Ottawa, Ontario, August 21st, 2023 - unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory.

3 On2Ottawa Supporters were arrested this morning during morning rush-hour for nonviolently disrupting the Plaza Bridge.

Supporters  of On2Ottawa are demanding that the government pass appropriate  legislation to implement a National Fire-Fighting Agency to tackle  Canada’s unprecedented wildfires caused by inaction on the climate and  ecological crisis.

“I  am doing this for my children and my grandchildren, because Canada is  burning,” says Francine, who was arrested at today’s roadblock.

On2Ottawa  supporters say that they are going to engage in civil disobedience for  the next 3 weeks in the capital to force dialogue on creating a  much-needed and overdue national fire-fighting agency.

“I  have become increasingly distressed over time as people, and the  government, have continued to treat the climate crisis as if it is not  one. We know that societies can change radically to deal with  emergencies, and I am willing to do whatever it nonviolently takes to  get there,” says Ivan Ferguson, one of the people arrested at today’s  roadblock.

This wave of civil disobedience emerges as Fire Chiefs and politicians urge the Liberal government to address the serious shortage of volunteer firefighters in Canada.