Ottawa's Rideau Centre mall to remain closed until Feb. 6 amid convoy protest

The CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa's downtown core will remain closed until Feb. 6, a statement from the mall says.

"CF Rideau Centre will be closed from February 2-6, 2022. Please continue to check our website for more information regarding changes to our operations," the mall says on its website.

In a statement, Cadillac Fairview says, “Out of an abundance of caution as the events in downtown Ottawa continue to progress and based on direction from Ottawa Police Services and the City of Ottawa, CF Rideau Centre will remain closed to the public for the remainder of the week. The shopping centre expects to be closed from Wednesday, February 2 to Sunday, February 6, pending any new guidance from Ottawa Police Services and the City of Ottawa.”

The Rideau Centre and all stores in the mall were closed early on Saturday following reports of hundreds of maskless people congregating inside the mall. It has yet to reopen.

A Canadian Press photo showed several people, many without masks on, standing on the first floor of the Rideau Centre warming up during the protest. Several stores had remained closed on Saturday before the mall made the decision to close the building.

Demonstrators with the "Freedom Convoy", calling for an end to public health measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, show no signs of wanting to leave downtown Ottawa. The first protesters with the convoy arrived Friday, with the largest crowds seen on Saturday. Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly estimated there were as many as 18,000 people in the core Saturday afternoon at the height of the protest. While many left after the weekend, a core group of protesters remains behind.

Large trucks and other vehicles remain parked on streets in the city's downtown, with many drivers honking their horns for hours at a time. 

Three museums--The Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian War Museum, and the Canadian Museum of History--announced they would not be reopening Wednesday, as scheduled, because of the ongoing disruptions related to the demonstration. The National Gallery of Canada is also closed.

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Some residents have become increasingly critical of the police response to the demonstrators. Sloly says "all options are on the table" when it comes to ending the demonstration and returning the city to a sense of normalcy, but he said the police service's ability to enforce the law in the moment has been hampered by the "large size, dynamic and dangerous nature" of the protest.

The Ottawa Police Service has set up a dedicated hotline to report any criminal activity related to the demonstration. So far, 12 active investigations have been confirmed by police into various allegations, including bribery, threats, assault and dangerous driving.

Hate-motivated incidents can be reported to 613-236-1222 ext. 5015. Other crimes can be reported to 613-236-1222 ext. 7300.

On Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called on protesters to leave.

"People have to move on," Doug Ford told reporters in Ajax, Ont. on Tuesday morning. "I get it, I hear you, but we have to let the people of Ottawa live their lives."

The federal government--toward which much of the convoy protesters' ire is directed, despite many mandates being provincial in jurisdiction--dismissed suggestions from one local councillor to have RCMP step in.

“Ottawa police are the police of jurisdiction when it comes to Wellington Street and the city generally, but federal public safety partners, including the RCMP, PPS [Parliamentary Protective Service], sergeant-at-arms, have been in constant communication with Ottawa police,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters on Tuesday.