Ottawa,  Ontario, September 1st, 2023 - unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin  territory. Starting from Confederation Park at 5:30pm EST, On2Ottawa  supporters slow-marched down Elgin street to demand the creation of a  National Firefighting Agency by 2024. While public marches are  completely legal, city police suggested possible arrest of slow marchers  just last week, and that threat came to fruition during the slow march  this evening. These are the first arrests arising from public marches with On2Ottawa.

“We  understand that police need to do their jobs, and so do other first  responders such as firefighters. Because of government and citizen  inaction alike, firefighters aren’t able to do the job of protecting  Canadian communities and lands from wildfires. The emergency isn’t over  and On2Ottawa’s reasonable demand still stands - Canada must establish a  National Firefighting Agency,” says Laura Sullivan, who spoke at the  march today.

On2Ottawa  has been in the nation’s capital for the last 2 weeks disrupting  business-as-usual via roadblocks, slow -marches, and publicity actions  such as throwing pink paint on a famous painting in the National Gallery  of Canada. The group has received public criticism and support alike,  and encourages others to get involved with On2Ottawa to demand  appropriate wildfire response from the government. On2Ottawa believes  that citizens have a moral duty to engage in direct nonviolent action  when all other avenues for change have been tried.

“It’s  fine to have criticisms about what we’re doing. We have criticisms,  too. But our criticisms are directed at government inaction,  particularly inaction on the wildfire emergency we’re experiencing  across the nation. The government is expressly responsible for national  defense and upholding the rights of its citizens and it’s very possible  to have a National Firefighting Agency for Canada’s disaster  prevention,” says Josh Pringle.

Meanwhile, says On2Ottawa, the government continues to sit idly by and watch the country burn.