Centretown Community Health Centre is part of the Centretown community that has been impacted by this unlawful occupation of our community. We are very concerned about the many examples of hate speech and symbols on display during this occupation of downtown Ottawa. Racism, anti-semitism, homophobia and transphobia has no place in our community. We have heard countless examples of community members being harassed because of who they are, or the wearing of a mask to reduce the chance of infection from COVID.
It is inexcusable that the rights of residents in our community to live safely and free from harassment has been violated by this unlawful occupation of our streets. While we respect the right to protest, we strongly condemn the actions of the protesters committing these crimes and the failure of organizers to denounce or address the on-going harm that they are causing. We will continue to offer our services and add our voice to those calling for an end to this occupation.