The City of Ottawa has archived footage from four different traffic cameras for the entire convoy.
We've already pulled 1,056 hours of those traffic cameras into the archive — but it's a tiny fraction of what exists. The full picture lives in the City's vault, accessible only through MFIPPA (Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) requests, at $5 a pop. We need help.
The four cameras
What we've recovered so far
These are reconstructed timelapses, rebuilt from the minute-by-minute archival stills we've recovered so far — 1 frame per real minute, upscaled from 300×169. Not original full-motion video. It's a fraction of the 736 requests' worth still locked in the City's vault.
We need 736 different MFIPPA requests submitted to the City of Ottawa.
Each application strategically asks for 3 hours of footage from one camera. You file the request, the City reviews it, and you hand the footage back to us. We process it and add it to the archive.
How it works
What's it going to cost me?
$5 to submit the MFIPPA application. The City will review the three hours of footage for free. If they decide some personal information needs to be redacted — typically faces and licence plates — they'll warn you of the additional cost (about $125/hr from a third-party redaction service). At that point you can pay, back out, or let 360 Press cover it (funds allowing). You have no obligation to pay additional costs.
How long does it take?
The application takes only a few minutes to fill out and pay for. You should receive a response from the City within 30 days of submitting your application.
Do I have to be a Canadian citizen?
Nope. There are no requirements regarding age, citizenship, or residency; anyone can file a request.
Why MFIPPA — can't the City just hand the footage over?
We tried! The City's Traffic Operations department said the scope of this project is too big for them, and sent us through the formal MFIPPA process. So we crowd-source.
What do I do with the footage once I get it?
Email it to [email protected]. We post the video online, extract minute-by-minute thumbnails, geocode the camera's position, and add it to the archive. Each 3-hour request adds ~180 frames to convoylive.ca.
Why these four cameras specifically?
The City confirmed footage exists from cameras at four key intersections in the downtown core for the full duration of the convoy. They're the only cameras with continuous archived recordings during the period — the other ~30 downtown traffic cams either weren't recording or didn't preserve the footage.
Ready?
Email [email protected] — they'll send you the next available camera, date, time window, and step-by-step instructions for filing the MFIPPA request.