More Ottawa residents, businesses join lawsuit against protesters

The class-action lawsuit launched by Ottawa residents against protesters in the city's downtown now includes an expanded area to include Sandy Hill and ByWard Market residents. 

The team behind the original court action is adding businesses and workers as plaintiffs because they reported lost income, expanding total damages sought from $9.8 million to $306 million, and including a larger geographical area that extends to Somerset Street and the ByWard Market. 

Lawyer Paul Champ successfully argued for a court-ordered injunction to silence the honking horns that plagued residents for the initial 11 days of the protest involving hundreds of semi-trucks and people who are against COVID-19 health measures. 

Champ said his team is also going to start adding defendants who donated to truckers, as well as the truckers involved, as part of the action. The original suit named five defendants described as organizers but allowed for others to be named at a later date. 

The injunction request came out of the proposed class-action lawsuit filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Feb. 7 by Champ, who was acting on behalf of Zexi Li, a 21-year-old public servant and downtown Ottawa resident.

Despite two formal warnings sent by police Wednesday, trucks continue to clog streets as the protest nears its fourth weekend.