Ottawa residents holding people's commission

The hurt and disruption the Ottawa community experienced during the convoy occupation last February and its aftermath made me organize with others an Ottawa people's commission to address this traumatic event.

After months of preparatory work, our voluntary committee, which I co-chair, is ready to launch the people's commission. Its three community-known commissioners — Leilani Farha, Alex Neve, and Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah — will hold late summer and fall hearings.

Unlike official inquiries, our commission will be broad and community-run and produce a powerful account of events by the one-year anniversary of the traumatic siege through which we lived through. The city auditor's review of how it managed the occupation is inward-looking. The federal inquiries underway are limited as well and deal with only the question of whether the invocation of the Emergency Act was justified.

Hearing from residents and having their stories told will empower and renew the community, and help Ottawa heal.

The people's commission is fortunate to have an experienced institutional partner, the front-line CentreTown Community Health Centre, to help with administration.

Many of us have post-traumatic remembrance and concerns we can share about that three-and-a-half-week occupation of Ottawa where our authorities failed us.

I remember:

■ Riding my bike, with my mask on, down Wellington Street more than once, seeing the most unusual array of flag-waving people, honking rigs, hateful signs and speeches and a blocked-off Rideau and Sussex square.

■ Going to the Minto swimming pool on several occasions and hearing those blaring horns underwater; and on one weekend trip to the pool, seeing families coming toward Wellington Street pushing baby strollers with diesel-filled jugs in them.

■ Being astounded when stopped at the Champlain Bridge as Ottawa police waved big rigs going on the Sir John A MacDonald Parkway downtown.

■ Meeting defiant business people such as my shoemaker and watch repair place staying open or hearing how frustrated my credit union manager was that his office was closed during those difficult days.

■ Seeing Slater Street and Bank Street almost entirely blockaded at night.

■ Having to navigate from the Quebec side to the King Edward bridge crossing given that all downtown bridges were closed, twice, once during the February occupation and again, on April 30, with the reappearance of a motorcycle convoy.

■ Watching a surreal pick-up hockey game by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Seeing a person in his car, outside the National Library and Archives building, his hand constantly on the car horn, while a group of eight to 10 lime-vested police officers casually strolled by.

Donations are needed to make this fully happen. Charitable tax donations, however small, can be made through the Centretown Community Health Centre's CanadaHelps portal.

The people's commission is fortunate to have an experienced institutional partner, the frontline CentreTown Community Health Centre, to help with administration.

Last February before the convoy occupation ended, I wrote: “The community wants back in. Offering community-based relief and compensation must be part of Ottawa's recovery. Building a renewed sense of hope and community in Ottawa is a necessity.”

Creating and having resident-run hearings through an Ottawa people's commission, with your help and donations, is an investment in our community's future well-being.