Occupation of Ottawa | No tug wants to move heavy goods vehicles

The City of Ottawa still hasn’t found a towing company willing to remove heavy trucks blocking its streets, the city administration confirmed on Wednesday. The Quebec Association of Repair Professionals advises its members not to go there.

Ariane Kroll
The Press

“We’re trying to get help, but we haven’t had much luck,” Ottawa City Manager Steve Kanellakos said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Mr Kanellakos had revealed on Monday that the towing service providers under contract with the municipality had all refused to move the heavy goods vehicles of the protesters who are illegally occupying the capital. Requests made to other Ontario cities, including Toronto and Brampton, as well as outside the province have been unsuccessful, the municipality said Wednesday.

“We recommend that tow truck companies not do that,” says Réjean Breton, CEO of the Association des professionnals du troubleshooting du Québec (APDQ), which represents 84% ​​of the province’s tow truck fleet, including many companies that tow heavy goods vehicles.

Companies that towed heavy vehicles that blocked roads in Quebec have suffered “retaliations” in the past, argues Mr. Breton.

Towing a heavy truck in such circumstances “exposes tow truck operators to a certain stress”, he underlines. “There are going to be swear words that are going to be thrown around, maybe objects. The recovery vehicle can also be targeted, notes Mr. Breton.

Employees at risk

“We would be afraid of having damage,” said a manager of a Quebec towing company who asked not to be named. The firm that would dislodge the trucks of the demonstrators in Ottawa would put its employees at risk at the time of the intervention, and would expose itself to vandalism thereafter, summarizes the employee.

Towing a truck without having the keys requires more work and time. The tow truck driver has to lie down under the truck to perform a series of operations and, “if there are people who are not happy against him, they are vulnerable”, explains the employee.

“If the driver won’t cooperate and there’s a crowd around, you need resources to protect the surroundings and to be able to access the vehicle,” the Ottawa city manager also said, citing his department of police.

The fact that the trucks are parked “bumper-to-bumper” complicates the task.

The army pushed aside

Army tow trucks could be used, suggests Mr. Breton. “Citizens are not going to come and inconvenience soldiers who are doing a job. »

The City of Ottawa, however, dismissed this scenario on Wednesday.

“If we ask the army for its equipment, it’s the same thing as asking the army to come and help us, and the City is not in that position at the moment,” explained the director general. protection and emergency services, Kim Ayotte, at a press briefing.

“There are many other solutions” which the police are discussing, but it would not be “tactical” to reveal them, said Mr. Ayotte, reiterating a statement made on Monday.

The other options under consideration “may be a little less practical, because we could have simply used large tow trucks”, however, indicated Mr. Kanellakos.

The police are toughening up

“We warn you that anyone who blocks streets, or assists others in doing so, may thereby commit a criminal offence,” the Ottawa Police Service said in a statement Wednesday. The “protesters” expose themselves to “being arrested without a warrant” and “any property related to the offense, including vehicles, can be seized”, detailed the police force. A ban on crossing the American border that may result from charges or convictions related to the demonstration is also mentioned.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, however, said earlier this week that the City needed 1,800 additional officers “to quell the insurrection that the police are unable to contain”.

The city also asked the provinces where the truckers and their vehicles came from “to check their regulatory mechanisms, all the tools they have to check the permits, the insurance,” Kanellakos told the city council on Wednesday. “It will have a long-term impact when renewing insurance. »