City of Ottawa considering legal action to recoup protest costs

Ottawa's mayor says the city is contemplating legal action against the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, arguing that Ottawa taxpayers shouldn't be left to pay costs associated with the convoy protest now snarling traffic in Canada's capital.

Mayor Jim Watson said he also would like to see GoFundMe disassociate itself from the convoy's fundraising campaign and the "rogue activity" of protesters pushing for an end to pandemic measures.

"I think it's disgraceful that that any company would want to be associated with what kind of action we've seen here in Ottawa," Watson told CBC News.

"And you know, my hope is that GoFundMe understands that this is a completely inappropriate use of dollars, to be coming into a city to create this kind of havoc in neighbourhoods, to shut down businesses, to harass our residents on the streets of Ottawa."

Watson said that while he knows the idea is a long shot, he has asked the city's solicitor to look at the municipality's options.

"I've asked our city solicitor if we have any recourse to GoFundMe, because obviously this money is coming into the country and into our city to maintain this activity that is frustrating everyone who lives here and who works here," he said.

'More than a million dollars a day'

Watson said it's time for the protesters to leave. The mayor said the protest is costing the city $800,000 a day in policing costs, plus overtime costs for bylaw officers and public works employees who have had to use tractors and front end loaders to block off streets.

"It's becoming certainly much more than a million dollars a day just to contain the situation," said Watson.

The protest officially began Saturday but has no apparent end date. Some protesters have vowed to stay for as long as it takes to get the federal government to roll back vaccine mandates.

Almost all pandemic measures to date — from mask mandates to business and school closures — have been introduced by provincial governments.

The GoFundMe fundraising page set up to support the protesters has raised more than $9.7 million from 120,600 donations. Late last month, GoFundMe put a temporary hold on transferring the funds, saying it wanted more details from organizers about the convoy and its financial management.

A CBC News analysis of the donations found that at least a third of the donors were listed as anonymous or used invented names.

GoFundMe has not yet responded today to requests from CBC News for comment.

Watson questioned whether GoFundMe should release all of the money raised to the protest organizers.

"It just seems bizarre that they would allow this money to flow through. They obviously have some concerns because they initially held back money when this GoFundMe campaign first started," he said.

"Who's getting this money? Who's getting rich as a result of these truckers coming to Ottawa? Who's being paid the money and where is the accounting for it?"

Watson said the city is also hoping to get financial support from other layers of government, including the federal government.

"We had a number of discussions with various officials, including the prime minister, and they've been very, very supportive," he said. "They understand that this is a federal policy that is being protested and we happen to be getting caught by the shrapnel, if you will."

A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino pointed to the federal government's role in covering extraordinary municipal policing expenses.

"The federal government supports the City of Ottawa in these types of situations through the Nation's Capital Extraordinary Policing Costs Program," said Alexander Cohen. 

"The program sets aside $15 million over five years to help cover policing costs incurred in the course of duties specific to the nation's capital, allowing the city access to nearly $3 million every year.

"We understand the city is still assessing the total cost of these demonstrations and has yet to make a formal request, but resources are available and we will continue to work closely together in the days ahead."