Protest camp near Ottawa under pressure from municipality

A group of protesters staying on private land outside Ottawa say they have no intention of leaving despite the local municipality making their lives difficult, while the landowner contends he's being unfairly targeted by officials.

In October, a group of protesters including many who participated in what became known as the 2022 Freedom Convoy moved onto private property located about 65 kilometres east of downtown Ottawa.

The landowner, Chet Wiggins, welcomed the protesters onto his land and credits them with improving his property and raising his spirits.

Wiggins has cancer and struggles to maintain the aging rural property in La Nation that he's lived on for over two decades. When the protesters first showed up, he said he was struggling to eat properly.

"Not even two weeks after these people showed up my spirit was raised so much that I started eating actually regular food," Wiggins told CBC on Tuesday.

"Even the doctors and nutritionist thought it was surprising that I was already starting to eat," he said. "I didn't realize how low I was until my spirits got raised up."

Norman Blanchfield, a participant and supporter of the Freedom Convoy, helps lead the group of protesters staying on Wiggins's land in La Nation.  (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Municipality cites safety, complaints

But with cold weather approaching, the mayor of the local municipality of La Nation, Francis Brière, said there were growing concerns about the protesters' safety and complaints about their presence there.

Brière said the camp was occupied by about 60 people during busy periods, particularly weekends, and housed 12 to 15 trailers.

"Generally speaking, this has not been a nuisance for us at the municipality, it's not been a big issue," he said. "It's just that we felt like we needed to make sure that they were being safe."

A building inspector and a fire safety inspector visited the site in December to assess the risks. They found a barn wasn't up to code for the gatherings it was being used for, and told Wiggins he was operating a campground without the needed permits.

The inspectors also noted a smattering of other apparent deficiencies on the property.

Wiggins said some of the needed work has already been done and he's requested an extension to complete more, but said much of it is too expensive to undertake.

"Opinions may vary, but my personal opinion is they're being unfair," he said. "I mean, we haven't done anything wrong. I'm not doing anything to disturb anybody."

Norman Blanchfield, a participant and supporter of the Freedom Convoy, helps lead the group of protesters staying on Wiggins's land. A general contractor, Blanchfield says everything on the property is safe.

"We're not stupid. We have kids, we have family, we don't want to lose nobody here so we make everything safe for everyone," he said.

No plans to leave

Blanchfield, who is facing criminal charges stemming from the Freedom Convoy, said people shouldn't fear his group, known as Bridges to Freedom, because "everything we do, we do it peacefully, with love."

Despite the weather cooling and scrutiny from the municipality, Blanchfield said it's important to show to others that some people are still "standing up" to government.

"That's why we're standing up and we're still there, to show to people the unity and to be there all together peacefully, and we can change the thing," he said.

On Tuesday, a few personal vehicles and trailers were scattered around the property. Wiggins said that on weekdays, most of the people staying at the camp are at their jobs.

Vehicles and campers parked on private property near La Nation. The group of protestors moved onto Wiggins's land in October. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

He credited his guests with ensuring his animals are fed, the snow is cleared and other chores around the property are completed.

They used to play cards and board games in the barn, but Wiggins says that has stopped since the inspectors limited their usage of the building.

Municipality being 'nitpicky,' landowner says

He accused the municipality of being "nitpicky" to drive away the protesters, despite most of the activities taking place around the camp being fairly mundane.

"We talk about different things and talk about family issues and the things that are important to most Canadians. And we sometimes go into a teepee, and we'll talk and shoot the breeze," he said.

"They're not interested in overthrowing your government or anything like that," Wiggins said of his guests. "There's no violence here. We've never had police here. There's never been any crime done here. There's nothing here."

Brière said public safety is the priority and if needed, the municipality will "take a position to forcibly remove" the people from Wiggins's land.

"I don't think it'll get to that point. I'm hoping it doesn't," he said.