Ontario’s transportation minister insists the province is not letting truck drivers from the so-called Freedom Convoy protests “off the hook” amid criticisms that penalties have not gone far enough.
Caroline Mulroney said the provincial state of emergency declared by Premier Doug Ford allowed police to suspend the licenses and tow vehicles for a week without any right to appeal, which “provided more certainty that would allow them to clear the occupation in short order.”
But New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath and other opposition parties were not buying that rationale after Ford warned truckers who participated in the protest against COVID-19 measures could face ends of $100,000 and a year in prison for resisting efforts to clear them out.
“The occupiers are literally driving away in the very trucks they used to occupy Ottawa,” Horwath said Thursday following reports that 39 vehicles seized by police were returned to their owners.
“Residents find out now that the $100,000 penalties that this premier was blustering about were all for show, as usual … he’s sending a pretty dangerous signal that the kind of lawlessness that took place will have no consequences.”
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said Ottawa police have laid a range of mischief and other criminal charges against dozens in the “illegal occupation,” with some remaining in jail while they seek bail.
“Any suspensions processed remain on the vehicle record and could affect the renewal of licenses in the future,” she added.
Liberal house leader John Fraser, the MPP for Ottawa South, faulted Ford for waiting two weeks into the occupation to declare an emergency.
“I’ve never felt so let down,” he told reporters, suggesting Ford’s Progressive Conservative MPPs in suburban Ottawa could face difficulty in the June 2 election because residents of the nation’s capital were so frustrated.
Fraser said a major concern is the sudden departure of three Ford government appointees to the Ottawa police services board after the provincial politics publication QP Briefing revealed one of them attended a protest rally.
“This raises more questions than it answers,” Fraser said, wondering aloud if any sensitive information on police strategy was provided to protest organizers or participants.
Jones said the three provincial appointees will be replaced in the next few days.
“Because the city of Ottawa has chosen to take a new direction with their police services board, we accepted the resignations of the three,” she said.
Ford said the province makes about 3,500 appointments a year and, while he signs off on them, he can’t “dig into” all of them.
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