Moving past the convoy occupation requires transformational human rights change

Leilani Farha, Monia Mazigh, Alex Neve and Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah*

Hard to believe that is has been a year since trucks rolled into Ottawa and took over the city’s downtown core. It begs the question: one year on, do we understand the impact of that convoy, and what needs to change going forward?

Over the past four months Canadians were riveted by revelations of dysfunction coming out through testimony and documents at the Rouleau Inquiry looking into the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. Meanwhile, at the Ottawa People’s Commission on the Convoy Occupation we heard from over 300 city residents, who described to us what it was like to live through 3 ½ unprecedented weeks of mayhem and fear in their neighbourhoods.

It is a perspective largely missing from the official processes set up to examine government responses to the convoy, which has also included reviews by a parliamentary committee and by the City of Ottawa’s Auditor General. 

But surely it is the perspective that matters most.  We will not fully understand the gravity of what happened in downtown Ottawa without putting that community experience at the fore. And we will not come up with responsive recommendations for avoiding a repeat, without listening to informed suggestions from the people who saw this play out in real time outside their homes and businesses, literally 24 hours per day.

To right that imbalance we’re releasing our initial findings in a first report entitled, What We Heard. It offers an overview of courageous and deeply personal testimonies and submissions we have received from people from a wide variety of backgrounds, most of whom live or work in Centretown, Lowertown, Vanier and Overbrook, the neighbourhoods that were most impacted by the convoy.

We overwhelmingly we heard from people who felt harmed and abused by the convoy. They were not just inconvenienced or frustrated; they endured weeks of what they varyingly described as going through hell, being invaded, enduring a siege, or being held hostage. We also heard from some downtown residents who supported the convoy and who felt bolstered by its arrival in the city. Their views are included in our report, as well.

A fuller analysis of experiences during the convoy and related recommendations will be released in our next report. At this stage, however, there are several clear conclusions we have already been able to reach.

First, we agree with the characterization of the convoy as an occupation. We realize that is a highly charged word. It describes longstanding realities faced by Indigenous peoples in many parts of Canada, including Ottawa, whose territories have long been occupied. It is a word with stark meaning for Palestinian people who have endured more than 55 years of Israeli military occupation.

This occupation was of course not of that nature or severity. But there are parallels. An aggressive outside force, led by a significant number of intimidating large-rig trucks, literally overran downtown streets and blocked access to homes and businesses, and threatened and assaulted residents. All with an express intention to stay-put indefinitely.

This was an occupation.

Second, while the convoy has been described many different ways, including by supporters who insisted it was a celebration of freedom, and by officials who said it was mainly peaceful, it is clear to us that it was marked by violence. It is shortsighted to look only to activities that took place on Parliament Hill, feel relief that there was not an invasion akin to what happened at the US Congress on January 6, 2021, and conclude that it was not violent.

In the neighbourhoods behind Wellington Street, the experience was very different. People were accosted, assaulted, threatened, subjected to torturous levels of horn blaring, made to endure overt racism, misogyny, islamophobia, antisemitism, transphobia, homophobia, and other hate, and were constantly terrified that the unchecked presence of open fires, propane tanks, barbeques and trucks full of fuel might lead to a catastrophic explosion. The violence kept people trapped in their homes, fearful of going out. All of this was felt most acutely by the most marginalized members of downtown communities, notably people with disabilities.

The occupation was violent.

Third, while authorities most certainly upheld the free expression rights of convoy protesters, residents and business owners – who should equally have been able to count on police and other public authorities to protect them – were abandoned. Criminal laws and bylaws were not enforced. When residents sought to report criminal acts to police, they were rebuffed. They were told that police were waiting for their orders.  Bylaw officers referred people wanting to make complaints about parking, noise and public safety infractions to the police, who referred them back to bylaw. Very little information was provided to residents and business owners about what was happening such that they could make informed decisions about whether it was safe enough to open their store or walk a few blocks to a pharmacy. No governments ensured residents in need had access to food, medicines, transportation and social services.

Communities were abandoned.

Not surprisingly, given that people were so utterly abandoned when faced with a violent occupation of their neighbourhoods, there was remarkable community level mobilization to keep each other safe, ensure that vulnerable neighbours received food and medication, and build a sense of solidarity.  None of that is a replacement, however, for what police and governments should have been doing to protect human rights.

Have lessons been learned?  That is far from evident. There has been little effort by any order of government to even reach out and hear these views firsthand.  It is not enough for police to simply say next time will be different. This was a colossal failure on the part by the police and all three orders of government: municipal, provincial and federal. It exposed glaring human rights shortcomings. That requires deep and transformational change. Those conversations have yet to begin.

* Commissioners with the Ottawa People’s Commission on the Convoy Occupation, originally published as an opinion piece in the Hill Times, on January 30, 2023.