Yes.
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.
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.
9:40 p.m.
A voice
Yes.
9:40 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
I know that he is the Director of the Parliamentary Protective Service, but I don't know him personally.
9:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
After he called your office, why didn't you call back?
9:40 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
It was because the appropriate protocol would involve politician to politician, not police to politician. We referred his call to Mr. Kanellakos's office, who I believe—if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Kanellakos—referred it to Chief Sloly.
9:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
In my view, the City of Ottawa has demonstrated a great deal of incompetence in this entire matter.
You have admitted that it was a mistake not to have closed Wellington Street and not blocked it off.
You must also have had an emergency plan identifying the infrastructures. I understand that was the first time you heard anything about Mr. Brookson and that you had no contacts with the Parliamentary Precinct. Moreover, your emergency plan didn't provide for any discussion or joint committees to ensure security or implement emergency plans.
It was entirely improvised. What's that all about?
9:40 p.m.
City Manager, City of Ottawa
I'm sorry, Mr. Chair, but everything that has just been said is completely incorrect. I don't agree with any of it.
Mr. Brookson is director of PPS. His people were sitting in the national capital regional command centre. His people are on Intersect, which is an Ottawa police-led intelligence group. He spoke to Chief Sloly the day that he called Mayor Watson.
I had arranged for a call with him on the next morning, but I spoke to Chief Sloly right after he spoke to Mr. Brookson, and Chief Sloly filled me in on all the details. He advised Mr. Brookson about what was happening with the operation.
Our emergency plan is there to support. Sometimes we lead it, but, in this case, police led it. Our emergency plan is designed to support police. It was a police-led operation, so this isn't a failure of the city enacting its emergency plan.
As for Mr. Brookson, I didn't hear all of this testimony about putting a statement out there that he never got a call from the mayor or from the city manager and that he wasn't aware of the situation or where it was on the ground. I have a hard time believing that given that he spoke to Chief Sloly half an hour before Chief Sloly spoke to me, and Chief Sloly told me that he had briefed him completely on what the situation was on the ground.
9:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
When you send us your emergency plan, what are we going to see about relations with Parliament and the plans in place to protect Parliament from things like crowds getting out of control?
9:40 p.m.
City Manager, City of Ottawa
Yes, it was exactly as I answered earlier. There aren't clear protocols between the city and federal institutions for the national capital, but there are protocols between police, the parliamentary precinct, RCMP and OPP. That's where the protocols are, and they're strong, but the city doesn't have institution-to-institution protocols with the federal government.
9:45 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
I was talking about a plan, not a meeting.
9:45 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you, Senator Carignan. Unfortunately, your time is up.
The final speaker this evening is Senator Harder, for three minutes.
9:45 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Do you really want to share three minutes, with one and a half minutes each?
9:45 p.m.
Senator, Ontario, PSG
Definitely. I'll begin right away.
Very briefly, Mr. Watson, it seems, in the discussion, that it was almost like the Province of Ontario wasn't willing to co-operate as long as Chief Sloly was in office and that the co-operation seemed miraculously available once he was out.
Am I oversubscribing to the notion of something going on?
9:45 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
I can't answer that because I don't have an answer on that. I think there was concern raised, I know, at the provincial level and the federal level about our ability to do this on our own and where the plan was going to eventually end.
At the end of the whole process, it worked out. No one was killed. No one was seriously injured. The area was cleaned out. A number of people were arrested, and hundreds of charges were laid, but I don't have the information that would back you up.
9:45 p.m.
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
I just want to close off the last minute and a half on the risk of counterprotest.
Mr. Fleury, from your riding and others.... I know people who lived in the area. They were getting very impatient. Was there a plan in place for any risk of counterprotest? For instance, if the police didn't do something, the community members were going to.
9:45 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
Maybe Kim can speak to it.
I know there were a number of counterprotests, particularly at Riverside Drive in the south end. The police discouraged them because these took resources away from the main problem, but, at the end of the day, I admire the individuals who stood up to a lot of pickup trucks, and they got them out of the area. There were other walks done through the community in Centretown. Again, we don't want to see anyone in a situation like that put themselves at risk.
9:45 p.m.
Mayor, City of Ottawa
Absolutely, yes, and it spreads the resources that were already thin even thinner.
9:45 p.m.
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
Mr. Ayotte, do you want to just close out with your comments?
9:45 p.m.
General Manager, Emergency and Protective Services, City of Ottawa
Sure, thank you.
I think the mayor covered it quite well. We did have communication plans to try to communicate to the public not to have counterprotests because these do take police resources away from where they need to be, and it is dangerous. It's dangerous for them. We did see a few. However, they were managed by the police.
9:45 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you, Senator Boniface.
Mr. Fleury, Mr. Kanellakos, Mr. Ayotte and Mr. Watson, thank you for coming this evening.
That ends our evening of questions.
I would remind the committee members that next week, our meeting will be on Thursday, November 3, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The witnesses we will be welcoming include Commissioner Carrique, of the Ontario Provincial Police, as well as two representatives from the Ottawa Police Service, interim chief, Mr. Steve Bell, and his acting deputy chief, Ms. Patricia Ferguson.
As that seems to work for everyone and no one has any comments, I'd like to thank you and wish you a good evening.
The meeting is adjourned.