Ottawa Police prepare for Hell's Angels weekend convention

CTV National News: Hells Angels descend on Ottawa Hells Angels descend on Ottawa for what is believed to be the largest Canadian gathering in the biker group's history. Annie Bergeron-Oliver

The Hell’s Angels biker gang will descend on Ottawa this weekend for its annual convention, dubbed their “Canada Run”.

Nearly 1,000 bikers will arrive in the capital for the mandatory event, half full Hell’s Angels members, and the other half members of affiliate “puppet-clubs”.

Several hundred bikers will leave from Toronto around 10am Friday, police will monitor the convoy as it makes its way to the Hell’s Angels clubhouse on Piperville Road in Carlsbad Springs, along the south-east edge of the city.

The OPP Biker Enforcement Unit will set up outside the clubhouse, identifying and photographing each and every member before they enter.  Police say the bikers have a legal obligation to comply with police at the check-in point, and most are expected to do so without incident.

Over the weekend the bikers are expected to hold a “memorial run”, hundreds of bikes in a convoy through city streets, to show their presence and remember lost Hell’s Angels members.  Sources tell CTV Ottawa the gang is expected to make its way to downtown Ottawa for a “family photo” on the steps of Parliament Hill.

Members of the public are warned not to approach the bikers, that they are “one-percenters”, a group who doesn’t care about laws or public safety.

Ontario Provincial Police, Ottawa Police, Gatineau Police and Quebec Provincial Police will hold a joint news conference Wednesday afternoon to release an “official plan” for the weekend.

More to come...