Ottawa mayor made a ‘backchannel’ deal to remove convoys from ‘residential’ areas

Ottawa’s mayor said he had reached a “reverse agreement” with convoy organizers to limit a three-week occupation by people in the area immediately around Parliament Hill.

But Ottawa police’s plan to eventually end the protests – which showed little sign of slowing down on Sunday – was once again called into question, after it was reported that it did not provide a detailed plan. for federal law enforcement partners.

In a stunning statement on Sunday, Mayor Jim Watson’s office said he had successfully negotiated with convoy organizers to leave all “residential” areas of the city by Monday.

The deal between Watson and the convoy means the city will allow more trucks into what police call “occupation” and “siege” outside Canada’s parliament buildings.

“Our residents are exhausted and struggling, and our small businesses impacted by your lockdowns are on the brink of permanent closure. I do not believe that these harmful effects on our community and its inhabitants are the expected consequences of your protest,” the letter was sent to members of the media. media on Sunday, read.

Watson asked Tamara Lich, one of the main organizers of the protest, to remove “your convoy and its trucks” from several satellite camps around the city and limit their demonstration to the vicinity of Parliament Hill.

The mayor of Ottawa – who does not want to run for re-election after more than a decade in charge of the city – has pledged to meet with organizers if his conditions are agreed.

In a letter from Lich – also provided by the mayor’s office – the convoy organizer said they planned to “strengthen our protest efforts around Parliament Hill.”

“We look forward to working with the authorities to ensure the safe movement of our trucks to their new location,” Lich wrote to Watson.