RCMP official hears Emergency Act probe suspected of Ottawa police convoy protest plan

The RCMP was immediately concerned that the Ottawa police had no plan to end the protests that took over the capital last winter.

Federal police chiefs RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and Deputy Commissioner Michael Duheme testified before the Public Order Emergency Commission on Tuesday.

The pair also attended an interview with commission attorneys in September.

In that interview, Lucki said the RCMP did not have an overall operational plan for the Ottawa Police Department (OPS) to end the occupation of Ottawa during the week of January 31 (the week after the first weekend of protests). said he was concerned about

Similar anti-COVID-19 restrictions protests have begun to sprout at border crossings in western Canada and Windsor, Ontario, so both mounties said they needed to confirm their plans before committing more resources to Ottawa. rice field.

Duheme told the commission’s attorneys that he took part in a conference call with Ottawa police on January 31. There he indicated that from February 3rd he hopes to begin an aggressive enforcement operation until February 6th.

“Duheme said he felt the OPS lacked the resources to conduct these operations, and neither the resources nor the plans to sustain them for the long term,” the interview summary said.

“Lucki was concerned that OPS had no plans to use the RCMP and OPP resources that supported OPS at the time.”

Lucki and Duheme said they had never seen the overall operational plan prepared by the Ottawa police.

“It was not clear to them whether OPS lacked such a plan or was unwilling to share it with the RCMP,” their interview summary said.

Lucky also said it was inappropriate to interfere with Ottawa Police Chief Peter Slowly’s planning and intelligence assessment process.

Trudeau cited police issues in invoking action

The Public Order Emergency Committee is assessing whether the federal government has met the legal criteria for invoking the Emergency Act to clear protesters from Ottawa last winter.

Under the Emergency Act, a public order emergency “results from a threat to Canadian security serious enough to constitute a national emergency.”

The act refers to the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency’s (CSIS) definition of threat, which includes serious violence against persons or property, espionage, foreign interference, or intent to overthrow a government by violence.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited police enforcement issues when announcing his decision.

“It is now clear that there are serious challenges in law enforcement’s ability to effectively enforce the law,” he said at a press conference.

Under the Emergencies Act, a national emergency is “an urgent, temporary and serious situation that seriously endangers the health and safety of Canadians and cannot be effectively dealt with by a province or territory.”

“It must be a situation that other Canadian laws cannot deal with effectively.”