Declaration of Emergency Committee on Oct. 6th, 2022

[Peter Sloly]

Thank you very much. Very early in the situation I received direct phone calls from deputy minister Mario Di Tommaso from the Solicitor General's office. Later that same day I actually had a conversation with Solicitor General Jones.

As that first week unfolded, there were tri-party calls on an almost daily basis involving city manager Kanellakos, deputy minister Rob Stewart from Public Safety Canada and other deputy ministers from a range of ministries. Frequently, in those calls, deputy minister Di Tommaso would represent the provincial interest. Information was shared. Resource requests were made. Comparisons around what was happening across the full theatre provincially and nationally were discussed, and there were regular lines of communication that existed among all three levels of government and involved the Province of Ontario.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

As there should be.

[Peter Sloly]

As there should be.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

I recall reading—this may have been after your time—about how, in Windsor, the Ambassador Bridge incident was taking place. In fact, if I'm correct, there were resources from the OPP taken from Ottawa in particular to go to the Ambassador Bridge.

Was that accurate reporting?

[Peter Sloly]

I'm sorry. I nodded my head in the affirmative, but I'm not aware of OPP resources that were stationed here that left to go down to Windsor. I'm not aware of that. I know the OPP had an incredible challenge managing all the resource requests that were coming in, and I want to say publicly that the work of Commissioner Carrique of the OPP and of his senior staff—I call it air traffic control of all the competing requests from across this province and across the country—was fundamental to the ultimate success of what took place in January and February.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Thank you very much, because part of it is for Canadians to understand the complexity and layers of policing in the province of Ontario and across the country. I think you've done a good job of laying it out, and I thank you for that.

Also, when you were asking for additional resources, as opposed to those being what we'll call “boots on the ground”, you actually needed different levels of expertise on a 24-hour basis to support a municipal police service that was becoming exhausted. Would that not also be correct?

[Peter Sloly]

That's absolutely correct.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Do you know how much overtime your officers did up until the point that you left, in overall numbers? We can ask others, but I—

[Peter Sloly]

Yes, I've seen a number somewhere in the range of $30 million to $35 million as a total price tag. I can't tell you where it was on February 15.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Do you know off the top of your head whether your officers were working regular-hour shifts or you were bringing in officers on overtime on a regular or daily basis?

[Peter Sloly]

They worked hard.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

They did work hard. I fully appreciate that, because one of the things that I think are most important to understand when you have a long-standing incident like that is that people wear down over time.

Would you agree with me that it's important to understand that as you talk about bringing in additional resources? What you need is fresh resources to take up and give people a rest.

[Peter Sloly]

I don't know if anybody will ever understand how hard those officers and civilian members worked.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

I appreciate that you do, and I thank you for your comments.

Senator Carignan, you have five minutes.

[Claude Carignan]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

On about February 12, how many officers did you have and what police services did they come from?

[Peter Sloly]

I'm sorry. What is the time frame that you're looking for, sir?

[Claude Carignan]

Between February 10 and 12, how many RCMP, Ottawa Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police officers did you have?

[Peter Sloly]

This is an approximation. I am aware that there are charts available that are being disclosed by the various agencies around that, including Ottawa police. I would say it's somewhere in the range of 500 to 600 officers in that time frame.

Again, that's spread over a 24-hour cycle, so it's not 500 all the time who were available. You have to divide it literally by three shifts and then apply it across the theatre that we were involved in.

[Claude Carignan]

The RCMP told us that there were about 537 RCMP officers before February 14. Is that possible?

[Peter Sloly]

It is possible, because the numbers were significantly ramping up for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me. I believe on my last day in office, the staffing numbers that I saw the morning of February 15 put it in the range of 700 to 800 officers who were available in the theatre over that 24-hour period.

Again, I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, sir.

[Claude Carignan]

Right, but before, between February 10 and 12, it was about 500 officers.

[Peter Sloly]

Again, I believe so, sir. Please understand that I just don't have the numbers.

[Claude Carignan]

Privy Council Office sent us some documents containing a situation report concerning the number of demonstrators present. This is what it says.

On February 10, it reports: "There is a light number of people all along Wellington and surrounding streets" and "Vehicles are parked in the streets all around the precinct."

On February 11, at 8:00 a.m., it reports: "Approximately 0 to 5 individuals are gathered on Parliament Hill," There is a light number of people all along Wellington and surrounding streets," "Vehicles are parked in the streets all around the precinct," and "There are 4 tents and 1 campfire in front of 90 Wellington St."

On February 11, at 8:00 p.m., it reports: "Approximately 0 to 5 individuals are gathered on Parliament Hill" and there is "a light number of people all along Wellington and surrounding streets."

On February 12, at 8:00 a.m., it reports that "approximately 0 to 5 individuals are gathered on Parliament Hill" and "There is a light number of people all along Wellington and surrounding streets."

What happened? You had 500 police officers ready to do the work needed to clear the street. There were eight people, then 12 people, four tents, and a campfire, but nothing was done?

As well, protesters have told us that on February 10 and 11, they were never asked to leave.

How do you explain that?

[Peter Sloly]

Which question do you want me to answer first, sir? Do you want me to answer the question that you put about the protesters' statements?

[Claude Carignan]

Do it in order or out of order, but I find it bizarre.