No convoy repeat in Ottawa as anniversary nears, police chief reaffirms

Chief Eric Stubbs reiterated the Ottawa Police Service's position that no vehicle-based protests will be allowed in the city as the first anniversary of the Freedom Convoy demonstrations that clogged the downtown approaches.

Speaking to reporters before a police services board meeting, Stubbs said Ottawa police have been monitoring and working with intelligence sources and talking to protest organizers, but wouldn't divulge any specifics of what they've heard in terms of the potential size of any demonstration.

He said police have a "scalable" plan prepared so they can respond depending on the number of protestors that do arrive in the city.

"Our goal is not to have a vehicle-based protest, and if someone attempts a vehicle-based protest then we will take action to dismantle it fairly quickly," Stubbs said.

He also said he supports the idea of reopening Wellington Street, but that the security needs of the downtown core as a whole need to be reassessed by the agencies that are responsible for keeping them safe.

"Wellington Street is a piece of that, and I would prefer that all the issues are looked at in their totality," Stubbs said.