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“We … sought advice from law enforcement. They gave us feedback on what exactly these powers were, and following this advice, we referred to the Emergency Situations Act.
Publication date:
May 17, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 3 minutes ago • 242 comments Police patrol Wellington Street in Ottawa before the Rolling Thunder convoy protests arrive on Friday, April 29, 2022 Photo: Sean KilpatrickThe Canadian Press / File
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OTTAWA – After another police chief said he had not requested the Federal Government’s Emergency Act, Liberal cabinet ministers continued to insist that the move was necessary to clear the convoy of freedom from the streets of Ottawa.
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Convoy protests blocked large parts of downtown Ottawa for weeks earlier this year. This included Wellington Street, which runs in front of Parliament Hill and was blocked by trucks.
A parliamentary committee is considering whether Wellington Street and other nearby streets, which are currently under Ottawa’s jurisdiction, should be in the hands of the federal government.
Speaking to the committee on Tuesday, Conservative MP Andrew Sheare asked Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell if he had asked the government directly to invoke the Emergency Situations Act.
Bell said they had not requested the act.
“We were involved in talks with our partners and with the political ministries. We have not made a direct request for the Emergency Situations Act. “
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Scheer also questioned why police, politicians and the media used the term occupation, noting that protesters did not break into buildings.
Bell said no buildings had been seized from the group, but also told Scheer that he should not minimize what had happened.
“It simply came to our notice then. “What we saw was that we actually saw the streets occupied by trucks, vehicles, people terrorizing our community,” he said. “It’s important that we try not to minimize the impact.”
Bell is the second police officer to confirm that his forces did not demand the implementation of the Emergency Act after RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucky revealed the same detail last week to another parliamentary committee examining the application.
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The RCMP has not asked for an emergency law to be implemented, the commissioner said
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The government had no choice but to invoke the Emergency Situations Act, the commission’s liberal ministers say
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John Ivison: Emergency Law Research Aims to Find Exactly What Liberals Want
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said police forces had told them they needed protection powers, powers contained in the law.
“We researched specific examples of what these powers might look like and sought advice from law enforcement. They gave us feedback on what exactly these powers were, and following this advice, we referred to the Emergency Situations Act.
Mendicino said in an interview that the police force was overloaded and he cited a letter from the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs, which spoke of the need for the act.
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“This was unprecedented in terms of what constituted a state of emergency, as unprecedented does not mean another example.
To highlight this point, Liberal MP Mark Garethsen asked RCMP Deputy Commissioner Michael Duham about a detention and security order placed in the area during the protest.
Duham said this had never happened before.
The question of what is happening with the section now that the convoy has left must be the main focus of the commission. Some have already called on the federal government to take over Wellington Street, including police and security.
Months after the convoy left, Wellington Street is still closed to most traffic, with only vehicles and supplies from the House of Commons being able to use the route.
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Minister of Public Security Marco Mendicino. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press / File
Bell said that if the street is transferred to the federal government, there will have to be clear boundaries of powers and rules for co-operation. Long before the convoy, Ottawa police used dump trucks and large snowplows to act as barriers. Bell said it was time for a less ad hoc approach.
“There are several infrastructure investments, such as poles around the streets, that can easily restrict the movement of vehicles through different areas, which I hope will be a key and important part of that,” he said.
The government is planning a major overhaul of several buildings opposite Parliament Hill, eventually moving some lawmakers and senators to new offices there.
Public Service Minister Philomena Tassi said up to 50 per cent of lawmakers would eventually work in these new buildings.
She said Wellington Street had long been the border between parliament and the rest of Ottawa, but would essentially cross it after the change.
She did not give a specific opinion on the issue of expanding the section, but said it may be time to solve many problems.
“With the new sense of urgency to deal with security at the site, we have the opportunity to deal with long-standing problems around management more broadly.”
Twitter: RyanTumilty Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com
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