After 22 days of honking horns and diesel fumes, some Ottawa residents are expressing relief after police began clearing protestors from the downtown core.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been very difficult,鈥� an annoyed Ottawan told 麻豆影视. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been the worst three weeks of the whole pandemic for me.鈥�
鈥淲alking in this part of my neighbourhood here has been sort of tough,鈥� another said. 鈥淢ostly because the air quality has been absolutely terrible with the diesel and the trucks running all the time.鈥�
Yet many protesters remain undeterred by the police crackdown, which began Friday.
鈥淵ou know how you feel when you go to an all-inclusive vacation?鈥� a supporter said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how downtown has been.鈥�
Public servant Zexi Li is leading a proposed class-action lawsuit over alleged damages caused by the COVID-19 mandate protests. On Feb. 7, the 21-year-old was able to secure a court injunction to silence the incessant honking.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think people know how terrible it was before we got the injunction,鈥� she told 麻豆影视. 鈥淚t was literally noise torture. They laughed at us for keeping us up at night, but they didn鈥檛 care because their rights superseded ours.鈥�
The lawsuit is now seeking over $300 million in damages. On Thursday, an Ontario judge froze as much as $20 million in cash and cryptocurrency tied to the protest movement.
鈥淩eally what this convoy has been doing is holding businesses and people hostage to get government to give in to their demands,鈥� lead lawyer Paul Champ told 麻豆影视. 鈥淚t鈥檚 wrong and unlawful and we鈥檙e going to see compensation.鈥�
Local businesses say it will take time for them to recover after three weeks of constant disruptions.
鈥淔amily day weekend is one of the top weekends,鈥� restaurant owner John Borsten told 麻豆影视. 鈥淚鈥檓 talking hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost sales, which means tens of thousands of lost tips and wages for all the staff.鈥�
鈥淗opefully this stuff will get resolved and things will get back to normal,鈥� restaurant manager Johnny Bonney said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot to look forward to.鈥�
Erected to keep out additional protesters, numerous police checkpoints in downtown Ottawa will likely continue to make life difficult for commuters for some time.
"It is taking forever, and to be honest with you I am getting tired of it,鈥� a frustrated driver told 麻豆影视 while in gridlock traffic.
