Two different organizations cancelled events on Parliament Hill to mark National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and LGBTQ2+ so they wouldn’t clash with planned protest from a group associated with the so-called “freedom convoy.”
“I think when an event like this happens, especially for Indigenous peoples, we should have the whole [Parliament] Hill and not have any interruptions or anything like that and that is what I wanted for us,” said Bridget Tolley of Families of Sisters in Spirit. “This is to honour and remember and to bring home our sisters from the landfill. This is what we are fighting for. Truth, accountability and bring home our sisters. This is what we want and we don’t need interruptions.”
Anti-COVID-19 protesters disrupted much of downtown Ottawa in January and February 2022 and similar protests have taken place in the parliamentary precinct in recent weeks.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada had MMIWG-related events taking place at its office across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Que., throughout the day Wednesday but a planned march to Parliament Hill in the evening was also cancelled.
“There could be another group that’s going to be protesting there, I’m not quite sure,” NWAC President Carol McBride said. “But for safety reasons, because families and children and whatever they do, participate in the walk – we decided that in the best interests of everyone’s safety, we needed to put it off.”
In the end, a small group of anti-government protesters were seen demonstrating on Parliament Hill Wednesday afternoon.
