Ottawa protests: Marco Mendicino hopes lessons have been learned

I think Canadians should celebrate Canada Day. We have been through a long pandemic and there are reasons for hope and optimismhe said in an interview with CBC last week.

I think it’s troubling that some stir up tensions […]. We do not want the scenario of last winter to repeat itself and we do not want people to engage in illegal or violent behavior that disrupts the community in Ottawa or elsewhere.he continued.

Groups of protesters have said they are planning demonstrations throughout the summer starting June 30 and running through Labor Day.

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) says it is aware of the upcoming protests and is makes plans accordingly.

the OPS continues to face criticism for its handling of protests against health measures last winter, which shut down downtown Ottawa for about three weeks.

Police ended up clearing the protesters from the streets near parliament after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act.

I think it is important that we learn from last wintercontinued Marco Mendicino.

We will continue to give [à la police] the tools and support needed to ensure public safety as we celebrate Canada Day.

” We did what a responsible government would have done. »

In the spring, Marco Mendicino was the subject of repeated questions about how the decision to invoke this law was made.

Among other things, it allowed the freezing of the bank accounts of hundreds of people and the requisitioning of tow trucks. It also allowed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to enforce municipal by-laws and provincial laws, as appropriate.

The minister told a parliamentary committee set up to investigate the matter that the government followed professional, non-partisan law enforcement advice.

For their part, the Commissioner of the RCMPBrenda Lucki, and acting OPS Chief Constable Steve Bell said they did not ask the government to invoke the law, although their new powers had a chilling effect.

The interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Candice Bergendemanded the resignation of Marco Mendicino, accusing him of lying and misleading Canadians about the Emergencies Act.

Mr. Mendicino said his government spoke to law enforcement every day, if not every hour.

We did what a responsible government would do, which is to stay in contact with law enforcement in order to make the decisions necessary to restore public safety.he added.

At the time of the decision to use this law, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau argued that its use was necessary to deal with serious challenges to law enforcement’s ability to effectively enforce the law.

However, this reasoning was questioned by the opposition and other critics, who questioned whether other measures, including policing tactics, could have been used.

Marco Mendicino highlighted the testimony of Ms. Lucki, who spoke about the possibility of directing tow trucks to help move vehicles that cluttered the streets of Ottawa.

Further powers have been granted under the Emergencies Act taking into account advice we sought from law enforcement before invoking the law. This is how the system is supposed to workhe said.

It made perfect sense for the government to engage with the police, try to identify gaps in existing powers, and then fix those gaps with unique, exceptional, time-limited, and targeted powers.

The Minister added that Brenda Lucki has corroborated this during his testimony.

Marco Mendicino persists and signs. Invoking the Emergencies Act was the right thing to do.

” We hope we never have to use these rare powers again. […] But I will never apologize for doing what is necessary to protect Canadians. »

The kick-off of the next demonstrations is planned when James Toppa veteran who crosses Canada on foot in opposition to vaccination measures that remain in effect, will end his journey on June 30 in downtown Ottawa.

Last week, the federal government lifted the vaccination requirement for federal public servants and for passengers wishing to travel by plane or train in Canada.

Earlier this week, Mr Topp and other organizers met with Tory MPs near Parliament Hill, where he said the protest movement had gathered momentum.

The problem is no longer so much the vaccination obligations as their satisfaction with the federal governmentMr. Topp said.

Candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, Leslyn Lewis was present at the meeting with Mr. Topp, as was Warren Steinley, John Barlow, Ryan Williams, Dean Allison, Jeremy Patzer and Arnold Viersen.

With information from Catharine Tunney, CBC