Zexi Li – Interventions

During the time of the occupation - - I struggle to call it a protest because I know what a protest is, but it was incredibly difficult to get anything done because of the noise. There was a significant impact on things like focus and, you know, just even living day to day. Sleep deprivation was one of the first things that affected me personally and it also affected the animals that I live with as well. They seemed quite distressed. But for me personally, it was almost impossible to get a good night's sleep or a full night's sleep, if any, and if anything, it would be low quality and often interrupted by a sudden loud horn. And when it was quiet -- because there were brief periods where it was quiet, I was riddled with the anxiety that the horns were going to start again, and when the horns started again, it was left -- we were left wondering, you know, when they would stop, if they would ever stop again. And, yeah, it was just day-to-day living within my own home, living in fear of the sound and the intrusion really that they posed just being outside on our streets. Yeah, and further to that, it was unpleasant, to say the least, to exit my home, but it was something I did anyways as I didn't feel like it was -- the whole situation was wrong, and I felt almost a little bit of defiance, wanting to go outside and continue to live my life as best I could. And when I did, oftentimes, I was harassed for wearing a mask or being -- I was told to smile more under my mask, or, you know, just these kinds of comments that wouldn't have otherwise occurred and on a quiet, normal walk day-by-day. And I think what was one of the worst things was whenever you chose -- well, whenever I chose not to engage with the individuals that were occupying my neighbourhood, they would blast their horns at me with a smile on their faces, and then they would cheer in unison and almost take joy in the -- in my flinching, at my recoiling from the noise that I had been essentially experiencing non-stop for the entire duration of the events that occurred.

02-014-07

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, I live near Laurier Street and Centretown.

02-015-16

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Well it was the middle of winter, so really the first thing you noticed when you stepped outside was all of the snow, because services were unable to be rendered due to the occupation that was going on. And further to that, the snow was often coloured yellow or brown due to the public urination and defecation that took place gratuitously, often alongside of my building and just, quite literally, anywhere you walked, on every corner. And on these intersections, often times there were illegal bonfires and yeah, just trash burning right next to, you know, cans of fuel or near the same areas where these individuals would later set off fireworks. And I just remember feeling like it was such a surreal sight. It almost felt like you were in something like the purge because it -- although I didn’t often see direct acts of violence, it was -- there was a certain chaos on the streets and that feeling of chaos and rule breaking and law breaking gradually increased as things progressed. Yeah. Just I need a moment. Just sort of on my daily walks, you know, going to the gym, getting groceries, running errands, we often -- I often encountered individuals that were associated with the occupation and being -- you know, I’m a small Asian woman. I wore a mask most of the time due to the situation that was going on. It was -- like I said, it made you a target because it signaled to the people on our streets that we were not supportive of their cause and that we were not one of them. And in turn, as I mentioned before, they would increase their honking, and target their honking, and shout at us, shout at me, about how they were doing things for us and that they were fighting for our freedoms when, at the same time, I was unable to walk the streets feeling safe, really, because it wasn’t -- I didn’t feel safe. You know, my guard was up all the time and you had to watch every detail so carefully because these people would just approach me out of nowhere. And you didn’t -- you really didn’t know what they were going to do to you, and especially after I took action as an individual, it became different being a person walking on the streets. But I was never deterred from going outside. There was one -- only one moment where I was very, very afraid after my identity and name had been made public. And I had really covered myself up completely so that I was completely unrecognizable, to the point where my neighbours saw this and were very confused when I said hello to them. But after that, I think I realized there was almost a protection in the notoriety that I’d gained, and I don’t know, I felt like it was almost safer for me to walk the streets than the people that I lived around because of my position in the whole situation. With that being said, like, when it comes to my day-to-day life, I’m a really friendly person. I know all of my neighbours. Well, I can’t say all of them, you know, but I know a good few of them. And one of -- like, really, one of the -- my, like, daily joys is chit chatting with them in the elevator and seeing them on the street and saying hello. And what was truly, truly terrible about this time was seeing how people I knew were being affected, and knowing that for every one person that I knew that was going through a difficult time because of what was going on, there were 20 other people that I didn’t know that were going through the same thing. I knew people that were being pushed out of their homes because they were literally having mental breakdowns because of the stress and the noise and just the terror they felt from the situation. And I don’t think anyone or anything can discount those real feelings that people experienced and people had. And because of the action I took, I had encouraged a lot of my friends and neighbours to reach out to me and tell me their stories because it was so important for people to know that this was a serious thing that was going on, that people were being really terribly affected by it. One of my neighbours, she had just had a new born baby. Her name is Hazel. She was maybe six months old at this time, but I remember -- like, I’ve watched Hazel. She’s a really sweet baby. But my friend, she had told me that the noise was so terrible that sometimes just to get her to sleep, she had to take the baby out into the hallway, as far from the windows as possible, and bounce her in the hallways to try and get her to sleep before bringing her back into the apartment, where there was just the unrelenting horns. And other neighbours who told me for just, you know, a good two/three hours of nap, whatever they could get, they would go down to the parking lot and sleep in their car because it was the only place that they could escape to. And for me, second to the hallway, my bathroom was a little quieter, so I got some peace there as well.

02-017-15

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I didn’t feel safe, but it’s hard to describe it as unsafe at the same time, because I was actively being so cognizant of my surroundings. I’m fast. I can move very fast. So, you know, I’m -- I was always ready to, you know, take myself out of a situation where something might happen. And, you know, a lot of the times, when they’re bouncing their trucks and their cars and -- I don’t know how to describe it other than, like, roaring at us, like, roaring at me with, like, these large giant vehicles. You know, it’s -- the idea was to move quick and get where we needed to go. And, you know, that was the intention, and that’s what you really had to do, I think, to stay safe, because when you didn’t take your time, they would always get to you. Like, not -- maybe not in the sense that you’re thinking, but they would try and come up to you and convince you that they were doing the right thing. And they would say to me -- like they -- I -- like, on more than one occasion, I would try and plead with them because, you know, there’s a certain desperation in being left in that kind of situation where the people that are supposed to help you weren’t helping you, and it was just ongoing for really -- it was going to be an unknown period of time, because really, every day I woke up and I hoped that it was over, and it never was. Sorry, I lost my train of thought a little there.

02-020-19

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Well, the first action I took was really what I consider to be -- it was really important to me, I think. Because of the nature of the occupation and what was going around the media and the news, I thought it was really important for me to walk the streets and experience things firsthand. So I did. I did that almost every day, and I took pictures, and I took videos, and I remembered what I saw. And I spoke with people. I spoke with the people that were living on our streets legally, I spoke with the people that were stationed on intersections to protect us. And ---

02-023-06

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, the police. And I just -- that was really the first action I took, just having my own account of things and really living through it myself. And like I said before, I really genuinely, like, love Ottawa, I love my neighbours, and they mean a lot to me, even if they are somewhat strangers in a sense. And because of this closeness I had, I heard a lot of their stories, and more so, I heard a lot of their frustrations. And as egg-throwing began to occur from my building, I felt that, you know, we really needed a medium to at least express what was happening to us so that we could feel, at the very least, heard and maybe diffuse some of the tensions.

02-023-19

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Well, you know, there were very large trucks parked everywhere, and in some of these instances they were parked right next to some high-rise condo buildings. And as a result, someone -- some people may have gotten some cartons of eggs, and you know, had their little retaliation in frustration because, really, what else could they do. And when that incident occurred, I remember the police actually came to my building to enquire about the egg-throwing, as a complaint had been made by the truckers. And I remember that I felt it as an affront, and that a lot of my neighbours felt it as an affront as well when they were investigating something like this in the light of everything that was happening to us, and what they were really ignoring in a lot of their statements and releases to the public. And as a result, I decided to organise a meeting with a number of residents in my building with some Ottawa Police community liaison officers, just so we could have a recorded account of what our experiences were, and really to, again, diffuse the tension, and really concretely say, "You know what's happening here. We are telling you this. This is our experience, and we really desperately need help because things are -- things have gone on too long." And the residents, honestly, they had wanted to fight back because they felt that nobody else was doing anything for them.

02-024-05

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Following that meeting, maybe twenty of my neighbours showed up, and more had sent their stories through messages or otherwise through me. And we had communicated everything to the officers so that, you know, again, it was recorded. And you know, all of us were there to attest to the fact that this happened, and they know what's going on, because we felt really and truly abandoned at that point in time. And after that, I ended up becoming the lead plaintiff in the class action, which brought my name and person to more public attention.

02-025-03

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

It was -- it's -- sometimes it's hard because that whole month, essentially, feels like a bit of a blur sometimes, but I do remember when it started on Friday night, it felt like in my memory that it never stopped, really.

02-025-21

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes. That's when they began to roll in. And I remember when that happened that was -- my feeling was that this is going to be a doozy, you know, bad things are coming. But yeah, it was constant. It was like, from day to night, even if it wasn't for every second, it was at least every other minute.

02-025-27

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

The Intersection I live near would be Laurier Avenue West and Bank Street.

02-029-07

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, however, I would like to note that there were points in time where, like Ms. De La Ronde said, there were crescendos, and during those crescendos in particular, there was a roving train horn attached to a truck and when that truck was in our area, I would express that it was much louder and much more disruptive than the lawn mower.

02-029-14

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I would agree with that. I would note that many of the trucks in my vicinity had what we would describe as aftermarket horns, where the horns attached to the vehicle were much, much, louder than a standard vehicle would have, and several of these trucks were idled very close to where I lived and resulted in a much more deafening sound.

02-030-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yeah.

02-030-23

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

So this photo was taken on the corner of Kent and Laurier. I took the photo because I thought that the removing of the tires was a very clear message from the occupiers that they were here to stay. Now, this vehicle in particular was removed sometime later, but I believe this was near the beginning of the occupation, perhaps around February 3rd.

02-031-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I don’t remember the exact date, it was either February 17th or 18th, if I‘m not mistaken. This morning, this was after the injunction date, the occupiers on Kent Street, it was a very strong encampment, I would describe it as, and they were very much rooted in their position. During the injunction period there was a -- I believe this was like a Friday or Saturday morning, but they had collectively blown their horns at about 6:59 a.m. and obviously it awoke myself and many other residents in the area. At this point we had been, what, 20 days into the occupation, and I for one, was desperate -- not quite defeated -- but also very angry. And I think at that point the desperation was enough where I stood on the corner of Laurier and Kent, I left my home at about 7:30 and I stayed there for about 30 minutes to an hour just them to blow their horns, because I was frustrated and I wanted there to be evidence, first hand evidence, of them define the injection order, them breaking the laws they were breaking, and I wanted to know for myself who exactly was there, so that nobody could say otherwise. And I decided to take photos of the vehicles that were there, collect their information, and that was something that made them very upset as, really, it was in open, active defiance.

02-031-12

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, it is.

02-032-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

At this time, it was. I also on numerous occasions witnessed trucks driving along the sidewalks as well.

02-032-11

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I would like to quickly note that in this image, the vehicle next to the white truck, the red truck, on this same day, due to my taking pictures, the man in the red truck was inside of his vehicle and he actually had backed his vehicle into me. I moved out of the way, but I presume it was for taking pictures of his license plate and what was in his vehicle. I also captured video of -- as I approached the vehicle after he had sort of backed into me. I didn't want him to be able to claim that it wasn't him in the vehicle, so I captured the driver in the video as well, and while I did so, he aggressively opened his door at me in the car. And at that point, all of the trucks in the area began blaring their horns at me. And there was another individual who had exited his vehicle and decided to start shouting at me, giving me the finger, and say that the man in the truck hadn't done anything, after I had called the police. He was yelling in the streets that the truck hadn't moved in over an hour, which I had direct video evidence proving that it was not true. So it just really showed to me personally that these people were willing to do anything and say anything to help each other get away with anything.

02-032-21

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I'm now 22.

02-034-09

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-034-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, that's correct.

02-034-17

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, that's correct.

02-034-20

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I'm a data analyst.

02-034-23

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Well, I personally don't feel there's -- I -- the actions I took was in my capacity as an individual citizen of Ottawa and not related to my work or any other activities.

02-035-02

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I was a data analyst with Shared Services Canada.

02-035-09

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-035-12

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I'm not sure.

02-035-15

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-035-18

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-035-22

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Could you repeat the dates, please?

02-035-27

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-036-02

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I believe it was a Friday, so whichever date that Friday fell on.

02-036-05

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Mr. Champ had reached out to me.

02-036-09

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That is untrue.

02-036-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That's correct.

02-036-17

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-036-21

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-036-25

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-037-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-037-04

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-037-07

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-037-10

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Emilie Taman who works with Paul Champ.

02-037-14

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

It was as a result of the meeting I had organized with the Ottawa Police. One of my fellow residents and neighbour was a lawyer who was aware of the action being taken.

02-037-19

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, that is correct.

02-038-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, just in reference to the lack of laws that were in place.

02-038-12

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I would not say that the protest or occupation provided a purge opportunity, but the -- what I witnessed on the streets day-to-day was very reminiscent of that kind of lawless world where open fires were being held, laws were being broken in front of police officers who were not doing anything to combat them, and just a general sense and lack of disregard for public areas and, really, the people that live there.

02-038-16

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-038-28

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I believe the opportunity was there and it was an environment where these people who have been illegally occupying our streets felt that they had the -- I don't know if this is the right word, they had the ability to do anything they wanted as they were not privy to the regulations that the rest of us members of society were. And I came to this conclusion in -- through my witnessing of these crimes being committed, because really, they were crimes, and even speaking with these individuals directly who had informed me that they were not going to face any consequences because they were protected.

02-039-04

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That is correct, but I was not referencing the entirety of the purge. It was a purge-like scenario where laws were not enforced specifically.

02-039-20

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, because laws were not being enforced.

02-039-25

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I did not make that statement.

02-040-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-040-07

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-040-11

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-040-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

The injunction was obtained on -- approved by the Court on the 7th.

02-040-23

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No, that is not correct. Two days prior to the injunction being put in place, there was a deferral of the trial to that date where the injunction was eventually approved.

02-041-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Application. Sorry, I’m not well versed in law. I’m not a law student.

02-041-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

For a brief period shortly after the injunction, there was a clear silence from the noise that was previously constant. Shortly thereafter, there was a gradual ramp up in the honking again, but, however, it was more strategic and intermittent than it was previously, whereas it was constant.

02-041-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-041-22

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-041-25

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I just want to clarify the statement in reference, is that ---

02-042-02

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

As far as I was aware, yes. To the best of my ability.

02-042-16

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-043-02

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

To the best of my recollection, correct. That was the immediate aftermath.

02-043-05

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I was working from home, though I struggled to maintain productivity due to the disturbances that were taking place.

02-043-10

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That is correct.

02-043-16

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That would be correct. There was a leave code that was applied for government employees that were affected by the situation.

02-043-20

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Could you clarify to the question, please?

02-043-27

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-044-03

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I had started a new position on January 10th with Shared Services Canada. Prior to that, I was employed working from home with another agency.

02-044-06

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I was employed with the Canada Revenue Agency.

02-044-11

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-044-16

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-044-21

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I may have said that.

02-044-25

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

There was only the, I would describe it as intimidation with a truck.

02-045-02

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I did not make that statement.

02-045-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I’m sorry?

02-045-12

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No.

02-045-15

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Not inside of any buildings, no. Just outside.

02-045-20

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I did not say that. I said they were lighting fires outside of buildings, as in the bonfires that were all over the city.

02-045-25

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I can’t comment to their intentions.

02-046-03

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No, I just saw the fires. Open fires.

02-046-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I did not.

02-046-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-046-18

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-046-22

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-046-25

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

As far as I know, correct.

02-047-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-047-06

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-047-10

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

My understanding is that he was employed in the ByWard Market.

02-047-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-047-17

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I would like to clarify that the injunction was granted on the 7th.

02-047-23

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-048-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I am not aware of that information.

02-048-05

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Now I do.

02-048-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Well it was a lot of events and I think it was mentioned that McKenney was out doing this. However, I was not directly involved, other than agreeing to offer this agreement.

02-048-11

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-048-18

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, correct.

02-048-22

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That is not correct. I’m -- I’ve stated that that was not true previously as well.

02-048-27

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I would also like to clarify that the Leaders Summit has not occurred.

02-049-04

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, correct.

02-049-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, that's true.

02-049-27

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Before you continue, would it be all right to clarify my relationship with Joel Harden and Catherine McKenney? No? Okay.

02-050-03

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-053-27

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No.

02-054-03

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I don't recall exactly, but I would say perhaps some of it had subsided, but it was still present. If anything, it was more underlying and more desperate, in a sense.

02-054-06

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Correct.

02-054-12

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I believe it was the 17th, yes.

02-054-16

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Given my experience personally, I felt that was the case.

02-054-19

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Following the injunction, I would say the level of threats increased due to the public attention that had been placed on myself and the situation. Yes.

02-055-03

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, that is correct.

02-055-10

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

The majority of the threats were through the internet, and on certain things; however, I was receiving calls and messages to my personal devices. However, the nature of these messages, voicemails and calls did not seem serious enough for me to make a official report. There was only one instance where there was a serious threat received by the RCMP that had been forwarded to the Ottawa Police that was investigated.

02-055-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That is correct.

02-055-24

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-056-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-056-05

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-056-09

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-056-22

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-057-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Thank you.

02-057-04

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, they were.

02-057-14

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-057-16

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Me, myself.

02-057-18

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Through decibel measuring devices downloaded onto my phone. These devices -- these applications had been proved -- they had been researched to be comparable to actual physical decibel testing devices.

02-057-20

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Off the top of my head, I believe one was called decibel X or something along those lines.

02-057-26

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

There was two, you know, I believe it was called Decibel X; however, it's been some time.

02-058-09

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

The decibel readings, from my memory, ranged from approximately 75 decibels to at times 85 or 90.

02-058-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, I do.

02-058-21

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Those people were the Ottawa Police and Bylaw Services.

02-058-24

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

They were, from my understanding as a resident, citizen, and taxpayer, they were supposed to be supporting us and making sure us, as the public and community, feel safe and that the laws are upheld.

02-058-28

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

There were issues with noise, idling, parking, et cetera. Illegal fireworks, illegal fires, public urination, public defecation, harassment on the streets, soup kitchens.

02-059-06

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

A lot of the time, I had -- I hadn't spoken to officers directly. I had made calls to Bylaw specifically detailing the incidences that were occurring, and on one such occasion I described fireworks in the vicinity of gasoline and other open fires, as well as things like alcohol and drugs. So that to me presented a safety issue, and therefore I reported it. However, as a result of my report nothing came to -- nothing came to it, and I was informed that the officers on the ground were to keep things safe despite the reality of the situation.

02-059-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No.

02-059-25

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-060-03

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

That is correct.

02-060-05

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I would say that I can't speak to exactly why it occurred, but I am -- I would feel that enforcement would be a contributing factor.

02-060-09

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No.

02-060-14

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No, I had not. Perhaps in passing on the street, but nothing -- not -- they didn't know who I was.

02-062-26

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, I was.

02-063-04

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

After, I did observe a Facebook Live video from one of the organisers who had ordered the truckers in general to stop the horns due to the injunction being put in place.

02-063-08

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes. It was a Facebook Live video I believe from Chris Barber, if I'm not mistaken, though I can't be sure as to which organiser specifically it was, but they had been laughing about our lack of sleep and something about giving us a break from all the noise.

02-063-14

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

They had said that they -- I remember they were saying, like, "stop the horns, stop the noise."

02-063-21

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes. Shortly after the video the horns had subsided. And for -- it was like -- like just sort of thinking back to it, like it's hard to not be a little dramatic, but it really was like -- it was like this respite that had came, and it was significant the silence that was present for some time.

02-063-27

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes.

02-064-07

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes. I do recall after the first video, I don't recall exactly when this occurred, but the first video I believe that the organiser had believed that -- it's hard to say because it's -- there was a just words being spilled, but there was something about that we, not necessarily myself or the lawyers involved, or -- it was a general reference I think to, like, the City or the Government or just the opposition, really, that they were going to give into some demands, but after some time had passed, they had realised that no demands were being given, and to, like -- I don't remember the exact words, but there was a call to action to, like, just let 'er rip.

02-064-13

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

The horns.

02-064-26

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

Yes, I did notice that there were some -- I remember very distinctly there were some confused horns, because really it sounds sort of crazy to attribute these kinds of descriptions to horns. But whereas before they were sure I think, and like resounding, these were confused, almost as if, do I do it, do I not do it, do I do it, do I not do it? There was a little bit more hesitation in the honking.

02-065-01

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I had measured the -- in reference to the decibel levels I had described, it was inside of my home, though I had taken some on the streets where it was much louder, closer to 100 or more.

02-065-12

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

It is above a 10th floor.

02-065-18

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

They definitely varied depending on the location that you went. There were quite a few of them, some were small and just for warmth, others were larger for -- I think there was a pig, like a whole pig being roasted, and I think it was under a fire, but I can't be certain about that. But there was that and there were several bonfires down Wellington Street, often times on corners in intersections where there were people huddled around it, often accompanied by signs and flags,

02-065-23

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

I felt that they were managing my personal safety correctly.

02-066-09

Zexi Li (Ottawa residents)

No, I did not.

02-066-14