On Mondays, TVO.org provides a primer on what to look for in the coming week in Ontario politics, and features some stories making news now.
Here’s what we’ve got our eye on:
Queen’s Park Keywords
Whose streets?: Ottawa residents made it very clear yesterday that they want the Freedom Convoy to leave their city. Counter-protesters, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, gathered at several intersections to block supporters of the convoy from driving downtown. “I spoke to the driver of almost every truck in the ‘blue-collar convoy’ that’s been blockaded at Riverside and Bank [Streets],” Ottawa resident Sean Devine wrote on Twitter. “I was polite, and civil, but determined to let them know that Ottawa residents are suffering from their actions, and won’t stand for it.” Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden, who was at the counter-protests, said scenes on Saturday of convoy participants sitting in makeshift hot tubs and partying in the downtown without any apparent police pushback drove many residents over the edge. “The straw broke last night,” he told Paul McLeod of Buzzfeed News. “The patience of our various communities broke. This was organized on Facebook groups normally for cookouts and dog walking.”
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Emergencies Act: The federal cabinet apparently discussed the Emergencies Act at a meeting last night. The law gives the government the power to deal with a “public order emergency.” It has been on the books since 1988, but has never been used. A first ministers’ meeting has been scheduled for this morning, presumably to discuss invoking the act.
“Backchannel” debacle: Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson announced yesterday he had reached a “backchannel” deal with one of the Freedom Convoy leaders to have all trucks leave residential streets and limit their presence to a smaller set of streets in the downtown core. The idea was to reduce the negative effect the protest has had on residents. However, messages from convoy leaders late last night claimed no deal had been made. But then later, one of the organizers said the deal with Watson is still on. (It’s all very confusing).
Ambassador Bridge: While the occupation of Ottawa continues, the blockade by anti-vax and anti-government protesters at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit is over. A large police presence cleared the blockade Sunday, and the bridge reopened to traffic late last night.
Trade: While the Ambassador Bridge blockade has ended, the damage to Canada’s economy may already be done. Flavio Volpe of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association told CTV News yesterday the days-long shutdown at the key Canada-U.S. trade route may scuttle any chance Canadian lobbyists have of convincing American lawmakers not to go ahead with “Buy American” policies that could hurt several Canadian industries, particularly auto manufacturing based in southwestern Ontario. “I just came back from Washington last week, where we were trying to work Canada quietly into that ‘Buy American’ legislation,” he said. “Now, that’s all blown up.”
Rogue cop: Video surfaced this weekend showing an OPP officer expressing sympathy with the Freedom Convoy. “I get what you guys are doing. I support you guys 100 per cent,” the officer says at one point. The OPP’s Professional Standards Unit is now investigating the matter. There was also news that three members of the armed forces, including two current members of the elite Joint Task Force 2 unit, are being investigated for allegedly taking part in the Ottawa anti-government protests.
2,000 guns: Police in Peterborough are investigating the theft of a truck containing more than 2,000 firearms. They say they do not believe the truck was carrying any ammunition. Authorities across the province have been notified.
COVID-19 restrictions: The provincial cabinet is scheduled to meet this morning to consider lifting some public health restrictions earlier than planned, according to the Toronto Star. However, the first ministers’ meeting announced late last night, mentioned above, may force cabinet to reschedule.
Case numbers: The province reported there were 1,540 people are in hospital with COVID-19 yesterday. Of those, 402 were in intensive care. The previous Sunday, there were 2,230 patients with COVID-19, and 486 of them were in ICU.
Surgical backlog: An analysis by the Toronto Star suggests that the province now has a backlog of more than 300,000 postponed surgeries caused when hospitals had to suspend certain services to handle surges in COVID-19 patients. “This is a catastrophic problem the health-care system will face for at least the next five years,” said David Gomez, an acute care and trauma surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. “Unless we redesign surgical care in the province, many, many Ontarians are not going to get their surgeries. There’s going to be a significant impact to people’s lives, but also to their mobility, fertility and quality of life.”
Upcoming Ontario politics coverage on TVO
Tonight on TVO at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., The Agenda covers the latest news on the convoy protests, and discusses what can be done to end them.
And be sure to check out TVO.org this week for the latest #onpoli podcast, articles covering issues from around Ontario, as well as regular columns from John Michael McGrath and Matt Gurney.
This article was updated at 7:26 a.m.
