Declaration of Emergency Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2022

[Chief Steve Bell]

Through the chair, I can get you the specific numbers. I know we do have access to those.

What I can tell you is that there was an extremely elevated number of calls. Most problematic for us was the number of 911 calls we received that were specifically intended to disrupt our 911 systems.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Thank you for reminding me of that. I had forgotten that there was a concerted effort to choke up the 911 system. That could have been extremely dangerous for the rest of the community in Ottawa. Am I correct?

[Chief Steve Bell]

That is correct. There were calls that did choke up our system. What I think is also important to recognize in that is the hardship our members suffered through that. There were people on the end of those calls in our communications centre who received those and who were greatly impacted by their conversations and interactions with the people who were calling in.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Very quickly, I just want to confirm again—and you mentioned this in your opening comments—that the Ottawa Police Service did use the powers that were granted in the Emergencies Act, and that helped you put an end to that occupation.

[Chief Steve Bell]

We did leverage the authorities in the act and utilize them in ending the occupation, yes.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Thank you very much.

We'll now move to Madame Normandin.

You have five minutes.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I thank our two witnesses.

I'd like to ask them about the tow trucks since they mentioned them in their opening remarks.

I understand that Transport Canada had prepared a plan during the crisis that would have allowed the trucks that were blocking the streets of Ottawa to be moved without the need for emergency measures.

Is that correct?

[Chief Steve Bell]

I'm unfamiliar with that plan. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but I've never heard of that before.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

So you are saying that, to your knowledge, if there was a plan, it was not shared with the police.

[Chief Steve Bell]

It was not sent in any area that I would have or did receive.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

From your side, were there any questions as to what recourse would be available to get the trucks moved without the need for emergency measures?

[Chief Steve Bell]

Absolutely. What I can tell you is that in the very early days into this, how to leverage and access tow trucks was discussed as part of the planning. We looked at different options. As you have heard in testimony through the Emergencies Act inquiry, there have been several instances describing the great lengths to which we went to try to access tow trucks.

That was identified as one of the key challenges for us, and with the invocation of the act, that barrier was removed for us.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

I understand that this is a barrier that was lifted, but, more specifically, did you analyze the possibilities of getting the trucks moved without even using, for example, tow trucks?

Did you analyze legal means, for example?

[Chief Steve Bell]

There were extensive conversations about alternative measures to actually move trucks. Those were considered, absolutely.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Why were these measures not put in place, if they were studied?

[Chief Steve Bell]

By the time we executed our plan, the Emergencies Act had been invoked and we were able to access the tow trucks that were necessary under the provisions of that act.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

If I understand correctly, plans were in place that could have caused the trucks to leave without the need for emergency measures, but they were not attempted because the Emergencies Act was invoked first.

[Chief Steve Bell]

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand the question. There was discussion and there were plans around how we could have alternate means to move vehicles. A range of options were considered.

Ultimately, the plan that was built was around tow trucks, and the Emergencies Act contained provisions for us to access those tow trucks.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

I will rephrase my question.

You had a plan to move the trucks that did not require the invocation of the Emergencies Act, but it was not implemented because it was invoked first.

Does it make sense to say that you had not yet exhausted all resources, since you had not yet tried all possible measures before the Emergencies Act was invoked?

[Chief Steve Bell]

The plan we built ultimately to remove the trucks was based solely on accessing tow vehicles. Other, smaller operations that had been considered would use different means to remove the vehicles, but given the scale and scope of the operation we were mounting, it was identified that it was necessary to leverage tow vehicles.

With the invocation of the Emergencies Act, any barriers that existed were removed.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

As I understand it, there were still measures available before resorting to the Emergencies Act.

[Chief Steve Bell]

There would be several different options. One of them was that the protesters could have driven out of the area on their own and left. We could have looked at accessing different ways to drive the vehicles out. There were several options. They were just determined to be unrealistic for us to use in the period during which we were undertaking the large-scale operation.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

You also talked about accounts being frozen under the Emergencies Act. When was the first account frozen?

[Chief Steve Bell]

That's going to be a question.... As I indicated, most of those investigations were done by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was a tool leveraged primarily by them, so that would be a question better directed to them, because I'm not sure of the date when that first occurred.