Ford government slammed for 'troubling' inaction during convoy protest in Emergencies Act report

A long-awaited report on Ottawa's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act during last year's convoy protest slammed the Ford government for its "reluctance" to act, saying greater involvement would have let the public know they had "not been abandoned by their provincial government in a time of crisis."

The finding is part of a more than 200-page-long overview into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's February 2022 decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end the protests blocking downtown Ottawa's streets for nearly a month.

In it, Commissioner Paul Rouleau said, "I find the Province of Ontario's reluctance to become fully engaged in such efforts directed at resolving the situation in Ottawa troubling."

Ontario was only spurred into action after the Ambassador Bridge blockade in Windsor, Ont., and after Trudeau spoke to Premier Doug Ford on Feb. 9, weeks after the start of the protests, the report notes. 

During that conversation, Trudeau expressed frustration at how Ottawa officials were managing the protests, the report says.

Ford thought Windsor blockade was 'bigger issue'

Ford indicated he thought the Ambassador Bridge blockade was "the bigger issue," the report says.

After the blockade was cleared, Ford expressed "relief," the report says, noting the automotive and agricultural industry were "putting pressure on the premier to resolve the situation."

Rouleau's report also points to Ontario's refusal to participate in a tripartite table with the city of Ottawa and the federal government — a decision the commissioner says was based on two beliefs.

It was incumbent on the Province to become visibly, publicly, and wholeheartedly engaged from the outset.- Justice Paul Rouleau

One was the province's belief that resolving the situation was the federal government's responsibility, given the convoy was "protesting a federal vaccine mandate on Parliament's doorstep," the report quotes Ontario's deputy solicitor general, Mario Di Tommaso, as saying.

Two was Ontario's argument that the situation was a policing matter best left to the Ontario Provincial Police, the report says.

Province ultimately responsible for policing: report

On that point, Rouleau said it is the province that is ultimately responsible for effective policing in Ottawa, the report says.

"Given that the City and its police service were clearly overwhelmed, it was incumbent on the Province to become visibly, publicly, and wholeheartedly engaged from the outset."

Rouleau also pointed to a news release in which Sylvia Jones, then Ontario's solicitor general, stated more than 1,500 OPP officers had been on the ground in Ottawa since the start of the protest. In fact, the OPP had contributed just 1,500 shifts.

OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique and Di Tommaso later characterized the disclosure of these figures "as unhelpful and unwise," the report says.

On Feb. 8, Ottawa's Mayor Jim Watson spoke to Trudeau, reiterating the city's request for 1,800 officers "and expressing his continued frustration with Ontario's absence."

Trudeau agreed "Ford was shirking his responsibilities and agreed to support the city," the report says.

A day later, the city received a letter from Jones saying the city's request had been shared with the OPP's commissioner.

Watson characterized it as a "template letter."

The report contains an entire section entitled, "Ontario's absence" in which Rouleau indicates both Ontario's premier and solicitor general exercised parliamentary privilege to refuse a summons to participate in the inquiry. 

Nevertheless, the commission had a glimpse into political tensions surrounding the protests when Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's staff referenced a call with Ontario's solicitor general, who they wanted at the table during trilateral meetings.

"Can have my boss reach out again [to Sylvia Jones] but last call got pretty frosty at the end when [Mendicino] was saying we need the province to get back to us with their plan," wrote Mendicino's chief of staff.

"I don't take edicts from you, you're not my f--king boss," the staffer continued, describing Jones' response.

Ontario says it declared emergency before feds

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson in the office of Ontario's solicitor general said the province was "squarely focused on providing the tools our policing partners needed to bring the situation to an end."

The statement said the OPP provided intelligence even before the occupations began, deployed officers and provided resources to Ottawa and Windsor police in response to their requests.

Ontario also declared a state of emergency prior to the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act, the statement says, adding it had also frozen convoy funds from the fundraising platform Give Send Go to hinder efforts to occupy Ottawa's downtown.

MPPs with Ontario's Official Opposition called the Ford government's approach "spineless," in a statement Friday.

"Commissioner Rouleau's report confirms what has been clear all along: that Doug Ford and his cabinet turned their backs on the people of Ottawa at a moment of crisis," says the statement by Ottawa New Democrats Joel Harden and Chandra Pasma. 

"They chose not to use the resources at their disposal to help Ottawa residents," the statement says in part.

"This isn't leadership, it's spineless."

The report makes 56 recommendations, some of which are aimed directly at Ontario.

• The Ministry of the Solicitor General should consider formalizing the responsibilities of its police services advisers.
• Ontario should create protocols potentially for inclusion in its policing laws around compelling a municipal police force to accept an integrated and unified command model for managing a major event.
• Ontario should consider creating a major event management unit along the lines of the unit created for managing major investigations, for which a coordinator could identify if criteria are met and then facilitate sharing intelligence.

You can read more about Rouleau's report here.