer Paul Champ told CTV News. “It’s wrong and unlawful and we’re going to see compensation.”
Local businesses say it will take time for them to recover after three weeks of constant disruptions.
“Family day weekend is one of the top weekends,” restaurant owner John Borsten told CTV News. “I’m talking hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost sales, which means tens of thousands of lost tips and wages for all the staff.”
“Hopefully this stuff will get resolved and things will get back to normal,” restaurant manager Johnny Bonney said. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Erected to keep out additional protesters, numerous police checkpoints in downtown Ottawa will likely continue to make life difficult for commuters for some time.
“It is taking forever, and to be honest with you I am getting tired of it,” a frustrated driver told CTV News while in gridlock traffic.
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