On my mind as the Ottawa Occupation nears an end point…*
21 days of the occupation of downtown Ottawa; and now police, long past time, marshal to respond. How could it have come to this? On so many levels it defies belief or understanding.
What is abundantly clear is that the combination of emotions in the air in Ottawa is thick with apprehension, frustration, disappointment, disillusionment, exhaustion, fear and a looming sense of dread.
There are growing signs that a major police operation to dismantle the occupation will soon be underway in the city. Meanwhile, rain pours down, turning streets and sidewalks treacherously slick and a major snowfall is expected later today. That does nothing to smooth the way for an easy end to this (unless bad weather accomplishes what police could not or would not for these past 20 days).
Like many friends and colleagues active in human rights advocacy, I have engaged in the up and down legal and political debates about protest, human rights, public safety and emergencies for three weeks. Debates that we will need to take forward once this crisis phase “ends”, whatever that may entail.
On my mind at this point?
Clarity that this must end
I am a passionate champion of the right to peaceful protest, a precious right shaped and upheld by our fundamental universally protected freedoms of expression, assembly and association. I would not even begin to be able to count the number of protests I have been part of, in Canada and abroad, with respect to a wide array of pressing concerns. Some have been celebratory, others somber. Some have involved massive crowds, others just a handful. All have had a strong sense of insistence and urgency.
I not only acknowledge but ardently embrace that the vital right to peaceful protest does and must extend to views opposed to mine. I enthusiastically agree that protest, while peaceful, can and often must be raucous, confrontational and disruptive. I have also been part of monitoring teams, ensuring that the rights of protesters are respected by police. If we fail to defend protest rights, vigorously and with conviction, we do so at our collective peril.
Yet there are limits; crucially so. Those limits do not come from outside our human rights protections; rather they are inherently tied to those very human rights. That is clear in international human rights guarantees and also in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Perhaps most importantly, peaceful protest is not an open door to violating the rights of others, and causing extensive harm to communities. In downtown Ottawa, with blaring horns, noxious fumes, devastating disruption of livelihoods, and far too many instances of hate-filled racist, misogynist and homophobic symbols, taunts, harassment, threats and violence; that line was crossed long ago.
There are countless ways in which large and noisy protests against vaccine mandates and all manner of other public health restrictions can continue – in the heart of Ottawa, and anywhere across Canada – legitimately and lawfully. But not this. Dressing up what is happening with a street party vibe and bringing kids along for the fun does not change the fact that this is an occupation and a siege, with a seditious and insurrectionist bent and racist and hateful undertones and overtones, masquerading as “peaceful protest”.
Worry about how it may end
Police mobilization is always a cause of human rights worry. Even when the need is clear and the justification for action evident, there is always very real concern about the methods and weapons used by police, who gets prioritized for arrest, how people are treated, and who may get caught in the crossfire. Will police action provoke violent, and potentially armed, responses from some people involved in the occupation? Will trucks be weaponized? What of the safety and well-being of the many children who have been brought into the heart of this by their parents?
It seems trite to emphasize the core human rights messages about policing in these contexts, but the use of force, especially of potentially lethal force, must be of last resort and used exceptionally and with great care. I’ve seen the situation downtown and it is clear that the challenge faced by police is immense. It should never have been allowed to reach such a point, but it did. We have not come remotely close to witnessing impressive policing for these past 20 days; but now is the time for it to shine.
Disenchantment with our leaders
There have been some brilliant exceptions, notably local city councillors Catherine McKenney and Shawn Menard; but I am beyond disillusioned at what has been both an absence and collapse of political leadership over these three weeks. What ever happened to the assumption that it was in times of crisis that we pull together, including that we pull together politically? That has been nowhere on display. Instead we have seen master classes in ducking responsibility, pointing fingers, fomenting divisiveness and fanning the flames. I don’t know that there is a time when my confidence across all three levels of government has been as simultaneously shattered as it is now. And I know that is a broadly shared sentiment. There is immense work ahead to begin to rebuild, let alone restore, any sense of confidence.
The fiasco at City Hall yesterday, with a decision by the mayor and others that now was the right time to mount a purge within the Police Services Board is staggering in its wrongheadedness. That comes on the heels of tone-deaf comments from the mayor chastising inspired local mobilization over the past weekend to block more occupiers from reaching downtown. Our mayor and most of council are out of step with what the city needs, to the point that many have been left with the dismal feeling that they simply do not get it.
And the state of the current federal debate about the invocation of the Emergencies Act seems primarily about scoring political points (whether well-earned, well-founded, or not). I am no champion of any government resorting to states of emergency; they are a human rights advocate’s anathema. And I absolutely share the view that the legal case for it here is not yet entirely convincing, including whether existing laws were inadequate (as opposed to inept enforcement of those laws).
But we are in an emergency, surely we all agree to that. And the act has been dusted off. So surely the focus now should be on exercising all of the diligence and scrutiny necessary to monitor its application, keep it tightly focused on limited and specific measures that are both needed and constructive, guard vigorously against overreach, and ensure it is brought to an end as soon as possible. And doing so with a sense of common purpose? If only.
Holding on to hope and determination
I do not know when or how this will end, at least to the extent that the trucks are gone and the physical occupation of the downtown core is disbanded. I expect it will be soon now.
But I am looking ahead, and doing so with hope and determination. The hope has come in witnessing the courage of those who did come forward, such as the remarkable Zexi Li who bravely mounted legal action to shut down the horns, propelled forward by the selfless team of lawyers at Champ & Associates. And incredibly important work by countless journalists to keep all of our eyes and ears open to what has been unfolding.
Going forward, we do need to have a probing conversation about protest and human rights in Canada. Joining with fellow human rights activists, Cindy Blackstock, Leilani Farha and Monia Mazigh, we have proposed that a National Summit be convened to grapple with fundamental concerns that have emerged, not only because of this wave of occupation and blockades, but how previous protests have been handled (and mishandled). The stark difference between these three weeks and so many other instances of genuine protest involving Indigenous land defenders, antiracism activists, environmentalists and homelessness encampments, is unconscionable.
We need also to confront the continuing rise of extreme right, racist groups and movements in Canada. That includes their funding sources, the direct or dog whistle support they receive from a growing number of mainstream and fringe politicians, and enforcement strategies for tackling the many aspects of their activities that are, simply and clearly, criminal.
No more denial. No more simplistic retorts of “this is not my Canada”.
It is our Canada. We need to rise to that reality; and come together to shape and build a different country.
* Photo credit: The Guardian
