Court issues 10-day ban on honking in downtown Ottawa

A Canadian judge issued a 10-day injunction Monday banning protesting truckers from honking their horns in downtown Ottawa, CBC reports.

"Tooting a horn is not an expression of any great thought I'm aware of," Justice Hugh McLean of the Ottawa Superior Court said. He also said the ban on honking would not rob demonstrators of their right to protest.

A convoy of truckers and other demonstrators protesting Canada's COVID-19 policies entered Ottawa on Jan. 29 and has been blocking streets and using horns to disturb residents ever since.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Journalist Élie Cantin-Nantel tweeted that, so far, the truckers appear to be complying with the ban.

Per CBC, the "request for an injunction came out of a proposed class-action lawsuit."

Protesters have also cooked food, set up bouncy castles, held impromptu dance parties, and played street hockey.

Local government and law enforcement have made several attempts stop, or at least hinder, the protests.

Last week, Ottawa police convinced GoFundMe to delete the "Freedom Convoy 2022" fundraiser that had raised over 10 million Canadian dollars. Several U.S. Republicans responded by vowing to launch investigations into whether the company defrauded donors.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency Sunday, claiming the protest posed a "serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents."

Ottawa police are also working to cut off the truckers' fuel supply, warning Monday that "anyone found bringing fuel to the demonstration trucks in the red zone could be subject to arrest and charges." Fox News reported that, according to Ottawa police, "seven people have been arrested and more than 100 have been issued tickets in connection to 'demonstration-related enforcement.'"