(OTTAWA) The trucks could have been cleared from downtown Ottawa a week after their arrival if all levels of government had cooperated, Mayor Jim Watson said during his testimony to the Commission on Emergency Measures, tuesday. He and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau then shared their frustration with the inaction of Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Updated yesterday at 6:17 p.m.
An account of their discussion held on February 8 was entered into evidence by the Commission’s lead counsel. It was a little over a week after the arrival of the “freedom convoy” in the federal capital. It is not a verbatim transcript of their conversation, but it does give a good idea of their reaction to the approach taken by the Ford government, which refused to interfere.
“Doug Ford is evading his responsibilities for political reasons as you pointed out,” said Mr. Trudeau during this telephone conversation with Mayor Watson on February 8. “It’s important not to let him get away with it and we intend to support you on that,” he continued.
“If they continue to drag their feet, I’ll be happy to remind them,” replied Mr. Watson, referring to several members of the Ontario government. It would be nice to have something concrete from the federal government to shame them. Ford didn’t even bother to come [à Ottawa] to see what is happening. »
The mayor was then trying to obtain 1,800 additional police officers to help the Ottawa Police Service, which was completely overwhelmed. He was then frustrated that the OPP had been dispatched to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, and not to Ottawa. Premier Ford had even refused to participate in a federal-provincial-municipal tripartite table.
During his testimony, Mayor Watson expressed his dissatisfaction with the slowness of the Ontario government and the federal government to respond to his calls for help, especially as the participants of the “freedom convoy” were demonstrating against the health measures and the obligation to vaccinate, of provincial and federal responsibility.
We could have solved this problem at the end of the first week instead of the third week.
Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
However, he avoided elaborating on the political reasons which, in his opinion, would have explained the reluctance of Premier Doug Ford, a Progressive Conservative, to get involved. City manager Steve Kanellakos had indicated the day before that the Ontario premier felt it was more of a law enforcement problem and therefore it was up to the police to deal with it. to occupy.
Called to react before question period, the Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, defended the reaction of the federal government while refraining from blaming the province. “The situation at the seat of the federal government on Wellington Street […] was practically ungovernable and that is why we invoked the Emergency Measures Act “, he said.
Mayor Watson was pleased that she allowed the Town to finally get tow trucks. All the companies contacted had initially refused to cooperate, in particular for security issues.
The federal government refuses to appoint an independent mediator
It became apparent fairly quickly that the Ottawa police were not up to the job. The mayor indicated that a group of criminal bikers from Quebec had settled near the Rideau shopping center without giving further details.
Hundreds of trucks and thousands of people paralyzed downtown Ottawa. Mayor Watson says ‘no one took seriously’ an email from one of the truck convoy organizers sent days before the protest to the president of the hotel association demanding 10,000 hotel rooms for a period of 30 to 90 days. Information from organizers was constantly changing, he said, and it seemed unrealistic, since the total number of hotel rooms in the entire city is 11,000.
Under pressure, city councilors tried to find a solution while the Ontario government refused to interfere. This is how the idea of asking the federal government to appoint an independent mediator to resolve the crisis was suggested. A motion was drafted, but it was never brought to city council for a vote.
When consulted, the Minister of Civil Protection, Bill Blair, and Minister Mendicino made their refusal known very quickly to Mayor Watson’s office. “This idea was not supported at all by the federal government,” he said.
In his opening statement last week, the federal government’s lawyer said “careful consideration was given to all options” before resorting as a last resort to the Emergency Measures Act.
The State of Emergency Commission must determine whether the government was right to use this law for the first time in its history to end the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa and the blockades of border crossings elsewhere in the country . This is one of the two safeguards provided for in this legislation adopted in 1988.
Premier Ford was not invited to testify at the Commission. However, two senior Ontario government officials appear on the witness list.