Evidence of meeting #9 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 laws.
A video is available from Parliament.
8:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Right.
Did they offer tow trucks because the Prime Minister of Canada had told the President of the United States that our problem was that we didn't have any?
8:40 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
The problem was that we weren't able to move all the people and all the trucks.
8:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Right. The United States offered you tow trucks.
8:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Were they American tow trucks that came to tow Canadian vehicles away?
8:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Right. At that time, however, the Emergencies Act had not yet been invoked.
8:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Right.
Apart from the tow trucks issue, did you take part in the decision-making process for reopening the Ambassador Bridge?
8:40 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
No. It was a police operation.
8:40 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
It was the Ontario Provincial Police.
8:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Right.
Did it work with the Windsor Police Service?
8:40 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
A little, yes. We received a request for assistance from the mayor of Windsor, but I think most of the police officers who participated in the operation belonged to the Ontario Provincial Police.
8:40 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
I believe so.
8:40 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
What is the difference between the operation of reopening the Ambassador Bridge and the one that took place here to unfreeze Wellington Street, we might say, apart from the call from the President of the United States and the fact that it was an international bridge?
8:45 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
You want to know the difference...
June 7th, 2022 / 8:45 p.m.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Yes. Except for the use of the American tow trucks that came to tow the trucks, what were the different powers that made it possible to resolve the situation there and that could not be exercised on Wellington Street? In fact, I still can't believe that Canada requested help from American tow trucks, but it seems to be true. I understand that there were barbecues and even a hot tub to be moved, on Wellington Street, and that might have called for different methods, in logistical terms.
What was different in the case of the Ambassador Bridge?
8:45 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
I'm not an expert on police operations, I'm a public servant. I think the protest in Ottawa was on a larger scale and more powers and tools were needed to move all the people and trucks.