Convoy rally participants cited for noise, parking violations: police chief

UPDATE: After this story was published, Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs clarified that police, and not bylaw services, issued tickets for bylaw charges. Read more here.

Ottawa police and bylaw officers issued multiple "violations" to people who took part in a weekend rally to mark the second anniversary of what's become known as the Freedom Convoy, according to an email from the city's police chief.

Chief Eric Stubbs sent the email to city council Wednesday afternoon, not long after the city's general manager of emergency and protective services told media no tickets were issued over the weekend. 

"We have several investigations ongoing with regards to the use of fireworks and noise-producing devices," Kim Ayotte said.

"However, at this point in time, no tickets have been issued, as it was identified that there was an officer safety issue during the convoy protest."

Roger Chapman, the director of the city's bylaw and regulatory services department, said in an email to CBC no fines were issued and only one investigation — into an illegal discharge of fireworks downtown — remains open.

CBC shared Stubbs' email to a spokesperson with bylaw services, who replied late yesterday afternoon to confirm that their department "did not issue any charges over the weekend."

It is unclear why there is a discrepancy in statements from police and bylaw services.

Noise, traffic violations

Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Ottawa on Saturday, two years since the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act and police moved in to clear out the demonstrators who'd blocked off swaths of the city centre for several weeks.

The city and its police have drawn criticism for their choices before and during what became a disruptive occupation of parts of the core.

In Stubbs' email, which was obtained by CBC, the police chief said that "a significant amount of police presence was required for the convoy-related demonstration, including a plan to ensure convoys could not enter the downtown area."

Enforcement efforts were "clear and present," Stubbs said, and police and bylaw officers issued "multiple violations" to the rally's participants, including:

• Driving while suspended.
• Operating a vehicle with no insurance.
• Failing to surrender a driving permit.
• Driving a motor vehicle with no currently validated permit.
• Parking infractions.
• Excessive noise.
• Driving the wrong way in one-way traffic.

An "unplated vehicle parked on the highway" was also towed, Stubbs wrote.

2 arrested the next day

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, police got reports of noise and fireworks near Queen and Kent streets, Stubbs said.

Police and bylaw officers immediately responded, Stubbs said, and demonstrators were "warned about what constitutes lawful behaviour."

The participants did not continue making disturbances, he added, and the group dispersed soon after.

The Parliamentary Protective Service also arrested two people "related to the convoy demonstrators" the next day, Stubbs said.

After they were handed over to Ottawa police, one man was charged with assault, Stubbs wrote, while a woman "received a trespass notice and was removed from the area."