National Post (National Edition)
We didn't ask for Emergencies Act, police chief says
Ottawa top cop confirms as Liberals defend it
OTTAWA • With another police chief saying they didn't ask for the federal government's Emergencies Act, Liberal cabinet ministers are continuing to insist the move was necessary to clear the Freedom Convoy from Ottawa's streets.
The convoy protests blocked large swaths of Ottawa's downtown for weeks earlier this year. This included Wellington Street, which runs in front of Parliament Hill and was blockaded by trucks.
A parliamentary committee is weighing whether Wellington Street and other nearby streets that currently fall under the City of Ottawa's jurisdiction should be in the hands of the federal government.
Speaking at that committee Tuesday, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer asked Ottawa police Chief Steve Bell if he had asked directly for the government to invoke the Emergencies Act.
Bell said they didn't ask for the act.
“We were involved in conversations with our partners and with the political ministries. We didn't make a direct request for the Emergencies Act.”
Scheer also questioned why police forces, politicians and the media had used the term occupation, noting that the protesters did not break into any buildings.
Bell said no buildings were seized by the group, but also told Scheer he shouldn't minimize what happened.
“That wasn't part of what we saw. What we did see was, we actually saw the streets occupied with trucks, with vehicles, with people that were terrorizing our community,” he said. “It's important that we try not to minimize the impact.”
Bell is the second police official to confirm his force didn't ask for the invocation of the Emergencies Act, after RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki revealed the same detail last week to another parliamentary committee studying the invocation of the act.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said police forces told them they needed powers to protect, powers contained within the act.
“We explored specific examples of what those powers might look like and sought the advice of law enforcement. They gave us feedback on precisely what those powers were and following that advice, we invoked the Emergencies Act.”
Mendicino said in an interview police forces were overwhelmed and he highlighted a letter from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police that spoke of the need for the act.
“This was unprecedented in terms of what this was in the way of a public order emergency, like unprecedented means no other example.”
To underscore that point, Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen asked RCMP deputy commissioner Michael Duheme about a hold and secure order placed on the precinct during the protest.
Duheme said that had never happened before.
The question of what happens to the precinct now that the convoy has left is supposed to be the committee's main focus. Some have already called for the federal government to take over Wellington Street, including the policing and security.
Months after the convoy left, Wellington Street is still closed to most traffic, with only House of Commons vehicles and deliveries able to use the route.
Bell said if the street is transferred to the federal government, there will have to be clear lines of authority and rules for co-operation. Long before the convoy, Ottawa police have used dump trucks and large snow plows to act as barriers. Bell said it is time for a less ad hoc approach.
“There are several infrastructure investments like bollards around streets that can easily limit the movement of vehicles through different areas that I would hope would be a key and important part of this,” he said.
The government is planning a massive redevelopment of several buildings across from Parliament Hill, eventually moving some MPs and senators into new offices there.
Public Services Minister Filomena Tassi said up to 50 per cent of MPs will eventually work in those new buildings.
She said Wellington Street has long been the border between Parliament and the rest of Ottawa, but after this change it will essentially cut right through it.
She didn't reveal a specific opinion on the issue of expanding the precinct, but said it could be time to address many problems.
“With a new sense of urgency to address security in the precinct there is an opportunity to deal with long-standing issues around governance more broadly.”