Throughout the demonstration in Ottawa, The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO) worked closely alongside police to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and youth in the downtown core.
While CASO deployed teams to be on standby in the event that children or youth were at imminent risk or became separated from their parent during police action to clear the downtown core, no involvement from CASO was required. CASO did not receive requests from police for assistance during their operation.
Police stated that all parents made the voluntary decision to leave the protest zone in the interest of their children, following escalated police action.
The presence of children at the demonstration was concerning and CASO continuously advised parents to remove their children given the escalating situation.
No children or youth associated with the demonstration in downtown Ottawa were transferred to the care of the Society.
