Ottawa Jazz Festival says planned protests will not disrupt return of festival

Photo courtesy: Facebook/Ottawa Jazz Festival

The TD Ottawa Jazz Festival insists "Freedom Movement' rallies planned for Ottawa next week will not stop the show from going on.

Andrew MacGillivray, a steering committee member for Veterans for Freedom, said there will be a three-day conference in Ottawa next week, as part of events to protest remaining COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions.

The planned conference and rally comes as the 40^th edition of the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival gets set to kickoff on Friday, June 24, the first in-person festival in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizers say there will be "no disruption" to accessing events at Confederation Park, Ottawa City Hall and other venues during the festival.

"We will not be bullied or threatened by outsiders that may want to interrupt the first great music event of the season," TD Ottawa Jazz Festival said in a statement.

The festival says it is working with the city of Ottawa to make sure the festival proceeds as scheduled.

"It’s been three years since our last festival and five since we called Confederation Park home, we’re excited to be back in a big way from June 24 – July 3," states the Festival’s Executive Producer Catherine O’Grady. "We will continue to work with The City of Ottawa, through the Special Events Advisory Team towards the shared goal of operating a safe and successful event."

The three-day conference hosted by a steering committee for Veterans for Freedom will  include a meeting with up to 17 MPs, and there will be town hall events with key people in the "freedom movement", according to MacGillivray.

In a social media post, MacGillivray says the government's aim is to have the federal government repeal remaining mandates, reinstate federal works who lost their jobs due to mandates and pay those workers lost wages.

The group is also preparing for events on Canada Day.

Ottawa police say they are aware of planned protests on July 1 in Ottawa, and promise not to allow a repeat of the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation that took over downtown Ottawa in January and February.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Michael Woods and The Canadian Press