Ottawa, Ontario, September 5th, 2023 - unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory. 3 Supporters of On2Ottawa stopped highway traffic during morning  rush-hour by sitting on exit 118 of the Trans-Canada highway leading  into Ottawa.

On2Ottawa  claims that as a result of the Prime Minister and the government not  adequately responding to the call for a National Fire Fighting Agency,  the group's actions have escalated. Since On2Ottawa disruptions began on  August 21st, 2023, 21 people have been arrested to demand the creation  of a National Firefighting Agency.

“Why  is our own government refusing to protect communities that are being  evacuated and the tens of thousands of firefighters who are risking  their lives to defend their communities? We believe that the government  can create a National Firefighting Agency,” says Laura Sullivan, a  24-year-old member of On2Ottawa and one of the people arrested today.

On2Ottawa  claims its demands are not radical, and are actually ‘no-brainers’. The  group points to the fact that experts and fire-chiefs alike are also  calling for federal action to prevent and respond to Canada’s out of  control wildfires.

“50,000  full time firefighters will result in jobs for ordinary people and it  will give benefits to many volunteers who are already risking their  lives for our country. This is the least we can offer them. We know  through COVID-19 that it’s possible to turn things around on a dime when  we accept that we are in an emergency,” says Laura Sullivan.

On2Ottawa  claims this is the last week of civil disobedience for the time being,  allowing the government 8-10 weeks of peace wherein government officials  have the opportunity to publicly commit to establishing a National  Firefighting Agency that has 50,000 professional firefighters by 2024.

“I’m  doing this because I’m so worried about the future and my little boy  and all the children. I don’t see the government taking action… We've  seen horrible smoke and heard horrible reports about the fires and  Trudeau is tone-deaf about the fires, he’s not doing anything… He’s  failed us. Our government has failed us,” says Jinni, a mom from  Vancouver Island.

On2Ottawa  states that continued inaction on the wildfires by November, 2023, will result in larger acts of nonviolent civil disobedience in the capital.