Ottawa politicians react to the Rouleau report

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On Friday, the Public Order Emergency Commission released its long-awaited report on the reaction to last winter’s convoy protest, including the use of the Emergencies Law to cause its dissolution.

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While officially federal in focus, the report has a lot to reveal for the City of Ottawa; the scene of the protest, the jurisdiction that first found itself on the front line of the response, and the home of the neighbors who felt besieged for three weeks.

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Here’s what local politicians had to say on Friday, after the five-volume report was released.

Ottawa’s convoy-era mayor Jim Watson

Jim Watson issued a statement through his former chief of staff Serge Arpin.

Arpin said that would be the former mayor’s only comment at this time.

Watson thanked the prime minister for using the Emergencies Act and said Justin Trudeau “deserves our thanks for helping bring this out-of-control situation to an end.”

“It was clear that the City, PAHO and their combined resources would not be able to control this situation without reinforcements. The law allowed us to end the nightmare for our beleaguered residents and our small business community.”

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The report finds that Watson “may have hinted” in a call with then-Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB) chairwoman Diane Deans that her continued leadership of the board was contingent on the board to change course on hiring Matt Tourigan as interim boss to replace Peter Sloly, who had resigned.

This “undermines the Board’s ability to exercise its governance and oversight functions and to act decisively,” the Commissioner wrote. Paul Rouleau “He was willing to (Watson) communicate his concerns to Chairman Deans, but he should have been careful not to imply that failure to comply would have consequences for his continued leadership.”

In his statement, Watson thanked Rouleau for his “thorough and thoughtful review” and first responders “for their incredible efforts during a very challenging time in our city’s history.”

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Interim Liberal Leader and South Ottawa MPP John Fraser

Prime Minister Doug Ford was called to apologize on Friday.”to the residents of Ottawa and to all citizens of Ontario, for their dereliction of duty.”

The statement by interim Liberal leader and local MPP John Fraser said it is “appalling” to have a section of the report devoted to “Ontario’s absence”.

That one-and-a-half page section notes that “many witnesses saw the province trying to avoid responsibility for a crisis within its borders” and that “these complaints were difficult to assess because the Commission did not have the benefit of full participation of Ontario”. Ford and then-Attorney General Sylvia Jones refused to be interviewed by the commission’s lawyers and closed the subpoenas to compel them to testify by invoking parliamentary privilege.

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The report does note that the testimony of Ontario’s assistant attorney general speaks to the province not being as engaged “when the protests in Ontario were confined to Ottawa,” and says that “the lack of provincial engagement at the political level” is illustrated by three tripartite meetings to share information and coordinate a response where municipal and federal politicians presented themselves, but the province ignored their invitation. Ford told Watson that he did not think the meetings were productive.

“Today’s report has told us what we already knew: that Doug Ford and his Conservative government abandoned the people of Ottawa when they most needed their support. It was wrong and it is an indictment of Doug Ford’s abilities as a leader,” Fraser said Friday.

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Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe

Speaking to reporters at a town council committee meeting moments after the report was released, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he was looking forward to reading it in detail.

“I appreciate any lessons and recommendations from any source on how we can do better in the future. I know how distraught, frustrated and disappointed the people of Ottawa were last year when these events occurred, and we cannot allow that to happen again in our city. So I am confident that with the right recommendations and the right leadership, these types of events will be avoided in the future. And I think we’ve already seen evidence of that.”

Sutcliffe also shared his position that “there must be a new agreement between the federal government and the city of Ottawa on policing the national capital.”

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One of the report’s recommendations is that a federally led task force study “as a matter of priority whether changes should be made to the division of policing and security responsibilities in the National Capital Region.”

City councilor (and now former) Mathieu Fleury

For Mathieu Fleury, a Rideau-Vanier city councilor at the time of the protest, the release of the report on Friday brought relief, validating the “total chaos” he witnessed on the ground and the layered failures that enabled it.

Local impacts from the convoy included threats directed at Fleury and a visit to his home by a group of protesters in two flag-waisted vans, “shouting ‘nonsense’ to intimidate him and his family,” as the report states.

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The now ex-councilman, who opted not to run in last fall’s municipal elections, said he’s glad the report isn’t limited to “legalese about the use or non-use of the Emergency Law. And I actually got into layers of governance and responsibilities and shortcomings there. I think it is a useful contribution for the residents and the capital.”

MORE ABOUT THE EMERGENCY LAW REPORT

Judge Rouleau calls for more time and transparency in future Emergency Law investigations

Emergencies Act Report Finds Ontario Abandoned Ottawa in ‘Freedom Convoy’ Protests

‘Measures were flawed’: From Freeland to Ford, Emergencies Act report criticizes players

Rouleau’s report addresses six questions raised during Emergency Law hearings