2022 Canada Day Public Safety Planning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, June 17, 2022     10:15am

The Ottawa Police Service is working with Canada Day organizers and our policing partners to implement a public safety plan that allows all Canadians and visitors to freely and safely enjoy the capital during this celebration.

The expectation is that this Canadian Heritage event will be larger than usual both in terms of crowd size and the footprint of the event. 

We are also expecting several large events throughout the Ottawa area to celebrate the day.

These factors, combined with an increased level of protests and demonstrations, are guiding our planning. There will be significant road closures and a major increase in police presence. We will be bringing multiple extra policing resources from several services.

An operational planning team, which includes intelligence gathering, has been working for weeks on this event.

Officers’ priority is on crowd and community safety.  They will be present and enforcing all relevant acts such as the Trespass to Property Act, the Liquor License Act, by-laws and the Criminal Code.

The focus of our operation is to ensure a safe and fun event.

We have received several questions about planned protests and other commentary online. We are aware of these discussions and are planning accordingly.

The right to lawful and peaceful demonstrations will always be protected.  

We will not allow for conditions that led to the unlawful protests in February to reoccur. We are applying lessons learned from the unlawful protest as well as the Rolling Thunder and associated protests to build our plan. At the City’s request, we will continue an approach that prohibits vehicle-based protests in areas in and around places of national significance. 

The Ottawa Police is continually assessing public safety dynamics and we ask the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity by calling 613-236-1222. Call 9-1-1 with life-threatening matters.

The operational planning team is mindful that we do not want to overshadow this important and celebratory event. We will have the resources and plan to respond to safety issues immediately.

The number one priority for all policing partners is public safety for everyone. 

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CONTACT:

Media Relations Section                  

Tel: 613-236-1222, ext. 5366

@OttawaPolice 

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