Assets worth tens of thousands of dollars seized during this winter’s truck movement in Ottawa remain difficult to recover, even to this day, former protesters say – if not impossible to recover.
The City returned 41 items to the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) after its clean-up operation, which followed a nearly three-week occupation of the downtown center.
Among these items were found generators, barbecues and heaters used to feed and heat the protesters.
The objects in the possession of OPS is located in one of its facilities, southeast of the city. Six items were returned to their owners, but 35 are still there, the Service said.
As with all property, owners must provide proof of ownership in order to claim them. Receipts, serial number, and photos of the item are admissible evidenceindicates OPS in a written statement.
But according to some protesters, many of the recovered goods were newly purchased or recently donated to them.
David Paisleyone of the informal organizers of the trucking convoy, did not recover a batch of banners with a total value of approximately $ 1,000.
Mr Paisley was arrested at the end of the protest, but no charges were filed against him. When he tried to locate his belongings, he was asked for the name of the arresting officer and a case number – information he never provided, he said.
His banners have monetary and sentimental value for him, laments David Paisley. To our knowledge, the employees threw everything in a trailer and they left with the items as soon as possible, he commented. And there does not appear to be a system in place to keep track of where items are stored, he added.
Their number 1 priority was to act fast, so everyone was in a hurryhe believes.
Another protester, Ben Froese, was placed almost directly in front of parliament for the majority of the protest. Among other things, he operated a crane on which the Canadian flag was attached.
According to him, police actions caused damage worth $ 2,500 to his vehicle during their intervention to end the demonstration. And his flag is nowhere.
I don’t yet know if this serves as evidence for an investigation. What happened to my flag remains a big question mark. What did they do here? Did they throw it in the trash? I do not knowhe said.
There are no items being held as evidence, OPS said
Where the flags and other items were confiscated, it is difficult to get a clear answer.
ang OPS said he had not received a tent, table or chair from the City. Municipal employees as well as employees of private companies responsible for cleaning the streets can dispose of it.
ang OPS it is said that none of the things he holds serve as evidence, and no order from a judge is expected to return them.
If they actually have 41 goods on their hands, it means a lot of things have been thrown away, or there is a contractor somewhere who keeps large quantities.believe David Paisley.
Karl Duvall shared his skepticism. Helped in organizing the camp along the way Coventryhe estimated that ten, if not hundreds of thousands of items were seized, including bales of straw and liters of gasoline.
Along with other organizers, Karl Duvall is currently making an inventory of the missing items, hoping to find them. There are many things that should not be entered, he commented. He added that groups of demonstrators wanted to clean up during the occupation, but the police did not allow it.
In a statement, police said they were working active to determine the owners of certain objects.
For their part, organizers plan to search municipal landfills in hopes of finding chairs, tables and extension cords, among other things.
According to David Paisleynecessary to put in place a fair system for items to be returned to their owners, as most of the protesters have not yet been charged or convicted of any crimes. Unless there’s a reason all of these things are still in the hands of the police, it doesn’t seem appropriatehe commented.
With information from David Fraser, CBC
Source: Radio-Canada