A worker removes pink paint from the exterior of the entrance to the prime minister's office on Wellington Street in Ottawa on Feb. 7. Five people are facing mischief charges after the Prime Minister's Office Building in Ottawa was doused with pink paint and downtown traffic disrupted by climate protesters this morning.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Five environmental protesters have been arrested outside of the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council for blocking traffic and spraying paint on the building’s entrance.
Ottawa Police said that at approximately 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a disturbance at the intersection of Wellington Street and Metcalfe Street. Police said the protesters were arrested for mischief and that more criminal charges may be laid, pending further investigation.
Last Generation Canada has taken credit for the demonstration through a post on X, adding that its supporters will continue demonstrations in the Ottawa area. The climate change activism group, formerly known as On2Ottawa, is calling on the federal government to create a national firefighting agency they say would employ 50,000 people and take further action on climate crises.
Cleaning crews were sent to the Prime Minister’s Office building, formerly called the Langevin Block, shortly before 11:30 a.m. to begin removing the graffiti from its entrance and plaque. The building is the working headquarters for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
According to the Parks Canada website, the 135-year-old building, situated directly across Parliament Hill, has been designated a classified heritage property since September, 1988 because of its association with the growth of the federal government in the decades following Confederation.