Anti-Harper protest snarls downtown traffic during rush hour
Posted Jun 10, 2011 07:43:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
More than 200 demonstrators took to the streets of Ottawa’s downtown Friday afternoon to protest the Conservative Party Convention and what many called “the Harper agenda.”
The demonstration began at Dundonald Park at Lyon and Somerset streets before protesters marched through the core hitting key locations like Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Israeli Embassy.
Several road closures throughout the downtown meant major congestion for commuters trying to start their weekend.
The goal of the protest was to speak out against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Conservative Party policy according to organizer Taiva Tegler.
She said planning began during the election but said support had grown following the actions of Bridget DePape’s action in the senate last week.
Many protesters Friday carried copies of her now iconic “Stop Harper” stop sign.
Others carried signs saying things like “Go Bridget” or in one case, “Don’t ask us what to name your cat. Ask us how to run our country.”
The march ended with a rally outside the Ottawa Convention Centre where the prime minister was set to speak to the Conservative Party members inside.
The rally closed Colonel By Drive to traffic for over an hour.
The rally remained peaceful, though loud and very colourful.
