Police reopen roads at Queen’s Park after planned protest ‘involving vehicles’ forced closure

Toronto Police say roads in and around Queen’s Park have now reopened after  “a potential demonstration involving a number of vehicles” prompted its closure.

Police issued the traffic alert about the road closures just before 5 a.m. on Tuesday.

Just after 11:30 a.m., police said officers were in the process of reopening roads.

“Our intelligence is indicating it’s a demonstration involving vehicles to come to the City of Toronto and we are closing the roads to ensure the roads stay clear,” Duty Inspector Suzanne Redman told reporters earlier on Tuesday morning.

Redman said the demonstrators are part of the Save The Children protest group.

She would not speculate on the number of vehicles planning to attend but said “they are intending to block roads and infrastructure and we are going to limit the access to the downtown core.”

“It’s a matter of we’re trying to maintain the city’s inner workings. It would be frustrating to have the convoy blocking roads and people not being able to get where they need to go,” Redman added.

Police said after it was reopening the roads the force would continue to monitor, assess and act upon the “latest credible information.”

The closures had included:

• Queen’s Park Crescent from Bloor Street West to College Street.
• University Avenue from College Street to Elm Street.
• Wellesley Street West to Queen’s Park.

The last time police closed off a significant portion of Queen’s Park was for the “Freedom Convoy” protests last year.

On Monday, the Ontario Health Coalition held a demonstration at Queen’s Park. The coalition said it would hold another demonstration on Tuesday at around noon for those who could not attend due to Yom Kippur.

MPPs returned to Queen’s Park on Monday after a summer break as the Ford government continues to deal with the Greenbelt scandal and minister resignations.