Businesses weigh options as convoy set to roll into Ottawa
CBC
While some Ottawa businesses are wondering whether to shut their doors this weekend as a convoy of truckers makes its way to Parliament Hill, others are rolling out the welcome mat.
The convoy includes truck drivers from across the country and others broadly opposed to public health mandates.
One dynamic is the sheer number of vehicles converging on the city of a million people from three directions may make it very hard to get around this weekend, particularly to, from and through downtown.
Ottawa police are urging people to avoid unnecessary travel downtown this weekend and the city has already started closing some lanes of traffic, saying it expects disruptions will last until Sunday. Provincial police have asked people to avoid using major highways.
The expected traffic problems led Ottawa Public Health to close a COVID-19 vaccine clinic near downtown.
Another variable is that while the main convoy has been relatively peaceful in its cross-country journey, Ottawa police say there are concerns about other protests and counter-protests.
This all has led some businesses to weigh their options about whether to close.
"We've been here since 1977, so we've seen all types of protests," said Matthew Dixon, who owns Dixon Jewellers near Parliament Hill.
"We're accustomed to keeping our ear to the ground and trying to figure out what's going to happen."
Kevin McHale, executive director of the Sparks Street BIA (Business Improvement Area) said he's been hearing some concerns from businesses along the pedestrian-only street just south of Parliament Hill.
The warning to stay away from the downtown couldn't come at a worse time, McHale said, as it could have been an otherwise busy weekend for retailers.
"Downtown's already kind of in this COVID slump," he said. "And having [a protest] like this taking place on the Hill is just going to further drive residents to not want to come down to the core."
Yet some businesses plan to accommodate the truckers, whether or not they support calls to remove COVID-19 mandates.
Yet some businesses are welcoming the convoy and its calls to remove COVID-19 mandates that have affected business owners' livelihoods across the country.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.
The driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit and run on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified, police say.
There are mixed feelings about the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, among people who live in nearby communities.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse and includes graphic content.
Provincial police in Lambton County have charged a 23-year-old man with second degree murder following a death investigation that began this past Saturday.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is forming a working group to tackle what it calls systemic issues in the justice system, but answers or solutions could still be months away.
A woman has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in a 2024 fatal hit and run in Truro, N.S., where the victim was dragged down the street, a case that went unsolved for more than six months.