After weekend of protests, Ottawa residents are feeling the effects

Ottawa's downtown core has echoed with the sound of blaring horns and chanting crowds for parts of four days now, and with protesters and transport trucks choking off access, many in the city are beginning tofeelthe effects.

The protest,concentratedin the parliamentary precinct,began rolling into the city late Friday afternoon.

Over the weekend, thousands of protestors gathered on Parliament Hill, convoys of transport trucks clogged downtown streets, and the Ottawa Police Service opened several criminal investigations into the desecration of monuments and illegal or threateningbehaviour from protesters.

It began in opposition to mandatory vaccination for cross-border truckers but has since evolved to include a range of opposition to COVID-19 public health measures. It's also attractedinternational media attention.

WATCH | The range of goals for protesters:

Frustration unifies protesters on Parliament Hill

3 years ago

Duration 2:59

The convoy of protesters gathered on Parliament Hill represent a range of grievances and demands. Some want an end to vaccine mandates and restrictions, while the people behind Canada Unity, which helped organize the convoy, want the current federal government replaced.

Deirdre Freiheit, chief executive officer of Shepherds of Good Hope, said the shelter'sSaturday food service was disrupted by a small group of protesters who were seeking a meal and who subjected staff andvolunteers to verbal harassment.

"Staff dealt with it very, very well," Freiheit said."I think they were all upset about how it took place ... It was a difficult day for everyone."

The shelter's communications manager, Caroline Cox, said a residentwas pinned up against a truck Saturday evening.

Based on anaccount from a security guard present at the scene, Cox said the altercation involved an individual associated with the protest.

The security guard said they were also verbally assaulted and called racial slurs during the incident, Cox said.

As of Sunday evening, Cox saidtransport truckswere parkedoutside the shelter and honking. Police were on scene, sheadded.

Businesses packed,patrons unmasked

Several city facilities in the downtown will be closed Monday due to the protests, including Ottawa City Hall,the Rink of Dreams, and the Ottawa Public Library's Main and Rideau branches.

The Rideau Centre and downtown LCBOsshut their doors on the weekend for safety reasons, as did many businesses on Sparks Street just south of Parliament Hill.

Kevin McHale, executive director of theSparks Street Business Improvement Area, said in an email he estimated that all butfour Sparks Streetbusinesses were closed on Saturday, and none remained open Sunday.

Some workers at the few downtown businesses that remained opentold CBC Ottawa they wereconcerned about personal safety, withpatrons flouting COVID-19 protocols formasking and social distancing.

• Justin Trudeau will address Canadians duringanti-vaccine mandate protest

Sarah Mahmoud,who works at a Happy Goat Coffee Company location inside a Slater Street hotel, said the cafwas abnormally busy Sunday andran out of foodearly.

She added that while most patrons were pleasant, few wore masks inside.

"They're disrespecting me. They're disrespecting all the staff inside of the hotel," Mahmoud said. "They're disrespecting everybody around them, because they don't care about anybody else's safety."

Told masks 'optional,' says grocery store worker

Nicholas McCafferty, a worker in the produce department of the Rideau StreetLoblaws,said he didn't go intowork Sunday after dealing with crowds of unmasked shoppers during his shift the day before.

"We were told that masks were optional for that day, andwe were also told that security can't do anything about them," McCafferty said. "That's not protecting staff."

McCafferty said he didn't witness any violence but saw security called to an incidenton several occasions.

He saidnone of hiscoworkers received advance notice that the store's mandatory mask policywould not be enforced.

"We have immunocompromised colleagues," McCafferty said."We have older colleagues, and they weren't given that option."

A spokesperson for Loblaw Companies Ltd. denied the allegations in an email to CBC Ottawa, repeatingits officialpolicy requiring all customers wearmasks unless they have a valid exemption.

Honking 'terrorizing' to people with disabilities

Troy Stewart, who teaches onlineclasses to help Ottawans with physical and mental disabilities gain independence, said he's concerned for people with disabilities who live downtown.

He said the impact of the protest onpublictransit routesis impeding the ability of many of his students to access food.

With officials expecting the protests to continue into the week, Stewart said he's concerned road closures will prevent him from fulfilling his weekly grocery deliveryon Wednesday to food-insecure clients.

"They're feeling terrified with constant 24-hour honking going on, these big trucks coming down streets and blowing their horn," he said.

"They're not sleeping. They're scared to go out."

Ottawa police say people should avoid travelling downtown on Monday, and anyone who works downtown should do so from home if they can.