Saunas, haircuts, hot meals: Ottawa protesters set up for the long haul

Those blockading parts of Ottawa to protest Covid-19 restrictions can access some creature comforts, like saunas and massages Photograph: Lars Hagberg/Reuters

A day after Canada’s prime minister announced a dramatic escalation in his government’s fight against blockades across the country, protesters in the nation’s capital were scheduling haircuts and receiving massages, apparently unfazed by the prospect of ramped-up police enforcement.

Hundreds of semi-trucks which have been parked out front of Canada’s parliament since late January have become emblematic of the protests, but planning and logistics for the occupation is run from a second site in a hotel parking lot on Coventry Road, 5km east of the downtown area.