National March for Gaza draws a massive crowd to Parliament Hill

A massive crowd of Palestinian supporters from across the country mobilized on Parliament Hill continuing their calls for a cease fire in Gaza and demanding elected officials to call off government arms agreements with Israel.

“We are in front of Parliament to deliver a direct message to Mr. Trudeau and we hope he listens,”  said Mohamed Kadoura who travelled from Montreal with his family to be here. He carried a sign that read “We may not live in Palestine but Palestine lives in us.”

“I am Palestinian even thought I’m Canadian now even if I wasn't Palestinian I’m a human being I’ll come and support the cause,” he said. “We're going to keep doing this until we see results.”

Organizers dubbing this particular demonstration---- a National March for Gaza drawing what was one of the largest Pro-Palestinian marches in the city to date. 

“Every day there is no ceasefire imposed there are more civilians lost and that is our main ask every day,” said Farah Mater who travelled from Toronto. “Although the Canadian leadership has called for a ceasefire they haven’t taken the right actions and put in enough pressure to ensure it's imposed.”

Demonstrators made their way through the streets of downtown passing along Laurier bridge.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, there's been protests in Ottawa every week and frustrations with the federal government is growing.

The latest push for action comes as the holy month of Ramadan approaches. In Gaza, Palestinians are forced to say their prayers outside as hundreds of mosques have been destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

“We need to let in immediate aid into Gaza that's the bare minimum that country should be doing,” Hala Alshaer, a member with Ottawa for Palestine. “We are not going to stop until this is over because this is the least we can do from here and we want our voices to be heard.”

Dozens of parking tickets

The City of Ottawa says dozens of parking tickets were issued in the area during the march, but it's unclear how many were given to people participating. Some people were also given warnings for selling merchandise on the sidewalk. 

“During the pro-Palestine demonstration on Saturday, March 9, By-law and Regulatory Services issued seven warnings primarily related to the unauthorized sale of merchandise from the roadway and sidewalk. However, no charges were issued as all were compliant after speaking with Officers,” said a statement attributed to Bylaw and Regulatory Services Director Roger Chapman.

“A total of 78 parking tickets were issued in the area. Although it's uncertain how many were specifically tied to the demonstration, individuals were asked on many occasions to move their vehicles from no-stopping areas but refused, resulting in the issuance of these tickets.”