‘Shutdown’ protesters refused access to Parliament Hill with portable public-address system

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About 100-200 anti-government protesters were back on Parliament Hill on Saturday and organizers attempted to “serve” legal papers on Parliamentary Protective Service officers because a protest permit that was originally accorded had been cancelled subsequently.

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Jason Laface, a Sudbury man who has been the main organizer for the protest, attempted to serve PPS officers with complaints they had “unlawfully” blocked the group’s human rights to enter the Hill area.

The protesters were blocked from bringing a mobile public-address system onto the Hill.

When the officers refused to accept the papers, Facebook video showed protesters saying they would be contacting bailiffs and other measures.

They then crossed back across Wellington Street to hoot and shout messages.

Later, a few protesters crossed back across Wellington, without their public-address system, to wander around the Hill.

Dubbed “National Shutdown,” the rally was originally planned as a seven-day event, then was trimmed to three days. A permit the group had obtained from the parliamentary office responsible for events on the Hill was rescinded “upon further review” this past week.

Event posters shared online claimed the protest would demand the removal of the Liberal government from power, claiming, among other things, that the government was illegitimate due to interference in the 2021 federal election.

The Ottawa Police Service had a noticeable presence on the sidelines of the protest, but officers did not interfere with the event in the early going.

There was no immediate confirmation on whether that the protesters would return Sunday or Monday.