Ahead of planned Canada Day protests, federal minister says he hopes lessons have been learned

The federal public safety minister said he wants people to celebrate Canada Day, but with protests planned for the upcoming holiday weekend in Ottawa, Marco Mendicino says he's hoping the mistakes of last winter won't be repeated.

"I think Canadians should celebrate Canada Day. We've been through a marathon of the pandemic and there's reason for hope and optimism," he said in an interview last week.

"I do think it is troubling that some are fanning flames … we don't want a replay of last winter and we don't want people engaging in illegal behaviour or violence that is disruptive to the community here in Ottawa or anywhere else."

Protest groups have said they plan to hold ongoing demonstrations throughout the summer, starting on June 30 and building toward Labour Day.

The Ottawa Police Service said they're aware of upcoming protests and are "planning accordingly." 

The capital city's police force continues to face criticism about how it handled the anti-COVID-19 restriction protests last winter that gridlocked Ottawa for three weeks after protesters —  some calling for the overthrow of the federal government —  were able to park trucks and other vehicles on main arteries around Parliament Hill.

This week the sergeant-at-arms for the House of Commons said he was "flabbergasted" by police inaction at the time.

Protesters were eventually pushed out of the downtown core after the federal government took the never-before-used step of invoking the Emergencies Act. In the end more than 100 people were arrested, leaving a multi-million dollar policing bill.

"I think it's important that we take some lessons from last winter," said Mendicino.

"We'll continue to give [police] the tools and the support that is necessary to ensure that there's public safety as we celebrate Canada Day."

Mendicino ended the spring sitting of Parliament, now on a summer hiatus, under intense questioning about how the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was made.

The legislation authorized a ban on travel to protest zones, allowed banks to freeze the accounts of some of those involved in the protests and allowed officials to commandeer tow trucks. It also enabled the RCMP to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial offences as required.

The minister told a parliamentary committee investigating the issue that the government acted on "the advice of non-partisan professional law enforcement."

Under questioning, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell testified that they did not ask the government to invoke the act, although they have said the new powers served as a deterrent.