By Canadian Press

Business groups, city officials among first witnesses before Emergencies Act inquiry

Oct 14, 2022 | 1:03 AM

OTTAWA — The inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act is expected to hear first-hand testimony about the impact February’s “Freedom Convoy” protest had on the people and businesses in downtown Ottawa. 

The first six witnesses are expected to give their testimony Friday. 

– Ottawa lawyer Victoria De La Ronde is the first witness on the list. 

— Zexi Li is the 21-year-old public servant who filed a class-action lawsuit against Freedom Convoy organizers and participants on behalf of her fellow downtown Ottawa residents.

Li sought and was granted an injunction to stop protesters from using vehicle horns downtown after days of deafening honking from big-rig trucks parked in residential areas and the parliamentary precinct. 

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She is represented in that class action by Ottawa lawyer Paul Champ, who is also representing downtown Ottawa community associations and business improvement areas throughout the hearings. 

 — Nathalie Carrier is the executive director at ZAC Quartier Vanier Business Improvement Area, which represents the neighbourhood east of the parliamentary precinct. 

— Kevin McHale is the executive director of the Sparks Street Business Improvement Area, which represents the pedestrian-only shopping and dining district just south of the Parliament buildings. 

— Catherine McKenney is the city councillor who represented the downtown core of the city during the protest. The councillor, and now mayoral candidate, was a vocal opponent of the convoy protest because of the fear and disturbance it caused people who live and work in the area. 

McKenney attended a virtual meeting of city council live from the protest site to confront their colleagues with the noise, chaos and “sense of lawlessness.”

— Mathieu Fleury is the city councillor for Rideau-Vanier, a community just east of the parliamentary precinct. He convened daily briefings between city officials and members of the local community and business groups during the convoy.

He, like many of his council colleagues, received threats to his safety throughout the protest. 

The hearings are expected to run for six weeks, with testimony from 65 witnesses representing all levels of government, various police agencies, as well as organizers of the convoy. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2022.

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press