Declaration of Emergency Committee on Nov. 24th, 2022

[Jim Willett]

Yes, I believe so.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Thank you.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Thank you, Mr. Naqvi. You're out of time.

Mr. Green, can you please take the chair?

[The Joint Chair, NDP, Matthew Green]

Yes.

Go ahead, Mr. Fortin. You have three minutes.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Dilkens, I understand that you asked for 100 additional police officers to bring the protest to an end. You got 500. Do you know where they were from?

[Drew Dilkens]

They came from multiple police agencies across Ontario. There were RCMP officers who were sent to Windsor as well. I don't know where their normal detachments are. The OPP, obviously, had a very large presence. We had London police. We had police from all sorts of different police services throughout the province.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Can you tell me how long those officers stayed in your city?

[Drew Dilkens]

After the folks were cleared out on February 14, there was a very large police presence that remained for several weeks thereafter. They started to dissipate over time. I don't have direct knowledge of how many left every day, but you could see the presence diminish over a period of weeks.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Did you ever receive a request from the Ottawa Police Service, the OPP or the RCMP to send those officers or some of your officers to Ottawa?

[Drew Dilkens]

Not at that particular time, but we responded to a request to help support Ottawa, and Windsor police sent officers to Ottawa subsequent to the clearing of the blockade in Windsor.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Do you remember when that was?

[Drew Dilkens]

I'm sorry. I do not.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Was it immediately after February 14 or weeks later?

[Drew Dilkens]

It wasn't immediately thereafter, but it was within a couple of weeks—probably a week—that officers were sent.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

I see. If I understand correctly, your officers were not involved in the effort to clear Wellington Street, in Ottawa.

[Drew Dilkens]

I don't know what tasks they performed when they were in Ottawa, but it was to help support the overall effort.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

You said they came a few weeks later, so my understanding is that it wasn't in the days or weeks that followed.

Once you had cleared the Ambassador Bridge on February 14, no one at Public Safety Canada, the RCMP or anywhere else told you that the 100 or 500 officers had to go to Ottawa, because they were needed there. Is that correct?

[Drew Dilkens]

No one said that to me, but the police chief made the decision to send officers to Ottawa. I just don't know what date that decision was made.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

It wasn't at your request, either. Is that correct?

[Drew Dilkens]

That's correct.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Thank you, Mr. Dilkens.

I am back in the chair.

Go ahead, Mr. Green. You have three minutes.

[The Joint Chair, NDP, Matthew Green]

It's going to be Mr. Masse, if we could do that.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Of course.

Mr. Masse, you have three minutes. Go ahead.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Green.

Mr. Dilkens, there were other costs associated with the disruption along Huron Church Road, because there was inclement weather.

Can you describe what those costs were to the city to support the police officers and their safety there, as well as other people who were on the ground?

[Drew Dilkens]

I think all of the costs were wrapped up in the $5.7 million. That was for overtime costs, Jersey barriers, food and lodging. It really ran the gamut of expenses, including city expenses for overtime to deal with traffic control, signage and all of the things you would anticipate would be required from a municipal operation to help support a policing effort like the one that happened in Windsor.