The Public Order Emergency Commission determined the federal government met the “very high threshold” for invoking the never-before-used Emergencies Act in response to the Freedom Convoy protest, which had “descended into lawlessness, culminating in a national emergency.”.“It is only in rare instances, when the state cannot otherwise fulfill its fundamental obligation to ensure the safety and security of people and property, that resort to emergency measures will be found to be appropriate,” Commissioner Paul Rouleau said in the executive summary of the report..“It is regrettable that such as a situation arose here, because in my view, it could have been avoided.”.In the report released Friday, Rouleau summarized the Freedom Convoy — formed in response to cross-border vaccine mandates for truck drivers — as a movement in which simmering social, political and economic grievances were exacerbated by the pandemic, shaped by complex misinformation and disinformation online, and “unleashed in a torrent of political protest and social unrest.”.Rouleau said this was “not entirely unpredictable,” as pandemics are often accompanied by a surge in civil unrest. He said that had various police forces and levels of government prepared for events of this type and responded differently to the situation that arose, “the emergency that Canada ultimately faced could have likely been avoided.”.“Fortunately, the Parliament that passed the Emergencies Act had the wisdom to create a statute with both the powers needed to protect Canadians in times of crisis, and the safeguards needed to ensure restraint and accountability," Rouleau said.."Invocation of the Emergencies Act is a drastic move, but it is not a dictatorial one," he added..After three weeks of protests, the Emergencies Act was invoked on Feb. 14. This gave law enforcement extraordinary powers to remove and arrest protesters, gave the Liberal government the power to freeze protestor's bank accounts, and gave authorities the ability to commandeer tow trucks to remove protesters' vehicles..By Feb. 18, the police had removed protestors from the downtown core, and by Feb. 23, the federal government rescinded the Emergencies Act..The law defines a national emergency as a situation that "cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada." A public order emergency can only be invoked when there is "a threat to the security of Canada" as defined by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act.."In my view, there was credible and compelling information supporting a reasonable belief that the definition of a threat to the security of Canada was met," Rouleau said. "I have concluded that cabinet was reasonably concerned that the situation it was facing was worsening and at risk of becoming dangerous and unmanageable.".The report made 56 recommendations to improve intelligence sharing, police response to large protests, and the Emergencies Act itself. .Rouleau says most protestors were not violent, but were disruptive.Rouleau was tasked with ultimately determining whether the Liberal government was justified in its invocation of the Emergencies Act. For six weeks, the commission heard testimonials from Ottawa residents, convoy organizers, law enforcement, and Liberal cabinet members at the centre of the protest..In the report, Rouleau said he accepted the protest organizer’s claims that the Freedom Convoy had support from Canadians across the country. “The success of [Tamara] Lich’s fundraising campaign showed that the Freedom Convoy had tapped into a broader set of concerns shared by many Canadians,” he said.. Lich .While most protestors were not violent, they were disruptive, according to Rouleau. He said most sought to engage in legitimate and lawful protest, and their participation alone did not mean that they “supported or condoned the conduct of extreme or fringe participants.”.Rouleau gave special mention to Jeremy MacKenzie and his group Diagolon, which was started as a "joke" but has since been at the centre of many controversies. While the head of the Ontario Provincial Police’s intelligence bureau testified during the commission that Diagolon was an extremist group, MacKenzie rejected those characterizations when he testified..“I do not accept Mr. MacKenzies evidence in that regard,” Rouleau said. “I am satisfied that law enforcement’s concern about Diagolon is genuine and well-founded. The fact that a ballistic vest that was seized by the RCMP during the protests in Coutts, along with numerous guns, bore a Diagolon patch suggests as much.". Jeremy MacKenzieDiagolon Founder Jeremy MacKenzie poses for a photo. .Rouleau also said he did not accept the organizers’ descriptions of the protests in Ottawa as “lawful, calm, peaceful or something resembling a celebration.” He explained how emergency lanes were blocked despite the best efforts of organizers to keep them open, propane tanks, jerry cans and fireworks constituted a hazard for the downtown core, and residents claimed protestors took advantage of the lack of police supervision to “disrupt and intimidate residents.”.Rouleau said he did not conclude that all protest organizers condoned or promoted unlawful behaviour, and said most of them “recognized that such conduct risked undermining their popular support.” But he did not believe the convoy organizers’ testimony that they were never aware of the harassment or intimidation of Ottawa residents..According to Rouleau, the organizers did not do all they could to limit the amount of violence and harassment, including the honking that some residents described as being akin to psychological warfare..“[Chris] Barber and Ms. Lich both testified that they were not in favour of the constant honking, but they took no meaningful steps to stop it,” Rouleau said. “At the hearings themselves, the organizers displayed a lack of empathy for the residents of Ottawa even with the benefit of hindsight.”.However, while Rouleau said disinformation and misinformation was spread and consumed by members of convoy, he said that it was also used to discredit the convoy participants. He cited when protestors were blamed for an act of arson in an apartment building, which police later confirmed had no links to the protests..'Dysfunction' in Ottawa Police Service prevented adequate response to protests.The report was critical of how the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) prepared for and responded to the trucker protest, claiming they failed to adequately assessed the information and intelligence they had before the vehicles arrived. .Rouleau said while the OPS’ Hendon reports supposedly contained high-quality intelligence, they left room for varying interpretations on how the Freedom Convoy protest would play out. Rouleau said the Hendon reports, along with intelligence from partner agencies, should have raised greater concerns among the OPS that the protest would be of an “unprecedented” size and scope..Another issue with the OPS’ response was that its Intelligence Dictorate did not share Hendon reports with the operational command. The operational command also discounted intelligence warning of the protest’s risks because it was not consistent with the OPS’ experience with previous weekend protests..Rouleau described how “dysfunction” within the OPS prevented the optimal use of resources during the protest. He said confusion over who was in charge, a lack of internal communications within the force, and the failure to integrate the Police Liaison Team into the strategic and operational response harmed the police response to the protest..“The Ottawa Police Service’ traffic plan collapsed, they began to lose the ability to manage downtown core streets,” Rouleau said of the police' response during the first few days of the protest. “When confronted by illegal activities by protestors, the OPS was unable to issue tickets, lay charges, or make arrests. The lack of enforcement contributed to a general sense of lawlessness.”.Given that the Freedom Convoy took place across Canada, Rouleau also questioned the appropriateness of intelligence gathering for such an event to be done at a provincial level and not a national one..According to Rouleau, too much blame was unfairly placed on then-Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly, who came to the force at a time when the senior ranks had been depleted and expertise had been lost. Rouleau said some errors on Sloly’s part were at times “unduly enlarged” to the degree that they became “scapegoating.”. Police chief peter sloly .“For example, his public comment that “there may not be a policing solution to the demonstrations” attracted disproportionate scrutiny. I found it obvious that he was not abandon the city through this comment or attempting to diminish the OPS ‘ important role in the ultimate solution,” Rouleau said..Rouleau criticizes the prime minister's 'small fringe minority' comments.Rouleau said the federal government undertook a “thorough and structured” analysis on whether the requirement had been met to invoke the act, and determined that it had been. “I have no hesitation in accepting that Cabinet had a subjective belief that it was facing a public order emergency,” Rouleau said..Rouleau said there was cause for the federal government to be concerned that the protests would continue to spread and law enforcement resources would be stretched to their limits. He also claimed to understand cabinet’s decision not to meet with the protest organizers in order to end the Freedom Convoy, as there was "little chance of predicting or controlling protestors’ actions.".But Rouleau was also critical of how the Liberal cabinet at times framed the protest. Rouleau said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's infamous Jan. 27 comments, where he said the convoy approaching Ottawa contained a “small fringe minority” of people with “unacceptable views,” were interpreted by many as referring to all protestors. This served to “energize” the protestors and harden their resolve, Rouleau said..“In my view, more of an effort should have been made by government leaders at all levels during the protest to acknowledge that the majority of protestors were exercising their fundamental democratic rights,” Rouleau said. “The Freedom Convoy garnered support from many frustrated Canadians who simply wished to protest what they perceived as government overreach.”.Rouleau also had choice words for the government of Ontario, which had a hands-off approach to the protest and was reluctant to engage with other levels of government in their response.."I find the Province of Ontario's reluctance to become fully engaged in such efforts directed at resolving the situation in Ottawa troubling," he said. "Given that the city and its police service were clearly overwhelmed, it was incumbent on the province to become visibly, publicly and wholeheartedly engaged from the outset.".Rouleau wrote that moments of urgency require leaders of governments at all levels "to rise above politics and collaborate for the common good."."Unfortunately, in January and February of 2022, this did not always happen," he said.
