Lawyer behind $300 million lawsuit against Freedom Convoy outraged that anti-Israel protesters face fines for noise violations in Ottawa

The lawyer representing downtown Ottawa plaintiffs in a $300 million lawsuit against the Freedom Convoy expressed outrage Sunday over anti-Israel protesters being fined for violating a noise bylaw. 

“This is an affront to our deepest and most important democratic values: the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of asswmbly [sic]. A ticket for using a megaphone for a couple of hours on a public street to protest against a horrific war? Unacceptable,” Ottawa attorney Paul Champ posted on X. 

Champ has said that the lawsuit against the Freedom Convoy truckers and their supporters, who protested in Ottawa against Covid-19 mandates during the winter of 2022, is based in part on the noise the demonstration created. 

"It's about honking. It's about parking on the street, not for an afternoon for a protest or even a weekend for a protest, but weeks. And then idling semi-tractor trucks for prolonged periods, with the diesel fumes they emit next to residences,” Champ told Ottawa media.  

Champ’s X post was in response to a complaint from Ontario Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) Joel Harden (NDP-Ottawa Centre) who was fined Saturday for using a megaphone during an anti-Israel protest. 

“I love Ottawa, but I’m disappointed in my city today.”  

“Using a small megaphone to advocate for Palestinian human rights gets a $490 fine?” Harden posted on X. 

Harden was also holding a megaphone when he was notoriously accused of hoaxing the media and public when he disrupted an Education Over Indoctrination rally against gender ideology in Ottawa last June. The MPP claimed that he was punched in the face by parental rights advocates, however, X users reacted to his story by showing that Harden’s own megaphone caused a scratch on his face. 

The City of Ottawa issued nine fines Saturday totaling over $4,000 after anti-Israel protests in the city have become increasingly loud and boisterous. The tickets were issued under Bylaw No. 2017-255, which prohibits the use of "any sound reproduction device on any highway or other public place.” 

Quebec lawyer David Freiheit, who broadcasts to large audiences in the U.S. and Canada on YouTube and Rumble as “Viva Frei,” commented on Champ’s apparent double standard in an X post.  

“You’re… joking, right? You’ve got to be joking. Are you joking @PaulChampLaw?”