Acting Deputy Chief of Ottawa Police Patricia Ferguson said at Thursday’s Emergencies Act inquiry hearings that tow trucks were already en route to help clear downtown Ottawa before the Emergencies Act was invoked.
Superintendent Craig Abrams of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Ferguson both mentioned a lack of confidence between liaison teams and convoy organizers throughout the protest.
Acting Deputy Chief of Ottawa Police Service Patricia Ferguson revealed at Thursday’s Emergencies Act inquiry hearings, tow trucks were already on their way to help clear downtown Ottawa.
Ferguson said the invoking of the Emergencies Act “greased the wheels” for the police to remove the protesters and increased their “confidence” in their ability to do their jobs, but Ottawa police already had tow truck drivers on the way.
Rob Kittredge, lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms questioned Ferguson on the other provisions of invoking the Act’s that allows police officers from other jurisdictions to enforce the law without being sworn in. Ferguson responded that because tow truck drivers were already on the way, citing the act simply served to allow police officers to bypass being worn in, which would have save hours of administrative paperwork.
Ferguson also mentions the threat of seizing assets and bank accounts under the Emergencies Act was “was useful but necessary”
Ferguson stated that police negotiators were “caught entirely off guard” when enforcement and arrests started happening when the Commission counsel questioned her about whether enforcement teams and police liaison teams (PLT) on the ground during the protest had coordinated in any way.
The negotiations between the police and convoy leadership, according to Ferguson, were a “win-lose scenario,” and the truckers were given one option, if they left, the police would let them go.
When did it become an occupation?
Commissioner Paul Rouleau asked Ferguson when exactly Ottawa police concluded that the Freedom Convoy protest went from being a protest to an “occupation.”
“Was there any discussion or thought given to how to allow the protest to continue in some form? It seems like it was from black to white. It was a protest until the end of the day Sunday but now it’s an occupation. Do you understand what I’m trying to get at?” Rouleau asked Ferguson.
“I’m not sure if there was any conversation about that,” Ferguson responded. “I know from a command and strategic level it was that they’re here and they’re entrenched and they’re not leaving, so that is where it switched from a protest to an occupation.”
“That caused extreme stress between the PLT team, both Ottawa Police Service and OPP PLT members, to the point where Ottawa police PLT members said, ‘you folks, you should go home. We’ve lost. We’ve lost any goodwill we were able to reach with some of the convoy organizers,” Abrams testified.
Ferguson cited former police chief Sloly’s insistence that Charter Rights be upheld and that protesters be granted entry to downtown Ottawa to protest peacefully in response to questions from counsel for the Ottawa Coalition, a collection of businesses and residents opposed to the freedom convoy.
Abrams referred to the arrival of trucks in Ottawa as a “success,” reiterating earlier evidence provided by law enforcement officers regarding the absence of criminal behaviour from the protesters and the general peacefulness of the truckers outside of Ottawa.
Some Freedom Convoy participants didn’t follow mask mandate rules while some restaurants ignored mask mandates all together.
“Overall we had no assaults. No criminality. They kept a lane of traffic open. They did what they said they would do. Didn’t damage any highways. It was a success getting them into the city of Ottawa,” Abrams said.
On Thursday, the commission also heard about how Abrams sent an email to his OPP senior officers about a call Sloly coordinated with OPS officers, letting them know that he would ask for twice as many out-of-jurisdiction officers as are necessary to put an end to the protests based on their suggestions.
“He’s asking about doubling the ask he’s requesting from other police agencies in Ontario to support what’s happening in Ottawa with no plan,” Abrams said of the call, describing it as “strange.” There is currently no plan in place for these numbers. These were only arbitrary numbers.
