Evidence of meeting #16 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was police.
A video is available from Parliament.
6:50 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
All right. Let's vote.
I move that we suspend the meeting now, 15 minutes before the vote.
6:50 p.m.
Liberal
Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON
My counter-proposition is that we suspend for about 90 seconds so that we can vote online.
Considering, Monsieur Fortin, that seemingly everyone in this committee room, on different days, is emphasizing the need to get on with the work of this committee, let's get on with the work of the committee.
6:50 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
We all agree on the idea of getting on with our work, but I have to make sure the members can vote.
Since you are challenging my ruling, I will ask the joint clerk to conduct the vote.
6:50 p.m.
The Joint Clerk of the Committee Mr. Mark Palmer
Shall the ruling of the chair be sustained?
(Ruling of the chair sustained: yeas 5; nays 3)
6:50 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
We will now suspend until the end of the vote.
Then we will continue with the last two witnesses, who will give their opening statements.
7:20 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
We suspended at 6:52 p.m., and it is now 7:22. Unless the committee objects, the meeting, which was to end at 9:30, will end at 10 o'clock.
Barring any objections, that is what I consider is the committee's wish.
Kim Ayotte, you have the floor for five minutes.
7:20 p.m.
Kim Ayotte General Manager, Emergency and Protective Services, City of Ottawa
Good evening, Chair and committee.
Thank you for inviting me here today. I look forward to answering your questions and assisting the committee in whatever way I can.
I'm the general manager of emergency and protective services for the City of Ottawa. As such, I oversee approximately 2,500 staff. I'm supported by the city's director of public safety services, the director of by-law and regulatory services, the fire chief and the fire and the paramedic services, all of whom report directly to me. Previously, I was the chief of the Ottawa Fire Services before being promoted to my current position. As the general manager of emergency and protective services, I report to the city manager, Steve Kanellakos.
Before I answer your questions, I thought I could best assist the committee by providing it with an overview of the city's emergency operations centre, the EOC. The EOC was central to the city's efforts during the “freedom convoy”. The EOC receives information from all city departments and convenes and monitors emergency situations once the situation is brought to our attention. During an emergency situation, the EOC status may escalate from “monitoring” to “enhanced”, from “enhanced” to “activated”, and then from “activated” to “a state of emergency”. This exact progression took place during the “freedom convoy”.
The EOC is staffed by duty officers from each of the city's departments. The EOC operates under the oversight of the emergency operations centre control group, which is chaired by the city manager, Mr. Kanellakos. The city is also a member of the national capital regional command centre, the NCRCC. The NCRCC includes representatives from the RCMP, OPP, Ottawa Police Service and Parliamentary Protective Service.
The NCRCC acts as an area command during an active multi-agency police operation in the region. The NCRCC was mobilized on January 28, 2022, to respond to the “freedom convoy”. The Ottawa Police Service led the NCRCC incident command and was thus the lead agency during the protest in Ottawa.
With that structure in mind, I want to now turn to the city's role during the “freedom convoy”. The handling of the “freedom convoy” fell within the incident management of the Ottawa Police Service. The city's role—and mine—was to support the OPS to mitigate the impact of the protest on residents and businesses. The goal of the city was to get the convoy in and out of the city as soon as possible. To this end, we responded to the operational decisions made by the Ottawa police.
For example, on January 29, 2022, the Ottawa police instructed bylaw officers to not ticket or tow vehicles in the red zone without police approval. Later, bylaw officers and other city personnel and services were directed not to enter the hot zone—or the red zone—without police escort, due to safety concerns.
Despite our efforts and those of the Ottawa police, the protests had a grave impact on our city's communities and social services. Thus, routes had to be rerouted, and some individuals receiving care at home had to be relocated. The city also had to work with convoy organizers to maintain an emergency lane throughout the downtown for emergency service vehicles throughout the relevant period. The city experienced both setbacks and successes throughout this period.
From my perspective, the city learned some valuable lessons from the convoy demonstration. The city's response to “Rolling Thunder” is a prime example. Before the “freedom convoy” occurred, the city did not install traffic barriers after it was advised not to by Ottawa police. However, when we became aware of the “Rolling Thunder” protest, we worked with Ottawa police to block roads to the downtown core based on knowledge gained from the “freedom convoy”. I suspect that in the future these types of efforts will be invaluable in preventing an event like the “freedom convoy” from occurring again.
I am pleased to be here today to share lessons learned with you. I look forward to answering your questions.
Thank you very much.
7:25 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you.
I want to advise the committee that we have received a special request from Mr. Watson, who wishes to make a 10‑minute presentation. Personally, I have no objection, and I believe everyone is in agreement.
Mr. Watson, you have the floor for 10 minutes.
7:25 p.m.
Jim Watson Mayor, City of Ottawa
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Members of the Senate and House of Commons, it is a pleasure for me to be here in my capacity as mayor of the City of Ottawa.
I'm mayor for the next 18 days and four hours and three minutes and two seconds.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you. I recently appeared before Justice Rouleau and the Public Order Emergency Commission on October 18, 2022.
I strongly believe and hope that the important work done by the commission and this joint committee will help prevent this city's residents and those of other Canadian cities from ever having to endure such a horrendous occupation.
In the past 25 years, I have had the privilege of representing the residents of Ottawa at Queen's Park and City Hall.
As mayor of the City of Ottawa, I've witnessed the city's residents triumph over a number of extraordinary challenges, particularly, as we all dealt with in our own communities, COVID-19.
In recent years in Ottawa this included events like the record flooding of the Ottawa River in 2017 and 2019, which forced many of our residents to evacuate their homes. In-between the two floods Ottawa and its surrounding areas were wracked by a tornado that toppled power lines and homes, and as you may recall, just this summer, residents endured a thunderstorm that destroyed tens of thousands of trees and property throughout the region, and left tens of thousands without power for days and in many instances, weeks.
The arrival of the truck convoy in January 2022 and the ensuing occupation of our city was another threat to the safety and security of our residents.
The Ottawa Police Service and the city have done a good job of working together on many occasions to protect the city in numerous crises over the years.
Trucks first started arriving in Ottawa, in front of the Parliament buildings, in fact, on January 27, 2022. I recall seeing a few trucks parked on city streets while additional trucks arrived the following day.
After the first weekend of protest, it became clear to me that Ottawa's police service had lost Wellington Street. A protest had ended and an occupation began.
Let me start by setting the table for MPs and senators and members of the public. Can you imagine a similar truck convoy demonstration taking over your downtown city or village? Can you imagine me showing up in your hometown with these demonstrators, rubbing shoulders with them, taking pictures of them, bringing them coffee and Timbits? Can you imagine how disgusting and disrespectful that would have been to your residents if their own community was under siege from the 24-7 noise and fumes over a three-week period?
As mayor I was in regular communication with the OPS as requested throughout the time frame of the convoy. I understood almost immediately that the OPS required additional resources.
On January 3 I received a call from the Prime Minister. I explained that additional officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were necessary. From then onward I continued to push for assistance from our federal and provincial partners. On February 3, 2022, I spoke to Minister Mendicino and impressed upon him the need for additional resources. On February 7, at the request of the Ottawa Police Services Board, my office prepared and I co-signed a letter with the chair of the board seeking those additional resources. The letter was addressed to the Prime Minister, Minister Mendicino, Premier Ford and then Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. The purpose of the letter was very clear: Ottawa required more resources to bring an end to the protest.
That action was extraordinary because the chief of police normally makes this type of request to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and to the Ontario Provincial Police.
I agreed to sign these letters. I was told that the OPS was not successful in its request to obtain more police officers.
At around the same time I'd also declared a state of emergency in the City of Ottawa. While the declaration did not provide my office with any new substantial powers, I believe it was symbolically important. It relayed to our residents and to the country that the City of Ottawa was in fact under siege and could not end the occupation on our own.
I also participated in meetings with our federal partners. As I've mentioned previously, the Province of Ontario regrettably declined to take part in this dialogue of the tripartite committee. In these meetings, I echoed our request for more police resources to support the OPS in its efforts to reclaim our city.
As you know, on February 14, 2022, the Emergencies Act was invoked for the first time since its passing in 1988. Although the federal government did not consult me on its use, I fully supported and fully support the introduction of the Emergencies Act. Up until that point it was not clear to me that the earlier police efforts would be successful in bringing about a peaceful end to such a massive demonstration.
I take this opportunity to remind honourable members of the joint committee that the combined presence of these vehicles, these hundreds of 18-wheelers and smaller vehicles, felt like an overpowering and threatening armada to the residents of Ottawa.
I believe that the biggest challenge during the protest was the inability to move the trucks that embedded themselves on our streets. The Emergencies Act resolved this issue by forcing tow truck companies to provide towing vehicles.
In the end more than 1800 officers—which we asked for—came to Ottawa under OPS command, including officers from the OPP, RCMP and a number of municipal police forces from as far away as Alberta. Ottawa residents will be forever grateful to those men and women in uniform who came to the aid of our city during the unlawful occupation.
The occupation of our city was a horrific experience for people who lived in the downtown core and was unlike anything our city has ever faced before. It affected those who work in the downtown core and call it home, our tourists who want to visit the Parliament Buildings, and the local businesses that depend on peace and stability for their livelihoods. It's had long-lasting impacts on some of our residents' mental and physical health, and has had a detrimental impact on our tourism industry.
I want to share a few examples, in conclusion.
The first example I want to cite is that of Montfort Hospital.
It is very important to our community and it had to put staff in hotel rooms nearby to avoid significant traffic delays, which ultimately affected their shifts over a two-week stretch. It led to a steep decline in activity in the emergency room, which impacted their patients negatively.
As well, 13 families who travel to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario for cancer therapy were impacted by the convoy. They had to either delay or reschedule their treatment. A CHEO spokesperson described the occupation as “unnecessary stress on top of what is already...a stressful situation for kids and their families...whose treatments are critical for their best outcomes”.
A local media outlet reported on February 1 that an anonymous downtown resident had been “living a nightmare in her home just minutes away from Parliament Hill”, and that “Constant honking and noise outside her building, as well as the smell of diesel fuel, [had] left her sleepless.” The woman said, “It makes me so depressed and so sad that these people care so little about people like me, or people who are disabled...”.
The Public Order Emergency Commission heard the testimony of a legally blind resident in the downtown core who described the hardship she experienced during the occupation. This included difficulty getting around due the constant noise as well as hearing loss as a result of the extremely loud blaring of horns for days on end.
United Way East Ontario and 35 of its social service agencies studied the impacts of the occupation on the vulnerable and marginalized communities. Most notably, the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region noted that more than half their calls during the 24-hour period were from residents in distress or in crisis. Additionally, and this is very, very sad, 12% of their clients had thoughts of suicide as a result of the events that unfolded.
And yet, Ottawa's residents were as resilient as they had been in the past and will be in the future.
Mr. Chair, I'm now ready to answer the committee's questions.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear and to express the views of city council members and residents of the City of Ottawa.
7:35 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you, Mr. Watson.
We will now go to the first round of questions, during which each speaker will have the floor for five minutes.
Mr. Motz, the floor is yours.
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
Deputy Chief Bell, when he was asked at the commission about the meeting with protesters, said, “I truly believed it took the temperature of the protest down and that was a good outcome”.
Mr. Kanellakos, you were on the ground. You were a city official who actually met with the protesters. Do you think it would have had an additional cooling effect if someone—anyone—from the federal government had met with the main organizers and heard their grievances? After all, they were here to meet with the government, and the federal government would have heard their concerns with the federal mandates and restrictions and how those were impacting their livelihoods.
Do you think it would have had an impact on the protesters?
7:35 p.m.
City Manager, City of Ottawa
Mr. Chair, it's hard to speculate on whether it would have or not. That certainly was their objective. I mean, the objective when they met with me, when Ottawa police brought them over, was—and they were quite clear about this—was that they felt that meeting with Mayor Watson ultimately, if they could fulfill their end of the bargain, would demonstrate and put pressure on other levels of government to be able to meet them.
That's what they were seeking. That was their ultimate goal.
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
Fair enough. You're right. That was their ultimate goal, and unfortunately....
Mr. Mayor, I want to go to a statement that your chief of staff made. There was a text sent back and forth to the Minister of Public Safety. This is from your chief of staff, Mr. Arpin, to Minister Mendicino: “I assume that you must understand how spectacularly ridiculous the contention is that we could be meeting with them when your level of government trots out a number of ministers to denigrate the demonstrators and let them know that dialogue is impossible with the Government of Canada in the context of a demonstration targeting the government of Canada but somehow we should divine that we should be meeting with them to make them feel heard. That's nauseating to say the least. But thanks for sharing frankly.”
Mr. Watson, I have a quick question for you. Those are his words. Would it be fair to say that they are reflective of how you felt at that time as well?
7:35 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
Thank you, Mr. Motz, for the question.
The bottom line is that we were all frustrated because this thing had gone on for far too long. Temperatures were bubbling up at the surface, both with protesters and with government officials.
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
The issue is about government not speaking with protesters.
7:35 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
At the end of the day, I can't direct a federal minister to speak with anyone.
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
The bottom line, Mr. Mayor, is that they put you and Mr. Kanellakos in a spot where they expected you folks to act and meet with protesters rather than them.
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
But you did meet with them. Mr. Kanellakos met with them, but not the ministers—not anybody from the government.
7:35 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
No, but we had worked on an agreement that if they moved trucks out of residential areas—which was my number one preoccupation because that was the annoyance, the frustration and the angst by the public with those trucks running 24 hours a day—and if they followed three different conditions that are in the letter that I tabled with the commission, then I would meet with organizers.
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
I understand that before the police operation took place there was an agreement in principle.
Mr. Kanellakos, let me ask you this. As one of the only people willing to meet with them or able to meet with the protest organizers, did they seem agreeable, reasonable and respectful in their dialogues with you?
7:35 p.m.
City Manager, City of Ottawa
The people I met with were reasonable and respectful towards us. We had a respectful conversation.
7:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
Thank you. I would assume that was the expectation they had, if they had been given the courtesy and respect to be met by the government, which is why they came down here in the first place.
Did you meet with.... Let me ask you this way. Was this the only occasion that you were asked by someone from the federal government to meet with the protesters?