One man was arrested and several others were ticketed on Saturday afternoon at an otherwise peaceful Occupy Ottawa-led protest against the Conservative omnibus crime bill.The relatively small crowd of 50 protesters gathered on the lawns of Parliament Hill around noon quickly grew to an estimated 200 to 250.
NDP MP Françoise Boivin, along with several speakers, joined the protesters, addressing the crowd on what she saw as problems with Bill C-10, a sweeping overhaul of Canada's justice system.
As the protest was getting underway, before the crowd began marching down Wellington Street towards the Supreme Court of Canada, a commotion erupted as RCMP officers arrived and arrested Ottawa resident Mitch Broughton, one of the protesters.
About eight others were ticketed, witnesses told Postmedia News.
Broughton, a member of the Occupy Ottawa legal team, said he wasn't entirely sure why he was arrested, but that he was told by police that he is "banned from all National Capital Commission and Crown-owned land" after being arrested a few days ago during the dismantling of the Occupy Ottawa movement.
He said he had arrived at the protest earlier in the day and was told to leave by RCMP who recognized him from the earlier arrest. He did so, but after talking to other Occupy Ottawa protesters he decided to return.
"I was just standing in a crowd, and then four RCMP officers came and grabbed me," he said. "I guess they felt the need to violate my right to peacefully assemble today."
Several of the protesters grouped together away from the majority of demonstrators, becoming aggressive towards the police and screaming into their faces.
"Shame on you, shame on you!" Henrik Vierula, one of the demonstrators taking part in Saturday's protest, yelled as he watched Broughton being taken away in the back of a squad car. Despite the arrest, the protest went on.
A variety of speakers addressed the crowd, including representatives from Aboriginal groups, the John Howard Society, which helps offenders re-enter the community after release from jail, and the Elizabeth Fry Society, a non-profit agency that works with women in conflict with the law.
Led by Occupy Ottawa, the diversity of groups taking part in the demonstration - some of whom seemed to be there to support legalizing marijuana - saw many different messages being chanted, not all related to the crime bill.
Boivin, MP for Gatineau and NDP justice critic, said it was clear to her there was a lack of cohesion in Saturday's crowd, with demonstrators there for too many different causes.
To be effective, she said they would need to unite under a common cause - democracy.
"All these causes should have one common denominator, which is to have the government listen when they are speaking instead of being just pushed away," Boivin explained. "Right now, one is fighting homelessness, another one is fighting for women's issues another one is - it's like voices from everywhere and nobody listens to one thing."
Boivin recommended the protesters "change their mode of activism" in their attempt to bring about change. Protesting on Parliament Hill is not enough, she said, adding that they should write to their elected representatives and reach them "behind those walls," she said, gesturing to the Parliament buildings.
Ottawans Michele Kennedy and Mike Moffat brought their seven-year-old son, Grey, along to Saturday's demonstration.
"You're never too young to be taught social responsibility," explained Kennedy on why it was important to see her child join the protest.
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Source: Ottawa Citizen
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