The comments were made in September during an exchange of views between Mario Di Tommaso, the province’s deputy attorney general, and emergency law investigation lawyers. A summary of that interview was filed before the Public Order Emergency Committee on Wednesday. Di Tommaso, whose portfolio includes overseeing the Ontario Provincial Police, said around Feb. 10 the OPP shifted its focus from Occupy Ottawa protesters to the standoff at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor — a decision that He agreed. “Law enforcement was under-resourced and could not effectively deal with situations in both Ottawa and Windsor at the same time,” according to his summary of the interview. Di Tomaso said that while the protest in Ottawa, which shut down parts of the city for nearly three weeks, created significant inconvenience, it did not pose an overriding risk to public safety. Meanwhile, he told the committee, blocking the Ambassador Bridge threatened the province’s economic security. “This has resulted in factory closures and job losses, and raised concerns from American trading partners,” he said in a summary of the interview. Premier Doug Ford agreed Windsor should be the priority, according to a transcript of a conversation between Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released Tuesday. “The biggest thing for us and the country is the Ambassador Bridge and the state [on the] landed there,” Ford told the prime minister. The OPP took over as the lead agency responding to the Ambassador Bridge blockade on February 9 after the Windsor Police Service (WPS) requested support from provincial, federal and nearby municipal police agencies.
Ontario, the federal government disputed liability
The Emergency Act was invoked after the Ambassador Bridge was cleared on February 13 following a court order that led to the clearing of protesters in Windsor. In his interview, Di Tommaso said there was a disagreement during a Feb. 6 call about which level of government was responsible for the protest in Ottawa. He recalled that federal national security adviser Jody Thomas suggested that Ontario should deal with the occupation in Ottawa instead of the federal government. Police from across the country enforce an order against protesters camped out near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on February 18, 2022. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Di Tommaso told the committee he responded by pointing out that protesters were protesting the federal vaccine mandate on the doorstep of Parliament. “Additionally, it was open to the federal government to consider a range of possible policy or operational responses to the protests,” he said in his summary of the interview. “They could meet with protesters, modify federal vaccine mandates or provide necessary resources for the police response.” The convoy movement began as a protest against the federal government’s vaccine policy for cross-border truckers. It turned into a wider protest against the COVID-19 orders, including provincial restrictions. Around Feb. 8, Di Tommaso said, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique told him the RCMP was under tremendous pressure. “Mr Di Tomaso confirmed that he understood the Commissioner to be referring to pressures that were political in nature,” Di Tomaso’s summary of the interview said.
Di Tommaso will continue testifying on Thursday
His testimony echoed what the commission already heard from the OPP – that provincial police feared Ottawa Police Chief Peter Slowley had no plan in place to end the protests. “Di Tommaso explained that it is his understanding that OPP resources could have been made available [the Ottawa Police Service] much earlier if he had implemented a comprehensive plan. Such a plan would normally specify how many officers are required, how much time is required and their duties,” the witness statement said. The deputy solicitor general told the committee’s lawyers that he believed the federal government’s use of the emergency law was helpful but not necessary. Di Tommaso began asking questions Wednesday, but his testimony was interrupted when Gabriel Poliquin, a legal adviser representing the committee, fell to the floor. First responders were called to the Library and Archives Canada building in downtown Ottawa, where the hearings are being held. Poliquin’s condition remains unclear. A committee spokesman said in an emailed statement that, out of respect for Poliquin and his family, they would not release further details about his health. Di Tommaso, one of two Ontario officials on the witness list, is expected back at the commission Thursday to complete his testimony. Ian Freeman, assistant deputy minister for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, stepped in to testify Wednesday afternoon. He said the provincial government could not suspend the registrations of commercial vehicle operators — despite requests to do so — without due process and proper collection of evidence. A Federal Court judge ruled Monday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Sylvia Jones, the attorney general at the time of the protests, will not have to testify before Ottawa’s emergency law inquiry because of parliamentary privilege.
