Police officers stand guard at the start of a ‘Rolling Thunder Ottawa’ motorcycle protest in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Blair Gable

April 29 (Reuters) – Canada’s capital is preparing for hundreds of motorcyclists to march through the city this weekend to protest government excesses, less than three months after police arrested dozens of protesters who blocked the city center near Parliament for several weeks.

Organizers of the convoy, which they call ‘Rolling Thunder Ottawa’, say it supports ‘freedom’ and veterans, but local media say many of the participants were in Ottawa during the previous protest, which was against a vaccination mandate for cross-border truckers.

In February, the government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was forced to invoke rarely used emergency powers to clear Ottawa. At the time, protesters also blocked major border crossings into the United States. Read more

This time around, Ottawa police have said they will not allow any motor vehicles to stop or park on downtown streets, and additional personnel have been brought in to bolster municipal authorities.

The three-week protest earlier this year left businesses with tens of millions of dollars in lost sales and taxpayers with the cleanup costs. Read more

“The right to lawful and peaceful protests and events will always be protected by our service,” Ottawa Police said on Twitter, but added that posting “hate symbols like swastikas will result in charges.”

A former member of the Canadian Armed Forces, Neil Sheard, is one of the main organizers of the demonstration.

In a video posted to YouTube, Sheard said her plan was to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial as a mark of respect for veterans. Other groups that participate protest more generally against the government and government mandates.

Sheard said he supports any group that wants to fight for the freedom of all Canadians because he believes freedom of expression was paid for by veterans.

“The rights and freedoms of Canadians are being eroded, and we will work to maintain lawful civic action to restore these fundamental rights,” Andrew MacGillivray, a member of the Freedom Fighters Canada group which is also participating, told Reuters recently. .

Events begin Friday at 6:00 p.m. EDT (22:00 GMT), with the biker convoy on Saturday morning. It should end on Sunday.

Reporting by Jenna Zucker in Toronto, additional reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto Editing by Steve Scherer and Matthew Lewis

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