(OTTAWA) Ottawa’s former police chief says his officers couldn’t have done anything different during last winter’s ‘freedom convoy’ protests in the nation’s capital.
Posted at 11:08 p.m.
A summary of Peter Sloly’s interviews at the commission was entered into evidence Wednesday at the public inquiry into the federal government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act in February.
Much of what is in the 61-page interview summary differs from what the commission has heard so far from other police officers. “Chief Sloly does not believe the Ottawa Police Service could have done anything materially different on an aggregate level, given the unprecedented national security crisis,” the summary reads.
The Emergencies Act, which was invoked on February 14, granted temporary and extraordinary powers to police, banks and governments to end protests. The Commission on the state of emergency is responsible for investigating the decision of the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau to invoke this emergency law. She also has a mandate to explore what happened when protesters took over several streets around Parliament Hill for more than three weeks, and what was done to end the protests.
Ex-Chief Sloly told commission lawyers he had to navigate amid turmoil within the Ottawa Police Service, city council and the Police Services Board, as the public demanded the end of the demonstrations in the city center.
The commission heard many stories of this turmoil during the first 10 days of public hearings. Previous witnesses, including senior OPP officers, spoke of a lack of informed intelligence at the start of the protest.
Steve Bell and Patricia Ferguson, who were deputy chiefs of Ottawa police in February, also told the commission there was disorganization and confusion within the service’s command structure.
Sloly also argues that intelligence gaps before the protest show that Canada’s national security strategy focuses too much on Islamic extremism, to the detriment of other threats.
Based on intelligence reports, he said he understood the intentions of the “freedom convoy” protesters had shifted from a denunciation of mandatory vaccinations by Ottawa to competing messages, including calls to overthrow the federal government or to repeal laws.
An OPP intelligence unit was producing reports at the time warning that protesters could stay put for a long time. One such report, presented as evidence at the inquest, noted that the “freedom convoy” was “at high risk” of traffic disruptions and illegal activity.
Mr. Sloly told commission lawyers that he had no idea the occupation would last for months and that the Ottawa police would one day be overtaken by events. He said Deputy Chief Bell did not inform him that this protest could turn into a national security crisis.
Mr Bell, who is now acting chief, said on Monday that police expected protesters to be peaceful and leave after three days. He also felt that the police had not properly prepared for the impacts the protests would have on residents.
Chief Sloly resigned from his post on February 15, a day after the Emergencies Act was invoked. He then invoked a “growing lack of confidence” in his leadership and in his work, which led to a delay in the arrival of reinforcements.
Mr. Sloly is due to testify Friday at the public hearings of the Rouleau Commission in Ottawa.