Ontario police labeled Ottawa convoy protest a national security threat one week before Emergencies Act was invoked


OTTAWA—Intelligence reports led Ontario police to label Ottawa’s convoy protests a national security threat a full week before the federal Emergencies Act was invoked — and two weeks before the occupation was ultimately cleared out of the capital’s downtown core.

Ontario Provincial Police told members of Parliament’s public safety committee Thursday that the demonstration was deemed a national security concern “on or about” Feb. 7. It would be seven more days before the federal government triggered the never-used act to help bring the protest to an end.

“I can say that the Emergencies Act was an extremely valuable tool,” said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique. “In the absence of having those tools, we could not have been as effective as we were.”

The committee met Thursday for its second meeting studying the federal government’s response to the demonstration, which saw vehicles and protesters with the so-called “Freedom Convoy” gridlocking 20 square blocks of Ottawa’s downtown for more than three weeks.

It was the first time law enforcement leaders were grilled by MPs over their handling of the convoy, as politicians and police began to piece together how the unprecedented protest swelled to such an uncontrollable level that it required the historic invocation of the Emergencies Act.

Carrique said a House of Commons committee was not the “appropriate venue” to expand on the nature of the threat, but said the demonstration was deemed a national security issue after intelligence on copycat protests and border blockades was collected across the country.

The commissioner revealed that the OPP’s intelligence bureau began sharing reports with local police on Jan. 13, two weeks before trucks began rolling into Ottawa.

By Jan. 22, as the convoy made its slow procession across provincial borders, daily intelligence assessments were shared with more than 35 police, law enforcement and security agencies, Carrique said.

“The original intelligence that we had had a much smaller footprint of the people who were, what I would call, ‘motivated’ to stay for longer periods of time,” said interim Ottawa police Chief Steve Bell, who also testified before committee.

“What ultimately ended up on our streets in terms of scope and scale… was not consistent with what we believed (was) intended to occur.”

Potentially feeding into a perception that Ottawa police initially fumbled the handling of the emerging crises were challenges in identifying the upper ranks of the demonstration.

“The protest organizers were extremely difficult to identify because it was a very fractured, frayed group of people,” said Bell, who added that police were able to make contact with a few leaders.

Four of those organizers were charged Thursday with additional offenses related to the protests.

The full list of charges faced by Tamara Lich and Chris Barber include counseling mischief, counseling intimidation, counseling obstruction of police, obstructing police, intimidation and mischief. Both have been released on bail.

Pat King and Tyson Billings are charged with counseling mischief, counseling intimidation, counseling obstruction of a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, mischief, intimidation, counseling to disobey a court order and disobeying a court order. Both remain in custody.

It didn’t take long, Bell said, for police to characterize the unfolding demonstration as an “illegal occupation” of the capital.

Bell, who became the interim chief mid-protest after the surprise resignation of Peter Sloly, also said he was tipped off to the possible presence of firearms within the demonstration.

“Throughout the protest, we did receive information and intelligence around weapons and the possession of weapons by people who either had attended or intended on attending the occupation,” he said.

Bell said no firearms charges connected to the protest have been laid so far, but said there are “investigations that continue in relation to weapons possessions” at the demonstration.

With files from Alex Ballingall

PR

Raisa Patel is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @R_SPatel

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