An application for a temporary injunction was also filed on Friday evening. She calls for an immediate end to the harassment on the streets of the federal capital.

The class action lawsuit was initiated by Zexi Li, a 21-year-old Ottawa civil servant who lives a few blocks from Parliament Hill. She is represented by attorney Chris Camp.

In documents filed with Ontario Superior Court, plaintiffs allege excessive honking in residential areas that has lasted for more than a week.

One of the main tactics of the “Freedom Convoy” is to blare vehicle horns continuously throughout the day. […] These horns should not be used for more than a few seconds as the sound levels are dangerous and will permanently damage the human ear. Despite these dangers, the “Freedom Convoy” continued to sound these horns for 12 to 16 hours a day.we can read in the document.

A total of $4.8 million is being sought in damages for harassment, in addition to an amount of $5 million being sought in punitive damages.

The class action lawsuit represents Ottawa residents living in the areas between Bay Street and Elgin Street and Lisgar Street and Wellington Street, according to legal documents a copy of which Radio-Canada obtained.

Organizers affected by the class action lawsuit, including Toronto native Benjamin Dichter and Albertans Patrick King and Tamarra Lich, along with sixty others who are not identified, have 20 days to respond.

Truckers who unreservedly honk and are identified will be added to the list of those affected by this action.

Hearing postponed to Monday

A first meeting between the two parties was held Saturday afternoon with Judge Hugh R. McLean of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Alberta Attorney Ken Wilson is representing three of the many individuals affected by the injunction, Chris Barber, Benjamin Dichter and Tamarra Lich. Mr Wilson requested that the hearing be adjourned so that he could prepare properly, as he did not view the legal documents until around 10pm on Friday.

The judge accepted his request and reconvened the two parties at 1 p.m. Monday. However, the judge expressed reservations about the feasibility of such an injunction, since the injunction must clearly identify the data subjects in order for it to be applicable.

Either way, the judge said, truckers’ right to honk their horns could be limited to just one hour a day, roughly between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., he cited as an example. For now, the consensus seems to be that trucks will not honk their horns between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., for his part, attorney Ken Wilson mentioned.

On Saturday night, class action attorney Paul Champ posted a video on Twitter saying his client agreed to lift the injunction if the truckers leave Ottawa by 10 a.m. Monday.

In the video, the attorney points out that while his client understands the frustration of truckers, he also needs to understand that of Ottawa residents.