Sutcliffe confident police have strong plan for 'possible convoy activities' in Ottawa on Tuesday

Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe says he is confident the police have a plan to deal with possible 'Freedom Convoy' activity in Ottawa this week.

The city of Ottawa is warning of the "possibility of convoy activity" and highway off-ramp closures in downtown Ottawa on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of the federal government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.

In a media release Friday evening, the city said drivers may experience traffic disruptions along Hwy. 417 on Tuesday due to the "possibility of rolling closures of downtown off-ramps."

"This is part of the scalable plans being made by the City of Ottawa, in partnership with the Ottawa Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police in response to convoy traffic travelling through Ottawa via the highway," the city said.

Sutcliffe told CTV News on Sunday that he believes the police will not let a repeat of last year's occupation happen. 

"The Ottawa police are taking a very different approach to these kinds of events and minimizing the impact to residents and making sure the kind of event that happened last year doesn’t happen again in our city," he said. "We are confident the police have a really strong plan for Tuesday and beyond. There is the possibility of activity on just on Tuesday but also into the weekend."

On Facebook, Canada Unity has a picture saying "Ottawa February 14-19. True North Strong and Free", but no details on any possible events.

No road closures are currently planned across Ottawa on Tuesday. The city will provide an update on Monday.

We are advising motorists that traffic disruptions may be experienced along Highway 417 or the downtown core on Tuesday, February 14, due to the possibility of convoy activity.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/sZQCVPZiSV

— City of Ottawa (@ottawacity) February 10, 2023

Sutcliffe said on Sunday the city is still in talks with the federal government about security costs.

"There is going to be a cost and we continue to be in dialogue with the federal government on some of the challenges that we have as a local police service in policing the national capital at a time when these events are on the rise," he said.

On Feb. 14, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to give the federal government temporary powers to handle blockades and protests across Canada against pandemic restrictions. The move came during the third week of the 'Freedom Convoy' protest that occupied streets in downtown Ottawa.

Ottawa police has said residents and businesses will see an increased police presence from time to time in downtown Ottawa during the month of February.

"We continue to work with our municipal, provincial and federal partners to ensure the safety of residents and visitors next week," police said on Twitter.

"Illegal activity, including obstructing or impeding the flow of traffic with vehicles on any roadway, will not be tolerated and will be met with swift and immediate action."

Chief Eric Stubbs told reporters "how we operated a couple of weeks ago is how we're approaching the coming month", referencing the increased police presence around Parliament Hill during the last weekend of January.

Stubbs says Ottawa police are working with the city of Ottawa, RCMP, Parliamentary Protective Service and other municipal police forces.

"We're talking to everybody and that includes those that might be involved in a protest," Stubbs said.

Residents and businesses will see an increased police presence from time to time in the downtown core and surrounding areas.

— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) February 10, 2023

Somerset ward Coun. Ariel Troster, whose ward was the most significantly impacted by the convoy in 2022 said protests are common downtown, but she's glad there are plans to prevent a repeat of last year's three-week ordeal.

"The convoy was a really traumatic experience for people, especially people who live downtown," she said. "There have been three or four attempts for convoys to return to Ottawa and I’m quite happy that our emergency services have the flexibility to do a rolling closure if necessary if they see that people are attempting to implant themselves."

Troster notes that most protests in the capital are directed toward the federal government, but there's a blowback effect in local neighbourhoods near Parliament. 

"We do really need our federal partners to come to the table to have a more serious conversation about who pays for the higher level of emergency management and policing that is required for so many attempts to occupy our city," she said.

--With files from CTV's Natalie van Rooy.