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Traffic around the EY Centre and along the Airport Parkway is expected to be jammed up Wednesday morning as protesters demonstrate outside the annual CANSEC military equipment trade show.
CANSEC has faced previous demonstrations but this year’s protest is expected to be larger because of the conflict in Gaza.
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“The exhibitors and attendees at CANSEC are making a fortune off of the carnage in Gaza,” noted a news release from World Beyond War, which is organizing the protests.
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The protesters will gather around 7 a.m. on Wednesday at the gates of the EY Centre. A rally to call for an inquiry into the arms trade is also planned on Parliament Hill starting at noon.
In past years the protesters have delayed vehicles entering the EY Centre as well as the keynote addresses.
“In terms of the planned protests outside CANSEC, we respect the right to peaceful protest on public property,” said Monique Scotti, spokeswoman for the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), which hosts CANSEC. “We’re working closely with the Ottawa Police Service to make sure that right is upheld and that everyone remains safe inside and outside the show.”
Fencing has been installed around the EY Centre.
CADSI president Christyn Cianfarani has noted that CANSEC always attracts protests. But she added in an interview with Politico, the online media outlet, that “this year we have an expectation that it will be spicier than normal.”
Defence Minister Bill Blair will provide the main speech at CANSEC on Wednesday morning while the lunch speech is to be delivered by Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs. Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement will have the opening speech Thursday morning. Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, will speak in the afternoon.
Around 12,000 people are expected at the EY Centre for CANSEC, the annual defence and security trade show that is only open for military and government personnel, diplomats and industry representatives. There are 265 exhibitors attending the show this year, Scotti noted.
The trade show winds up on Thursday.
CANSEC is the main military trade show in Canada.
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