Evidence of meeting #19 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 industry.
A video is available from Parliament.
6:35 p.m.
Bloc
6:35 p.m.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
I have a point of order, Chair. I have no translation.
6:35 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
All right. We will check with the interpreters.
Everything is working now, Mr. Motz, and I thank you for letting me know.
Welcome to meeting number 19 of the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency, created pursuant to the order of the House of March 2, 2022, and of the Senate on March 3, 2022.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House and Senate orders.
Should any technical challenges arise, please advise me, as we may need to suspend for a few minutes to ensure that all members are able to participate fully.
Witnesses should also be aware that translation is available through the globe icon at the bottom of their screen.
The co-clerk is signalling to me that all required sound checks have been successfully completed with witnesses who are attending virtually.
I now like to welcome our panel for this evening: Drew Dilkens, mayor of the City of Windsor, and via videoconference, Jim Willett, mayor of the Village of Coutts.
Before we begin, I'd like to ask the following of the committee members. As you know, our routine motion calls for each of the witnesses to have five minutes for their opening remarks. Mr. Dilkens has asked for 10 minutes. As far as I'm concerned, I agree to give it to him, unless any member of the committee objects, in which case we will abide by the provisions of the routine motion.
Do I have the unanimous consent of the committee to give Mr. Dilkens 10 minutes for his presentation?
6:35 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
6:35 p.m.
Bloc
6:35 p.m.
Drew Dilkens Mayor, City of Windsor
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I will try to come in under the allotted time.
Mr. Chair and members of the Senate and of the House of Commons, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
On November 7 I appeared before Commissioner Rouleau and the Public Order Emergency Commission.
The illegal blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in the city of Windsor began on February 7, 2022, disrupted trade and posed a major risk to the national economy.
The blockade also had a profound negative impact on the city and its residents, schools and businesses until the matter was resolved peacefully and the bridge reopened shortly after midnight on February 14.
I want to express my profound gratitude to all members of law enforcement at the Windsor Police Service, the OPP, the RCMP and other policing partners who worked effectively together and did an exemplary job of quickly and safely clearing the illegal occupation and maintaining the security of Huron Church Road for the over $400 million in goods that travel this crossing each day.
As I testified at the commission earlier this month, I felt that as Mayor of Windsor I had the ear of both federal and provincial government representatives at the highest levels, including Minister Mendicino, Minister Blair, Ontario Solicitor General Jones, Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau. My staff was in contact with and coordinated with political staff across federal and provincial ministers' offices and the security establishment.
At the same time, the Windsor Police Service, the OPP and the RCMP worked through the appropriate chain of command to secure the resources necessary to help clear the occupation in a safe and efficient way.
The system worked as it should in response to this unprecedented blockade, which threatened the economic well-being of our entire country.
The invocation of the Emergencies Act was an unprecedented response, and while I was not consulted prior to the invocation I supported this response as it sent a clear signal that repeated attempts to blockade the Ambassador Bridge after February 14 would no longer be tolerated by Canadian officials.
No doubt this sent an important signal to our U.S. trading partners that Canadian supply chains would remain accessible and Canada would act to ensure the crossing would not be blocked again.
The City of Windsor estimates approximately $5.7 million in unforeseen costs, including extra policing costs to clear the illegal blockade and address the ongoing need to secure Huron Church Road for the benefit of the entire province, and, frankly, for the entire nation. It is unreasonable to expect municipal taxpayers to bear the financial brunt of emergencies that have provincial and national implications. The city has asked the Ontario and federal governments for financial support since March of this year, and our requests remain unfilled.
While appearing before Justice Rouleau and the Public Order Emergency Commission, I said the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge represented a new type of phenomenon, and while the City of Windsor is responsible for local infrastructure and the Windsor Police Service is capable of providing adequate and effective law enforcement to our community, there is an obvious need for broader collaboration and support from the provincial and federal governments to bolster the safety and security of our borders.
I urge members and senators to support Windsor's proposal for all three levels of government to collaboratively study and develop a long-term sustainable strategy to protect our critical border infrastructure and ensure that all three levels of government work effectively together to prevent and respond to disturbances that threaten to choke our national economy.
The planning process must include border municipalities like Windsor to ensure that any framework appropriately supports local authorities at the front line of emergency response to ensure the resulting strategy prioritizes local and community concerns, provides sufficient resources and tools for municipalities to build community resilience and responds to all hazards that may threaten critical infrastructure on their borders.
This is of particular importance when a federally regulated piece of infrastructure is in a municipal community.
Thank you for your attention, and I'm pleased to answer any questions in support of the committee's mandate.
6:40 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you, Mr. Dilkens.
In the end, you took only three minutes and 50 seconds for your opening remarks, a far cry from the 10 minutes requested. I thought I noticed that you were perhaps speaking a little quickly, but I didn't get any comments from the interpreters. Still, I'd ask you to speak a little more slowly. That way we can take the time to listen to you and make sure the interpreters understand your testimony.
We'll now listen to the opening remarks of Mr. Willett, the mayor of Coutts.
Go ahead, Mr. Willett. You have five minutes.
6:40 p.m.
Jim Willett Mayor, Village of Coutts
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good evening, everyone. It's an honour to be here.
I don't have a political statement to give you. I will just quickly run through the bullet points on what went on for the 18 days of the protest and blockade here in Coutts.
My name is Jim Willett. I am the mayor of Coutts. I've been a resident since 2013. I've been a member of village council for five years and mayor for four years.
The village of Coutts, as you know, is located in southern Alberta at the border. Coutts does not have its own amenities, aside from a convenience store, a restaurant and a bank. The village is policed by provincial RCMP. A detachment of four RCMP officers in the town of Milk River services the village of Coutts.
On the afternoon of January 26, I saw a social media post promoting “slow roll” protests in Alberta. On January 27, about two days prior to the border blockade, I saw another social media post stating that there would be an attempt to block the border as part of the protests.
On January 27 I wrote to the Solicitor General, at the time Sonya Savage, to advise her of the planned protest. I got a call the next morning from a spokesperson in the Solicitor General's office, who explained that the RCMP was aware of the situation and I didn't have anything to worry about.
On January 29 the convoy drove up to the Coutts border crossing. I observed the RCMP escorting the convoy to the eventual location of the blockade, the intersection with Highway 500, which is 1.3 kilometres north of the border crossing. Here the convoy made a U-turn and returned back north up Highway 4, but about 45 minutes later, vehicles drove onto the median and ditches and blocked the road.
My first concern and responsibility, of course, was emergency access, both incoming and outgoing, for fire and ambulance service for the residents of Coutts and the surrounding area, as our volunteer fire department covers all the outlying areas here.
After the first couple of days, for about five days traffic was intermittently allowed to have single-lane access at different times north and south, a few trucks at a time. Truckers who had been blocked in were allowed to leave.
On February 3 I visited Smuggler's Saloon and met with protesters. That's not an active bar. I didn't go for a beer. I should add that Smuggler's Saloon is a vacant business that became the de facto headquarters for the Coutts protesters. The protest group appeared quite chaotic and without clear leadership. The spokesperson told me that the protesters did not have a clear plan and that there was no clear leadership structure at that time.
At one point, early on the evening of February 3, 2022, Artur Pawlowski, a pastor from Calgary, came to Coutts and preached a sermon that strengthened the protesters' resolve. As a result, the lane of traffic was open for only a few hours. After Mr. Pawlowski's speech, tractors came in and blocked traffic again.
On February 4 I again attended Smuggler's. While I was there, I met a lawyer who was advising the protesters. They thought they were legal because they were letting traffic through a single lane. He advised them that they were not legal protesters.
I met with protesters a third time, on February 5, when I went to Smuggler's Saloon with Glen Motz, member of Parliament, and Lorne Buis, mayor of the Village of Foremost, Alberta.
I contracted COVID on the 8th and had no more in-person meetings.
I was advised by protesters that after the RCMP's raid on February 14 and the seizure of a firearms cache at a residence, they had met at Smuggler's Saloon and decided to bring the blockade to an end. There were rumours on their social media that the Emergencies Act would be invoked. They were talking about losing businesses and losing the right to travel and so on.
I was in regular communication by phone and text message with Rajan Sawhney, the Minister of Transport at the time. The minister wanted to come to Coutts, but she told me “the boss won't clear it”.
On February 4 I had a call with Premier Kenney. The conversation generally related to the pandemic response, the federal government's removal of vaccination exemptions for truckers and how that seemed to be the tipping point for the protests initially.
Most of my village's population is elderly. Many residents found it intimidating to have to go through the protest area to travel to Milk River to access essential services. At times, however, residents had to drive off-road and into the ditch to get around protesters. Several elderly residents were very frightened when they were forced to go through the protest area, or they simply stayed at home.
One resident, a veteran of Afghanistan who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, had to leave town during the protest, as it triggered her PTSD.
During the first few days, the local school bus didn't run as the bus driver was unwilling to make the trip. Similarly, courier services were occasionally unable to cross the protest area. At least one local business, which ships cattle, was unable to operate during the blockade.
The blockade greatly disrupted everyday life in Coutts. The village of Coutts has become more polarized as a result of the protest.
On a personal note, I received one death threat during the relevant time period related to the protest activity, and received a few other threatening phone calls. At one point, I found a truck parked outside of my home, with someone taking photos. I brought this to the RCMP's attention.
If I might take 30 seconds longer, I am also the chair of a regional economic development initiative, and this cost us millions and millions of dollars in cross-border traffic at that time.
Anyway, that's a whirlwind overview of what I saw in my 18 days of protests.
I thank you for the opportunity.
6:45 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you, Mr. Willett.
We'll now begin the first round of questions.
Mr. Brock, you have the floor for five minutes.
November 24th, 2022 / 6:45 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good evening and thank you to both mayors for your attendance today and for your participation in this important study.
I would like to start off with you, Mayor Dilkens. I'm going to start off with a statement that seems so obvious, but I think it bears repeating.
As an elected official, as you are and as I am, you represent the people who supported you and voted for you in the same fashion as you do for those who did not.
In your particular case, you represent all the citizens of your city; those who followed health measures and those who protested against health measures. While you may not personally agree with the positions of those who protested, you respected their minority opinions nevertheless.
You did not demonize those individuals. You did not stigmatize those individuals. You didn't call them names. You didn't call them racists or misogynists, or use the type of language that any elected official shouldn't be using to those who you don't agree with, unlike our Prime Minister. Our Prime Minister used that very divisive language. You specifically stayed away from that language and you didn't pour fuel onto the flame.
Would you agree with that statement?
6:45 p.m.
Mayor, City of Windsor
I would say that it was a very difficult situation. If I went back and reviewed the 54 or 55 interviews that I conducted in the course of six days, would there be language changes I would make? Probably. However, the temperature was already hot on the ground.
This was unlike.... I have lived in Windsor my entire life—
6:50 p.m.
Mayor, City of Windsor
I attempted to stay away, to not make it any hotter and to try to find solutions to overcome a very difficult situation in Windsor.
6:50 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Right. Notwithstanding—you didn't mention this in your summary—the personal threats against you and perhaps your family, and suspicious vehicles parked outside of your house, those were isolated incidents, and you didn't use them as a springboard to demonize those who were protesting in your city. Is that correct?
6:50 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Right.
With the time I have remaining, I would like to congratulate you on your leadership, because it represented, in my view, a gold standard of how to effectively coordinate all the partners responsible for the successful ending of this protest.
You immediately knew about this event coming. You knew that the slow roll was happening in your city for a number of days. To your point, you picked up chatter on social media. You knew the temperature was rising. The moment the blockade started, you, as an effective leader, reached out to the police chief, or vice versa, and you coordinated a plan.
You asked specifically, “What do you need?” She told you, without any hesitation, “I need resources.” You asked, “How many?” She said, “100”.
You immediately went into a political dialogue with all of your contacts. That probably includes the province and the federal government. You have identified those individuals. I need not repeat that. Through that effective dialogue, you received assurances immediately that whatever Windsor needed, you would get. In fact, within a few days, you didn't get 100 additional officers; you got 500 additional officers.
Is that correct?
6:50 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Furthermore, the Ministry of Transportation provided you with all the necessary infrastructure. I think they're called Jersey markers or Jersey pylons—
6:50 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Six kilometres of Jersey barriers were immediately dispatched by the Ministry of Transportation. Is that correct?
6:50 p.m.
Mayor, City of Windsor
Yes. That took a lot of effort, because they didn't exist locally. Police, OPP and others had made a determination that they were the appropriate response in order to get the roadway leading to the Ambassador Bridge open and to maintain security.
6:50 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
In the time I have—and I don't have a lot, but I will get a second round—I want to jump to the conclusion, the conclusion I want you to agree with, hopefully.
You and your partners, with effective dialogue, with police liaising directly with the protesters, not overtly increasing the temperature, completely removed this protest without resource to anything within the federal Emergencies Act. Is that correct?
6:50 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Mr. Brock, unfortunately your time is up.
Mr. Dilkens, please answer the question in five seconds.
6:50 p.m.
Mayor, City of Windsor
The folks were removed before the Emergencies Act was invoked, but something needed to be done to send a signal so that they didn't return, and that was the biggest fear we had on our mind at the time: a return.
6:50 p.m.
Bloc
The Joint Chair Bloc Rhéal Fortin
Thank you, Mr. Dilkens.
Mr. Brock, I let you go about a minute over.
Mr. Virani, you're up next. You have the floor for five minutes.