An Alberta cabinet minister complained to Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair that the province didn’t get any help clearing a blockade at a border crossing until after the protest had already ended and argued Ottawa was wrong to invoke the Act for emergency situations, according to the text. messages in a federal investigation. The exchange stemmed from a request the province had made to the federal government for equipment to remove vehicles at the border blockade in Coutts, Alta., which erupted Jan. 29 as part of protests across Canada linked to COVID restrictions -19, according to documents filed with the Emergency Situations Act investigation. The province was pushing for the loan of military equipment from a base near Edmonton, along with staff to operate it. Ric McIver, who was then the province’s municipal affairs minister, made the request on February 5. Up to that point, more than 80 towing companies in Western Canada refused to help. However, the inquiry heard that the federal government did not provide the resources the province requested, nor did it respond to the request. Alberta looked on websites like Kijiji and ended up buying its own trucks, according to reports filed with the investigation by Alberta and the RCMP. Mr. McIver, in his letter, said the province needed federal assistance to remove about 70 semi-trailers and about 75 personal and recreational vehicles. Two days after the request, Mr McIver texted Mr Blair to follow up. “I have spoken to our Defense Secretary and conveyed the importance and urgency of a response from the CAF,” Mr Blair replied on 8 February. Two days later, Mr. McIver texted: “Any update?” On February 21, Mr McIver texted again: “Still no reply”. By then, heavy equipment was no longer needed. In the early morning hours of February 14, RCMP raided a trailer home and two campers in the village, seizing several weapons and making 13 arrests. The remaining protesters in Coutts broke up the border blockade. The federal government invoked emergency law on February 14, while downtown Ottawa was still blocked by protesters and their convoy of vehicles. Responding to Mr McIver’s text, Mr Blair wrote that the federal government had invoked the Emergency Act, “which dealt with the tow truck issue quite effectively”. Mr McIver replied: “We didn’t get any help until the Coutts matter was resolved and you know that.” Mr Blair then said he was disappointed to hear of Mr McIver’s response “to our efforts to respond to the threat to critical infrastructure and the integrity of our international borders”. Mr. McIver responded that the province acquired its own tugs since the federal government could not help. “Your letter speaks for itself,” Mr Blair replied, prompting Mr McIver to add: “As well as the lack of response until very late…” “Just to be clear. Are you saying we should have invoked the Emergency Act earlier?” asked Mr. Blair. “No. You were too late and did the wrong thing,” replied Mr. McIver. Marlin Degrand, who served as an assistant deputy minister in Alberta’s justice ministry during the protests, addressed the text messages to the inquiry on Thursday. “We did not require the legislative authority of the Emergency Act to solve our problem,” he testified. “We needed logistical help that was available in the province – and we were denied it. So we found a different way to deal with it, which is to buy the trailers ourselves.” The Public Order Emergency Commission, led by Justice Paul Rouleau, is looking into whether the federal government erred in invoking the Emergency Act on Feb. 14 in response to the Ottawa protests and related border blockades. The government used interim powers to crack down on protesters, including freezing bank accounts without a court order and banning assembly in certain areas. As the protest at the border crossing took hold, then-Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called federal Public Safety Minister Marco Medicino to advise him of the province’s plan to borrow military equipment for towing, as private companies had been “intimidated,” according to provincial report. Mr. Kenney said Mr. Mendicino advised him that the province should send a letter of assistance, which Mr. McIver sent on Feb. 5. Mr. Kenney in a Feb. 9 call told Mr. Mendicino that he believed the CAF had adequate equipment at its base near Edmonton and that because the Coutts protest blocked international borders, the situation “imposed a federal interest.” During Mr. Degrand’s testimony, counsel for the Commission showed him a draft response from the federal government to Alberta’s Feb. 5 request for assistance. “Given the lack of commercial resources, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) would be the only federal asset that could potentially meet this request,” the draft states. “Unfortunately, the discussions made it clear that the CAF has neither the kind of assets required nor the expertise to do this without significant risk.” Mr. Degrand said he had never heard that sentiment from the government. “I’m surprised to read that they don’t have the means to move these vehicles, given that the Armed Forces base, from my personal knowledge, in Alberta has the means to move tanks,” he said.
