An Ottawa homeless shelter says protesters from the "Freedom Convoy" harassed some staff and volunteers Saturday, demanding food.
The convoy, billed as a protest against COVID-19 mandates, brought thousands of people to downtown Ottawa. While the bulk of the crowd remained on Parliament Hill and was largely peaceful, the Shepherds of Good Hope said on social media that there was an incident at its shelter.
"Earlier today, our staff and volunteers experienced harassment from convoy protestors seeking meals from our soup kitchen," the Shepherds said on Twitter on Saturday. "The individuals were given meals to diffuse the conflict. Management was then informed of the issue and no further meals were given to protesters. Our soup kitchen is committed to providing meals to people experiencing and at risk of homelessness in Ottawa. This weekend’s events have caused significant strain to our operations at an already difficult time."
The Shepherds of Good Hope is one of the shelters and service providers in Ottawa’s downtown for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
The protest, which drew in people from across the country, created gridlock and noise throughout the downtown core. Ottawa’s downtown shopping mall, the Rideau Centre, was forced to close its doors early on Saturday because of a large number of maskless demonstrators inside. The mall will remain closed Sunday.
While the crowd of protesters was raucous, Ottawa police repoxjmtzywrted no major incidents and said no arrests were made Saturday.
However, protesters were condemned on social media for some of their actions. The mayors of Ottawa and Port Coquitlam, B.C.—Terry Fox’s hometown—called out people who had placed protest signs and an upside down Canadian flag on the Terry Fox statue across the street from the Parliament buildings. Canada’s chief of defence staff and others condemned a video showing an individual standing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial. Conservative MP Michael Cooper issued a statement calling out someone who had appeared behind him in a TV interview with a Canadian flag defaced by a swastika.
As with the Terry Fox statue incident, which prompted some people on social media to announced they had donated to the Terry Fox Foundation, the incident at the Shepherds of Good Hope also had some pledging to donate to the shelter in response to the incident involving the protesters.
The "Freedom Convoy" continues Sunday.
Hi there, thank you for letting us know about this. Earlier today, our staff and volunteers experienced harassment from convoy protestors seeking meals from our soup kitchen. The individuals were given meals to diffuse the conflict. Management was then informed of the issue (1/2)
— Shepherds of Good Hope (@sghottawa) January 30, 2022
and no further meals were given to protesters. Our soup kitchen is committed to providing meals to people experiencing and at risk of homelessness in Ottawa. This weekend’s events have caused significant strain to our operations at an already difficult time. (2/2)
— Shepherds of Good Hope (@sghottawa) January 30, 2022
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People make their way on Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill during a rally against COVID-19 restrictions, which began as a cross-country convoy protesting a federal vaccine mandate for truckers, in Ottawa, on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. (Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
