‘This Is Not My City’: Protesters Turn a Quiet Capital Upside Down
The New York Times
The Ottawa protesters are giddy with their sense of collective purpose. But local residents see the demonstration as an unruly, disrespectful and even dangerous occupation.
OTTAWA — Canada’s most important — and most notoriously boring — city has found itself stuck in a never-ending tailgate party.
Giant trucks scatter the roads downtown, stretching for almost a mile, in front of the Gothic stone Parliament buildings and government offices that feel like they’ve been snatched from one former motherland — England — and plunked into the New World.
Between them, crowds of protesters wander, many wearing Canadian flags as capes or carrying them on hockey sticks and paddles. In makeshift encampments are tents and tables laden with snacks, coffee, mittens and earplugs. Grills sizzle with hot dogs. The flatbed of one trailer with a crane attached has been converted into a stage, with four loudspeakers erected on it, pumping the classic disco song by Sister Sledge, “We Are Family.” People dance in the adjacent intersection.
