Declaration of Emergency Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2022

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I am familiar with Barry, yes.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

He indicated in previous testimony at this committee that there was no evidence of any illegal funding of the convoy, and that most donors seemed to be ordinary people simply fed up with COVID restrictions. Do you accept that?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I accept that was Barry's evidence.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Right.

You'd agree with me that another example of the dangers of misinformation occurred on February 6, when a downtown apartment dweller published a Twitter thread in which he described a pair of self-identified convoy protesters turned arsonists entering his building, taping up the door handles in the lobby, and then trying to burn the whole place down in a pyromaniac act of mass murder.

Are you familiar with that particular incident?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I am not, sir, no.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

This thread went viral, including from mainstream politicians and journalists. The man arrested by the OPS confirmed that the fire had absolutely nothing to do with the protesters, that the author had made it all up.

However, that didn't stop politicians and the media from exaggerating it, including members of this committee. In fact, former mayor Watson jumped on the bandwagon, claiming that this event “clearly demonstrates the malicious intent” of the truckers' convoy. Journalists called it “bone-chilling” and “horrifying”. The NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, and MP Charlie Angus cited the story as proof that the protester wanted to “overthrow the government”. CBC Radio invited the author of the hoax on its radio program. Former minister—

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Mr. Brock, your time is up.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Thank you.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Ms. Bendayan, you have three minutes.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

The violence, and even the arson that my colleague Mr. Brock referred to, likely would not have occurred if we were not a city under siege in Ottawa at the time.

Mr. Carrique, I would like to ask a question with respect to something you said earlier. If I understood your testimony correctly, you indicated that without the Emergencies Act, you probably would have had police officers operate tow trucks. It would have taken longer, but you're not sure how long. Therefore, the Emergencies Act allowed for a quicker resolution of the situation.

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

No. I think maybe I miscommunicated or you misheard it. I did not say that it would have resulted in...with the absence of the Emergencies Act. I did indicate that we had a contingency plan, if we found ourselves in a position that the tow truck operators refused to provide the services we were asking them to provide.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

That contingency plan would have taken longer.

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

That contingency plan would have taken longer, yes.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

You also indicated in earlier testimony that you anticipated this blockade to last between five days and 10 days, when in fact it lasted three weeks.

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

No. Again, I'm sorry if you misunderstood my testimony. I never indicated that the blockade or protest would last five to 10 days. We anticipated that it would take five to 10 days to execute an operational plan.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Then why is it that you did not start earlier? The people of Ottawa were waiting for three weeks in order to regain access to their city and their freedoms. I think everybody around this table has trouble understanding why action appears to have been taken only around the weekend of February 10.

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

It's unfortunate that you have that perception. First and foremost, I am not the head of the police service of jurisdiction. I have a provincial mandate to assist the police service of jurisdiction when asked to do so.

We immediately provided assistance, from January 28 moving forward, with providing the assets that were requested—from frontline officers to public order, to critical incident commander, to provincial liaison team members—escalating to the point where we actually got involved in assisting with the development of the operational plan.

Those questions are best posed to the Ottawa police, with all due respect.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

So it's a failure of the Ottawa police.

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I did not say it was a failure of the Ottawa police. I've already shared my sentiments on what a failure looks like. It would involve serious injury, potentially death, and severe damage to critical infrastructure.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Ambulances were not able to get to the hospital, sir. Cancer patients were not able to get treatment. There were incidents of violence on the streets of Ottawa, and people were afraid to leave their homes.

Is that not enough?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

Is that not enough for what?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Apparently, it was not enough for you, sir. I fail to understand what you consider to rise to the level of violence or of importance.

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

You didn't ask me about what rises to a level of importance or violence; you asked me if it was a failure of the Ottawa police. I do not agree that it was a failure of the Ottawa police.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Is that because nobody died?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

They were challenged. They were stretched. They were at their capacity. They required assistance to resolve—