Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Wet’suwet’en supporters, B.C. pipeline and RCMP protesters block Edmonton's High Level Bridge

Lauren Boothby
Nov 22, 2021  • 
Demonstrators march down Jasper Avenue towards the Alberta Legislature, as they rally against the use of legal injunctions, police forces, and criminalizing state tactics against the Wet'suwet'en Nation in their fight against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.
Demonstrators march down Jasper Avenue towards the Alberta Legislature, as they rally against the use of legal injunctions, police forces, and criminalizing state tactics against the Wet'suwet'en Nation in their fight against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

Reverberations of the Wet’suwet’en and TC Energy pipeline dispute near Houston, B.C., were felt in Edmonton Monday night as a crowd marched through downtown and temporarily blocked the High Level Bridge.

About 200 people rallied to support the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs’ stand against the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Protestors condemn both the construction of the Coastal GasLink LNG pipeline and the arrests of 15 people, including two journalists, present when the B.C. RCMP moved in to enforce an injunction last week

Carter Gorzit, a spokesperson for Climate Justice Edmonton, said the protest is meant as a show of solidarity and also to send a message.

“Unceded Indigenous territories and First Nations are sovereign spaces, and (the RCMP) don’t have jurisdiction now and can’t be arresting people or invading or forcing through the CGL pipeline,” he said. “It’s particularly (messed) up when they’re doing it with ongoing climate crisis occurring in British Columbia.”

The rally began at Beaver Hills House Park at 5 p.m. The group marched down Jasper Avenue and 109 Street chanting “Always was, always will be Indigenous land,” and “How do you spell racist? R-C-M-P.” They carried colourful banners and signs condemning police, and asserting Indigenous peoples’ land rights.

Judith Gale was discouraged to again be protesting the RCMP’s decision to arrest people who were opposing the pipeline’s construction.

“As Indigenous people, we are the stewards of this land since time immemorial. And we’re only exercising our right that is afforded us by our ancestors,” she said. “Everybody join this movement, and let’s fight for our mother (earth).”

Police vehicles trailed the crowd as it headed toward the High Level Bridge. Some tensions rose between drivers attempting trying to cross the bridge and the crowd with some motorists loudly and repeatedly blaring their horns.

The group stopped half-way across the bridge to light a ceremonial fire and sing a song before completing the march on the south side. The bridge was blocked for over half an hour before the crowd disbanded.

Lyndsay Breadner Quewezance-Leclaire, a sacred fire keeper, extinguishes a fire lit in the middle of High Level Bridge after a song. Around 200 people marched from downtown across High Level Bridge protesting the arrest of Wet’suwet’en members and supporters opposing the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia. Photo: Lauren Boothby/Postmedia
Lyndsay Breadner Quewezance-Leclaire, a sacred fire keeper, extinguishes a fire lit in the middle of High Level Bridge after a song. Around 200 people marched from downtown across High Level Bridge protesting the arrest of Wet’suwet’en members and supporters opposing the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia. Photo: Lauren Boothby/Postmedia

Lyndsay Breadner Quewezance-Leclaire, a sacred fire keeper, said it was important for her to perform the ceremony and rally to support the next generation of Indigenous youth.

Members of the Gidimt’en clan, one of five in the Wet’suwet’en Nation, set up a road blockade last week after giving the pipeline company an eviction notice. RCMP moved in to clear the blockade, sparking solidarity protests for those arrested and opposing the pipeline. The two journalists detained were released on Monday.

Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and others have opposed the pipeline although the elected Wet’suwet’en council supports it.

The Alberta NDP passed a resolution over the weekend expressing solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Nation demanding the RCMP immediately withdraw from the area, and halt construction until hereditary chiefs give consent.

The United Conservative Party responded by releasing a statement condemning the NDP for endorsing the protests.

“Not only does this resolution ignore a clear order from the B.C. Supreme Court, but it ignores the will of elected First Nations leaders all along the Coastal GasLink project route,” MLA Searle Turton said in a press release.

Premier Jason Kenney brought in the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act in 2020 in wake of nationwide rail blockades in support of Wet’suwet’en members’ fight against the pipeline. The law makes it illegal to enter or damage infrastructure like roadways during a protest in Alberta.

Demonstrators march down Jasper Avenue towards the Alberta Legislature, as they rally against the use of legal injunctions, police forces, and criminalizing state tactics against the Wet’suwet’en Nation in their fight against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Photo by David Bloom
Demonstrators march down Jasper Avenue towards the Alberta Legislature, as they rally against the use of legal injunctions, police forces, and criminalizing state tactics against the Wet’suwet’en Nation in their fight against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Photo by David Bloom PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia
Demonstrators march down Jasper Avenue towards the Alberta Legislature, as they rally against the use of legal injunctions, police forces, and criminalizing state tactics against the Wet’suwet’en Nation in their fight against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.
Demonstrators march down Jasper Avenue towards the Alberta Legislature, as they rally against the use of legal injunctions, police forces, and criminalizing state tactics against the Wet’suwet’en Nation in their fight against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

– With files from the Canadian Press and Matt Scace

lboothby@postmedia.com

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Alberta workers need better protection from bears, inquiry into 2014 Suncor death finds

Lorna Weafer, 36, of Fort McMurray was fatally attacked by a bear at a Suncor site

Jamie Malbeuf · CBC News · 
Lorna Weafer was 36 when she was killed by a bear near Fort McMurray. (Supplied)

A provincial court judge has made four recommendations to improve bear safety for workers after a woman was mauled to death at an oilsands site in 2014.

Judge James Jacques wrote the recommendations after a public fatality inquiry held last June in Fort McMurray. His report was made public Monday.

In 2014, Lorna Weafer was an electrical and instrumentation technician working at a Suncor worksite known as La Bodega, north of Fort McMurray.

Around 2 p.m. on May 7 of that year, the 36-year-old was fatally mauled by a large male cinnamon-coloured black bear while walking from a washroom facility to a shop building.

Weafer screamed for help and her co-workers tried to drive the bear away while the bear dragged her into the nearby forest. The co-workers were throwing rocks, clamps and metal bars, but "failed to deter him," Jacques said in his report.

The plant's emergency services team arrived and drove the bear away with a water cannon. 

"By that time it was apparent that Ms. Weafer was no longer alive," wrote Jacques. 

RCMP arrived and shot the bear with a rifle as it was trying to return to Weafer's body. 

The bear's behaviour and necropsy showed that it was a predatory attack, Jacques said in his report.

He noted that there had been two other bear sightings in the area the previous month.

Several preventative measures were discussed during the inquiry, including bear education, personal deterrents, the use of guns, electrified fences and provincial standards for bear safety. 

Jacques made four recommendations:

  • Make bear safety training mandatory for people working in areas near bear habitats, even if they are not working in the forest.
  • Introduce electric fences when possible to prevent bears from interacting with people. 
  • Workers in high-risk areas should be trained in and given deterrents such as bear spray. 
  • The province should consider introducing bear safety standards for industry.

Guns would create other hazards: judge

At the time Weafer was attacked, there were no firearms available to her co-workers. 

Jacques discussed the use of guns in his report. He wrote that using a firearm can have additional dangers, like accidentally hitting the victim. 

"It would require excellent marksmanship or a very close approach to the animal, and anyone attempting it would undoubtedly feel a great weight of responsibility," the report says.

At the inquiry, Weafer's father had said that someone being attacked would want someone to try to kill the bear with a gun.

Jacques wrote that having at least one person armed at each Suncor site would "create safety hazards of its own … In an operation as large as the Suncor plant, this option is not practicable." 

The judge also explored the possibility of having a locked weapon on site, instead of an armed guard. But he said it would create "logistical issues."

There would need to be a trained employee at each site, entrusted with the keys for the weapon and ammunition. It would again, "exacerbate safety issues," Jacques wrote.

The judge said that he was unable to make any recommendations regarding the use of firearms in the context of the incident that led to Weafer's death.

Since Weafer's death Suncor has put in and improved many wildlife protocols, Suncor spokesperson Sneh Seetal said Monday.

That includes hiring an onsite wildlife contractor for bear surveillance and monitoring, expanding safety training and introducing wildlife advisories and alerts, Seetal said.

Some employees carry bear spray. There is also fencing in some areas, where feasible. 

Seetal said there have been no other maulings or incidents with bears since 2014. 

"Our top priority is always the safety of our people," said Seetal.

In an email, Joseph Dow, press secretary for Labour Minister Tyler Shandro, said there have been "no potentially serious incidents, reportable incidents or Workers' Compensation Benefit claims in the past five years related  to bears."

Many employers in the Wood Buffalo region have put in bear safety protocols that align with Occupational Health and Safety laws, Dow said.

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 Nfld. & Labrador

'1 in 100-year storm' could drop 350 mm of rain on southwestern Newfoundland

Some areas could see 15 to 20 mm of rain per hour, says

 meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler

Alex Kennedy · CBC News · 
Parts of southwestern Newfoundland could see between 200 and 350 mm of rain beginning Tuesday and into Wednesday. (Ashley Brauweiler/CBC)

The southwestern edge of Newfoundland could see between 200 and 350 millimetres of rain over the next 36 hours in a weather event meteorologists say will likely land in the record books.

According to Justin Boudreau of the Environment Canada weather office in Gander, heavy rain will begin Tuesday morning and continue into Wednesday as a tropical trough parks over the Port aux Basques and Wreckhouse area of the island.

The system will bring 24 to 36 hours of steady rain, along with sustained winds of over 100 km/h that could gust to 150 km/h.

"200 [mm] is a good low-end at this point. On average, we're seeing about 200 to maybe as high as 350, maybe even higher than that," Boudreau told CBC News Monday. The storm could set the record for the largest rain event recorded in the province, which was 268 mm in Burgeo in 2016.

"From what I've been looking at, it's more than a one in 100-year storm type of thing."

Boudreau said the system will be almost entirely confined to the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, something he called "remarkable."

"When I look at 48-hour rainfall totals, there's a huge number down between Port aux Basques and Burgeo and Gander and the northeast has 0.5 mm. It's something else," he said.

The system brings a high potential for washouts and flooding, according to CBC meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler.

The system is driven by an atmospheric river, according to Brauweiler, very similar to what brought intense rain and flooding to British Columbia earlier this month.

"The rain dramatically drops off for the west coast, less than 30 millimetres, except in the higher terrain where 30 to 50-plus millimetres is possible. There is a potential for some significant rainfall Tuesday night through Wednesday along the strait in southern Labrador as well, with 50-plus millimetres," she said.

 Brauweiler added rain will be intense, with as much as 15 to 20 mm falling per hour.

'It's pretty scary stuff'

The upcoming storm has already cancelled Marine Atlantic crossings for Monday and Tuesday, with communications head Darrell Mercer saying service could be affected until Thursday if the weather lands to its full extent.

"[Captains] want to see some future forecasts before they make a decision," Mercer said.

Travellers planning to ride the crossing are asked to contact Marine Atlantic's reservation line if they'd like to make alternate arrangements.

Marine Atlantic crossings for Monday night and Tuesday morning have already been cancelled. (Marine Atlantic)

The weather also has residents in the Port aux Basques area bracing for impact. Crews in the town of Channel-Port aux Basques have been out throughout Monday checking storm drains and making sure residents are prepared, according to Mayor Brian Button.

"We have to prepare for the worst. If anything, we may get a best-case scenario maybe that we only might get 100 mm of rain," Button said. "But the forecast and the eye of all this, it's looking like it's got the potential to be something that we haven't seen in perhaps 100 years or more. It's pretty scary stuff."

Button is encouraging residents to make sure drains are cleared around private property, be prepared with enough food and water and to contact the town in case of an emergency

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FLATTEN THE HEIRARCHY
Canadian Forces top-heavy with generals as rank and file shrinks

Other forces have a much leaner structure. The U.S. Marine Corps has 180,000 active personnel commanded by a maximum of 62 generals.

Author of the article: David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Nov 22, 2021 •
Acting Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre. 
PHOTO BY ADRIAN WYLD/THE CANADIAN PRESS/FILE

Canada’s military has become increasingly top-heavy in recent decades, with the number of rank-and-file soldiers significantly shrinking and the number of generals remaining about the same, new documents reveal.

As of March 31 this year, the regular force had dropped to 65,644 and was commanded by 129 generals and admirals, according to Canadian Forces figures released under the Access to Information law. That is in contrast to statistics from 1991, when the Canadian military’s regular force was 85,977 personnel commanded by 137 general officers.

The documents show that the significant drop in personnel was absorbed by the rank and file.

The number of privates and their naval equivalents in 1991 was 16,677. In 2021, that was 9,263. Corporals and master corporals and their naval equivalents numbered 32,265 in 1991. By 2021 that number dropped to 26,009. The number of sergeants and naval equivalents dropped from 10,211 to 6,804. In 1991, there were 8,625 warrant officers, master warrant officers and chief warrant officers and their naval equivalents. By 2021, that figure dropped to 6,376.


The numbers of captains, majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels and their naval equivalents stayed relatively stable over the same period.

Michel Drapeau, a retired colonel and Ottawa lawyer, says the growth in numbers of general and flag officers is out of control. “This is ridiculous,” said Drapeau, who obtained the documents. “We are starting to look like Brazil or Argentina.”

Drapeau noted that each general required additional personnel and staff officers to support their needs, taking away individuals from front-line jobs.

A brigadier general and their naval equivalent earn a maximum of around $182,000 a year, a major general earns $227,000, and a lieutenant general is paid $269,000.

Other forces have a much leaner structure. Drapeau noted that the U.S. Marine Corps has 180,000 active personnel commanded by a maximum of 62 generals.

A second set of records obtained through the access law by this newspaper showed the military’s public affairs branch was concerned earlier this year there might be increased scrutiny about the number of generals, in particular, because of the Canadian Forces’ plan in the spring to create six new positions.

In response, public affairs officers developed messages highlighting the leadership abilities of Canadian generals. If a journalist asked about the high number of generals, the military response was to be: “General Officers and Flag Officers lead the CAF in defending our country’s values and interests, here at home and abroad, and they are considered institutional leaders.”

Another of the public affairs messages to be issued to journalists noted that, “General Officers and Flag Officers are instrumental to meet the increased coordination and leadership requirements associated with Canada’s complex operational commitments.”

The Canadian Forces issued a statement Friday that “the current approved permanent establishment for General and Flag Officers accounts for 120 positions.” The figure included 110 regular force positions and 10 reserve force positions, according to the military. The statement, however, did not provide details on the number of officers who have been temporarily promoted to the position of general. Those individuals receive the same pay and benefits associated with the rank of general.

Last month, Acting Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre raised concerns during a conference in Kingston about the decline in both regular and reserve forces.

Eyre said he was particularly alarmed at the number of experienced leaders, both officers and noncommissioned officers, who were leaving the military, CBC reported. During the Oct. 25 conference, Eyre blamed the military’s sexual misconduct crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic for the exodus.

“We need our mid-level leaders to dig deep and do this for the institution, to put service before self, not to retreat into retirement, but to advance forward and face the challenges head-on,” Eyre stated.

Response in online forums among military personnel to Eyre’s claims was mostly negative. Military personnel commented that Eyre was either tone-deaf or out of touch and that the exodus of personnel had started well before the pandemic or the sexual misconduct crisis. Poor leadership and concerns about quality of life were among the issues cited by those who had left the military.

A 2011 report by Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie warned about the significant growth in headquarters jobs. As a result, the Liberal election platform in 2015 promised to reduce the size of administration within the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said his government would ensure the military would have “more teeth and less tail.”
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Protesters at Parliament Hill push for a stop to the purchase of 88 fighter jets

“Canada should not be spending tens of billions of dollars on climate destroying fighter jets."

Author of the article: Staff Reporter
Publishing date: Nov 22, 2021 •
The protest Monday in front of Parliament Hill to call on the federal government to cancel its purchase of 88 fighter jets.
 PHOTO BY JEAN LEVAC /Postmedia

A protest in front of Parliament Hill on Monday was one of many being held across Canada this week to call on the federal government to cancel its purchase of 88 fighter jets at a cost of $19 billion.

“Canada should not be spending tens of billions of dollars on climate destroying fighter jets designed to fight in NATO wars,” Bianca Mugyenyi, director of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, said in a news release. “The extreme weather in British Columbia demonstrates these resources should be put towards mitigating the climate crisis.”

The three aerospace firms bidding on the fighter jet program were told in writing by the federal government that a decision would be made this month on a “down select” of companies that would be allowed to advance to the final stage of the competition.

The winning bid for the projectis expected to be announced in March or April of 2022.

However, Public Services and Procurement Canada has gone silent on whether that timetable will be met. In a response to this newspaper earlier this month, the department would only say that, “Canada continues to work towards a contract award in 2022.”

The protest Monday in front of Parliament Hill to call on the federal government to cancel its purchase of 88 fighter jets. PHOTO BY JEAN LEVAC /Postmedia

The new fighter jets, which are to replace the existing CF-18 aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force, would have an estimated life-cycle cost of $77 billion.

“We want the federal government to invest in health care, affordable housing, green jobs and a just recovery,” Tamara Lorincz, a member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, said in a news release on the rallies. “Fighter jets are for violence, we need global cooperation to deal with the pandemic and climate emergency.”

The “week of action” was organized by the No Fighter Jets Coalition. Rallies were to be held in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Kingston, Nanaimo, B.C., Hamilton, Regina, Halifax, Edmundston, N.B., Collingwood, Edmonton, Montréal and Ottawa.

— With files from David Pugliese
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OTTAWA
Police board budget vote paused after lengthy meeting; protesters block highway entrance

Author of the article:Matthew Lapierre
Publishing date:Nov 22, 2021 •
Community organizations, residents blockade highway in opposition to proposed increase to the Ottawa police budget. 
PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia

More than 50 people spoke out against raising the Ottawa police budget at a meeting of the Ottawa Police Service Board on Monday while a group of protesters took to the streets, blocking an entrance onto a highway

The outpouring of opposition came as the board was set to decide whether to earmark an increase to the Ottawa Police Service’s budget.

The board has the power to modify the budget before approving it, but after more than 50 people spoke at the meeting for nearly five hours, the board decided to reconvene on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

The delegates who spoke at the meeting included researchers, people with experience working in the community health networks, economists and a city councillor.

Though some of them expressed differing degrees of how much police involvement they wanted in public safety, the crux of the delegates’ message was the same: approving the budget increase for the OPS would be a step in the wrong direction.

That money, they argued, could be better invested into other areas to better improve outcomes and reduce crime.

“An increase in police funding, resources and presence on the streets of Ottawa does not correspond with higher levels of community safety,” said delegate Nora Ottenhof. “Police respond to crime, they do not prevent it. The only way to truly prevent crime is to address the social determinants of crime; namely, poverty and social exclusion.”

The Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition (OBDC), the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP) and their allies blockaded the 118 Exit to highway 417 in opposition to the proposed increase to the police budget during the Ottawa Police Services Board meeting. PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia

During the meeting, around 5 p.m., a small group of about a dozen protesters asking for a police budget freeze blocked the entrance to the Highway 417 at Metcalfe Street, creating lengthy traffic delays and clashing with frustrated drivers.

The protesters carried megaphones and used a rental van and a truck to stop cars from getting through.

“We are currently taking this intersection ahead of the police budget vote that is happening tonight, the meeting that is happening right now,” a protester at the corner said on an Instagram livestream of the event. “We are here as long as it takes for our message to be heard.”

The protesters called police officers who came to the scene “pigs” and used expletives against them.

Some frustrated drivers stuck behind the roadblock took to arguing with the protesters.

“At the end of the day, we don’t care,” a protester told a frustrated motorist during the Instagram livestream. “This is about pissing people off, because at the end of the day, change has never been made for us unless we’ve pissed people off.”

“I’m getting pissed off,” the driver replied. “So, what I’m thinking is we need more police so this (roadblock) doesn’t happen.”

Before the OPSB meeting, the Ottawa Police Association, the union that represents most OPS officers, released a 14-page submission to the board, arguing the police service’s draft budget was already trimmed and could not sustain further cuts.

Ottawa’s police service, the OPA document said, has fewer officers per 100,000 residents than any other major police force in Canada.

“Defunding or diverting police budgets is a political response to assuage a small number of activists who seek change that the (board) knows is not supported by the broader public,” the association wrote.

The OPA document also lends support to further investments in mental health initiatives, but suggested that police should continue to be the ones to respond to these calls.

“Police have training in resolving these issues and are quite exceptional in their performance around de-escalation,” the OPA wrote. “As professionals, our members are always receptive to more training.”

The OPSB has committed to making an effort to reduce or freeze the OPS budget at 2021 levels in 2022. The service’s proposed budget included a net operating budget of $346.5 million, an increase of nearly three per cent over its 2021 budget, which was equivalent to an approximate $19 increase on the tax bill for an average household.

Vanessa Dorimain, co-chair of the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition, said her group and other supporters would continue to stage protests if the OPS budget is increased.

“Police don’t need to have an increased budget. They don’t serve and protect communities, especially BIPOC communities.”

The blockade was meant to put pressure on the board, Dorimain said.

“We want them to understand that we are very serious. … We also want them to be aware that, should they decide that they want to support having a police budget increase, these actions will continue to take place across the city for as long as we see fit.”

The protest is also a way to bring awareness to the Ottawa community, she said.

Community organizations, residents blockade the highway in opposition to a proposed increase to the Ottawa police budget. 
PHOTO BY TONY CALDWELL /Postmedia

The issue of police violence spurred huge protests in the United States, she said, but “we want them to be aware that these kinds of things happen here in Ottawa, the violence toward people who live right here amongst us in our own communities. There are people here in Ottawa locally and across the country that are victims of police brutality and violence.”

Dorimain said they felt they had little option.

“We’re not doing this to get attention, we’re not doing this for publicity. We’re doing it because it’s really impacted our communities to the point where we have no choice but to do stuff like this.

“If people feel inconvenienced for a little amount of time, that is incomparable to the realities we face on a day-to-day basis with police who have operated in our community.”

— With files from Jacquie Miller



Ottawa community group protests proposed police budget increase on Highway 417 exit

Vote on Ottawa Police Service budget delayed until Tuesday

CBC News · 
The Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition and the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project set up a blockade at the Highway 417 Metcalfe exit. (Jillian Renouf/CBC)

Protesters are blocking an exit to Highway 417 to push for the Ottawa Police Service Board to consider a budget freeze for the police force. 

They want the budget frozen at 2021 levels and money directed instead towards community supports for Black and Indigenous people. 

The board was expected to vote on the Ottawa Police Service budget Monday, but after hearing from numerous delegations in a five-hour meeting — many of them opposed to the budget increase proposed by the force — it decided around 9 p.m. to adjourn until 3 p.m. Tuesday. 

About an hour after the board began its review, protesters set up a blockade at the Metcalfe exit off Highway 417 onto Isabella Street. 

Vanessa Dorimain is a co-chair with the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition, one of two groups that has set up the blockade. The other group is the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project. The volunteer-run coalition organizes against systemic anti-Black racism. 

Dorimain says the protest is also a show of solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en in northern B.C. Last week, police arrested several people who are demonstrating against the Coastal GasLink project there.

"We knew there would be people who wouldn't be happy, but we wanted to be in a place where we can't be ignored," Dorimain said. 

With the delay in the vote, Dorimain says she knows the group of about 25 people will continue to press the importance of a budget freeze, but she's not sure if they'll continue blocking the road. 

One member of Dorimain's group was arrested, but was released within 30 minutes, she said, adding the group has received verbal abuse from irate drivers.

Ottawa police were on site managing traffic flow, with help from the Ontario Provincial Police. 

The Ottawa police tabled its draft budget for 2022 earlier this month. The draft asks for a 2.86 per cent tax increase. This is about $14 million in new money for a total operating budget of $346.5 million.

A press release from the coalition also includes a list of priorities for the Black and Indigenous communities in the city, including increased resources for BIPOC students in schools, affordable housing and an end to police involvement in mental health checks. 

Dorimain says the coalition sent the list to city councillors and this protest is the beginning of "putting the city on notice" in advance of the municipal election slated for next year, about the work that needs to be done to support the city's residents. 

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