News

A timeline of what led up to the invocation of the Emergencies Act

Published

2 years ago

October 13, 2022

OTTAWA — As public hearings begin into the federal government’s first use of the Emergencies Act legislation, inquiry commission lawyers have prepared a rough timeline of the events that led up to the historic invocation.

The timeline is not exhaustive, and commission lawyers expect many more key elements will be explored throughout the six weeks of public hearings.

Nov. 19, 2021

— The Public Health Agency of Canada announces new border measures will be imposed in early 2022 requiring Canadian truck drivers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the country in order to avoid quarantine rules.

Dec. 5 -10

— A convoy organized by James Bauder arrives in Ottawa and attempts to deliver a “memorandum of understanding” to the Senate.

Jan. 13, 2022

— Canadian officials confirm new border measures will come into effect on Jan. 15 requiring that Canadian commercial truckers entering Canada be vaccinated to avoid quarantine rules.

— Pat King hosts a Facebook livestream to discuss early plans for a convoy to Ottawa.

— The first mention of a “Freedom Convoy” is made in a “Project Hendon” report, which the Ontario Provincial Police shares with other police agencies.

Jan. 14

— Protest organizer Tamara Lich creates the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser on GoFundMe.

Jan. 18

— Chris Garrah creates the Adopt-A-Trucker fundraiser on GiveSendGo.

Jan. 21

— Daily Project Hendon teleconferences begin.

Jan. 22 — 23

— The convoy departs British Columbia for Ottawa.

Jan. 23

— A convoy of transport trucks, cars and other vehicles slows traffic on Huron Church Road in Winsdor, Ont.

Jan. 26

— Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly briefs the police board and city council about the convoy.

Jan. 27

— Convoy participants depart Nova Scotia for Ottawa.

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cites “a small fringe minority” and “unacceptable views” when discussing the convoy during televised remarks.

Jan. 28

— Convoy protesters begin to arrive in Ottawa.

— The Ottawa Police Service actives the National Capital Region Command Centre.

Jan. 29

— The Rideau Centre mall in downtown Ottawa closes.

— The Shepherds of Good Hope shelter in downtown Ottawa reports harassment of staff and clients by protesters.

— A second “slow roll” protest occurs along Huron Church Road in Windsor, the street leading to the international border crossing.

— A convoy of approximately 9,000 people and 200 trucks converges on Edmonton.

— A convoy of approximately 1,000 vehicles leaves Lethbridge, Alta., for the Coutts border crossing, stopping traffic in both directions on Provincial Highway 4.

Jan. 30

— Chief Sloly speaks with the Ottawa city solicitor and city manager about obtaining a legal injunction against the protesters.

Jan. 31

— A Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser is created on GiveSendGo.

Feb. 1

— GoFundMe releases $1 million from the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser to organizer Lich’s bank account.

Feb. 2

— GoFundMe announces it has paused the fundraiser, pending review.

— City and police lawyers meet to discuss seeking an injunction.

— Sloly says during a press conference “there may not be a policing solution to this demonstration.”

— One lane of traffic is opened at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta. RCMP prepare bidirectional escorts between police checkpoints and the crossing. Traffic passes through the Coutts blockade slowly and with multiple interruptions over the next few days.

Feb. 3

— Organizer Lich says at a press conference that protesters will remain until all public health mandates are removed.

— GoFundMe terminates the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser and says it will refund all donors. Lich directs donors to the GiveSendGo campaign.

— Ottawa’s city solicitor writes to the police service’s lawyers to confirm an injunction will not be needed, but requests further information in case the city decides to move for an injunction.

— Ottawa resident Zexi Li launches a class action against protest organizers and participants on behalf of her fellow residents.

— Protests take place across Toronto, including around the provincial legislature building.

— About 1,000 protesters assemble around the provincial legislature in Winnipeg.

Feb. 5

— Slow-roll protests take place around the Ottawa International Airport.

— More than 1,000 people protest at the provincial legislature in Edmonton, and 2,500 vehicles get involved in various parts of the city. The Edmonton protest disperses by 5 p.m.

— Between 3,000 and 4,000 people hold a rally in Calgary involving 20 vehicles.

— Protesters converge around the legislative assembly in Regina.

— Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver makes a written request to federal ministers Bill Blair and Marco Mendicino for use of Canadian Armed Forces tow trucks to remove protesters at the Coutts border.

Feb. 6

— The City of Ottawa declares a state of emergency.

— Chief Sloly meets with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and police board chair Coun. Diane Deans to tell them he needs an additional 1,800 officers, plus extra resources.

— Protesters in Windsor tell police they will block the Ambassador Bridge border crossing if COVID-19 health measures are not lifted by the following day.

— Protesters in Sarnia, Ont., block access to the Bluewater Bridge border crossing. Access to the bridge is sporadic in following days.

Feb. 7

— Sloly publicly announces his request for 1,800 officers from other police agencies.

— Mayor Watson and chair Deans request assistance from the Ontario and federal governments, seeking the 1,800 officers.

— Li’s court action obtains an injunction from the provincial Superior Court of Justice to stop horn honking in the Ottawa core.

— Protesters block the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor using vehicles. Border operations are suspended.

— Windsor activates its emergency operations centre.

— Most of the protesters at the provincial legislature in Regina leave.

Feb. 8

— Protest organizers meet with Ottawa city manager Steve Kanellakos.

— Ontario Provincial Police and RCMP planners arrive in Ottawa to assist the local force.

— An OPP liaison team arrives in Windsor.

— Protesters re-establish a full blockade of the Coutts border crossing in Alberta.

Feb. 9

— Representatives from the Ottawa protest, including Tom Marazzo, Keith Wilson and Eva Chipiuk, meet with police.

— Secondary access to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor is fully blocked by end of day.

— Windsor police make a formal request to the Ontario and federal governments for extra police resources and heavy tow trucks.

— Protests on the highway to the Blue Water bridge in Sarnia cause delays, though the border crossing remains open. Disruptions continue in following days.

Feb. 10

— Ottawa Mayor Watson is contacted by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s ex-chief of staff, Dean French, who offers to facilitate a discussion with convoy organizers. French is put in touch with the mayor’s chief of staff, Serge Arpin.

— Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association and the City of Windsor apply for court injunctions concerning the Windsor bridge blockade.

— An estimated 50 to 75 vehicles block Provincial Trunk Highway 75 in Winnipeg, stopping traffic from crossing the border.

— The Ontario attorney general obtains an order restraining certain funds, including money raised through GiveSendGo.

— The prime minister convenes and chairs the first meeting of the cabinet incident response group to address the blockades.

Feb. 11

— The premier of Ontario declares a state of emergency.

— The City of Ottawa applies for an injunction against the protesters over violations of various bylaws.

— An Ontario Superior Court justice issues an injunction against continued blocking of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor.

— The RCMP asks the Canada Border Services Agency to suspend service at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta.

— Prime Minister Trudeau discusses the economic effect of the blockades with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Feb. 12

— Ottawa Mayor Watson and protest organizer Lich exchange letters about moving trucks off residential roadways.

— Ottawa police announce the establishment of an integrated command centre.

— A protest takes place near the Peace Bridge border crossing at Fort Erie, Ont. The border remains open with minimal reported delays.

— The Coutts border crossing is closed to traffic.

— About 1,000 protesters and 700 vehicles are involved in demonstrations across Edmonton.

— The prime minister chairs a meeting of the cabinet incident response group.

Feb. 13

— Protesters at the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Windsor are removed following police enforcement. Approximately 44 charges are laid.

— A fence around the National War Memorial in Ottawa is removed by protesters.

— Counter-protesters block a number of convoy trucks from entering downtown Ottawa. The standoff lasts most of the day.

— Organizer Lich sends a tweet to say no deal had been made with Ottawa’s mayor, after media report an agreement to move trucks out of residential areas.

— The prime minister chairs a meeting of the incident response group, then meets with his entire cabinet.

Feb. 14

— The prime minister meets with all premiers to discuss the possible invocation of the Emergencies Act.

— The federal government proclaims a public order emergency under the Emergencies Act.

— Ambassador Bridge reopens to traffic in the early morning.

— The City of Windsor declares a state of emergency.

— RCMP seize weapons at the Coutts protest site and lay charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, against a number of individuals. Protesters begin to leave the area.

— Ontario Superior Court issues an injunction sought by the City of Ottawa.

— Organizer Lich tweets that she has in fact agreed to movement of trucks from residential areas.

Feb. 15

— Sloly resigns, and deputy Steve Bell steps in as interim Ottawa police chief.

— Police intercept a convoy of vehicles believed to have been travelling to Windsor.

— A blockade along Provincial Highway 4 in Coutts is cleared and the border services agency announces service at the border crossing will resume.

— The Governor in Council unfurls the Emergency Measures Regulations and the Emergency Economic Measures Order pursuant to the Emergencies Act.

— Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland holds a press conference to outline the economic measures being taken under the Emergencies Act.

Feb. 16

— Ottawa council votes to remove Deans as chair of the police board. Three other members of the board resign their positions as a result.

— The blockade at the Emerson, Man., border crossing is cleared.

— A motion to confirm the declaration of a public order emergency is tabled in the House of Commons.

Feb. 17

— Convoy organizers Lich and Chris Barber are arrested separately in Ottawa.

— The class-action plaintiffs get an injunction to restrain assets of several convoy organizers, including crowdfunded money and cryptocurrency.

— The House of Commons debates a motion to confirm the declaration of a public order emergency.

Feb. 18

— Convoy organizers King and Daniel Bulford are arrested separately in Ottawa.

— Police begin to clear protesters out of downtown Ottawa.

— Federal party leaders agree not to continue debate on the motion to confirm the state of emergency because of the police operations taking place just outside the Parliament buildings. Debate resumes from Feb. 19 to 21. The motion is adopted Feb. 21.

Feb. 21

— Convoy organizer Bauder is arrested

— The police operation to clear protesters out of Ottawa ends.

— A motion to confirm the declaration of a public order emergency is tabled in the Senate.

Feb. 22

— The Senate considers the motion.

Feb. 23

— The public order emergency is revoked.

— The motion to declare the emergency is withdrawn in the Senate

— The Ontario state of emergency ends.

— In Winnipeg, police deliver a letter to protesters at the provincial legislature warning that those who remain risk arrest, charges and seizure of their vehicles. Most protesters leave.

Feb. 24

— The states of emergency in Ottawa and Windsor end.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2022.

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press

News

Justin Trudeau’s Announcing Cuts to Immigration Could Facilitate a Trump Win

Published

18 mins ago

November 5, 2024

Nick Kossovan

Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.

Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.

Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.

My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5^th.

Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.

My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.

To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.

Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…

The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.

The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.

The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.

Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.

In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.

If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.

Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.

______________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

News

Former athletes lean on each other to lead Canada’s luge, bobsled teams

Published

27 mins ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – Sam Edney and Jesse Lumsden sat on a bench on Parliament Hill during an athlete celebration after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Having just represented Canada in their sliding sports — Lumsden in bobsled and Edney in luge — the two men pondered their futures together.

“There was actually one moment about, are we going to keep going? Talking about, what are each of us going to do? What’s the next four years look like?” Edney recalled a decade later.

“I do remember talking about that now. That was a big moment,” Lumsden said.

As the two men were sounding boards for each other as athletes, they are again as high-performance directors of their respective sliding sports.

Edney, an Olympic relay silver medallist in 2018 and the first Canadian man to win a World Cup gold medal, became Luge Canada’s HPD upon his retirement the following year.

Lumsden, a world and World Cup bobsled champion who raced his third Olympic Games in 2018, leaned on his sliding compatriot when he returned from five years of working in the financial sector to become HPD at Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton in July.

“The first person I called when BCS reached out to me about the role that I’m in now is Sam,” Lumsden said recently at Calgary’s WinSport, where they spent much of their competitive careers and now have offices.

“It’s been four months. I was squatting in the luge offices for the first two months beside him.

“We had all these ideas about we’re going to have weekly coffees and workouts Tuesday and Thursday and in the four months now, we’ve had two coffees and zero workouts.”

Canada has won at least one sliding-sport Olympic medal in each of the last five Winter Games, but Edney and Lumsden face a challenge as team leaders that they didn’t as athletes.

WinSport’s sliding track, built for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and where Edney and Lumsden did hundreds of runs as athletes, has been closed since 2019 needing a $25-million renovation.

There is no sign that will happen. WinSport took the $10 million the provincial government offered for the sliding track and put the money toward a renovation of the Frank King Lodge used by recreational skiers and snowboarders.

Canada’s only other sliding track in the resort town of Whistler, B.C., has a fraction of Calgary’s population from which to recruit and develop athletes.

“The comparison is if you took half the ice rinks away in the country, hockey and figure skating would be disarray,” Edney said.

“It just changes the dynamic of the sports completely, in terms of we’re now scrambling to find ways to bring people to a location that’s not as easy to get to, or to live out of, or to train out of full time.

“We’re realizing how good we had it when Calgary’s (track) was here. It’s not going to be the end of us, but it’s definitely made it more difficult.”

Lumsden, a former CFL running back as well as an Olympian, returned to a national sport organization still recovering from internal upheaval that included the athlete-led ouster of the former president and CEO after the 2022 Winter Olympics, and Olympic champion pilot Kaillie Humphries suing the organization for her release to compete for the U.S. in 2019.

“NSOs like Luge Canada and Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, they’re startups,” Lumsden said. “You have to think like a startup, operate like a startup, job stack, do more with less, especially in the current environment.

“I felt it was the right time for me to take my sporting experience and the skill set that I learned at Neo Financial and working with some of the most talented people in Canada and try to inject that into an NSO that is in a state of distress right now, and try to work with the great staff we have and the athletes we have to start to turn this thing around.”

Edney, 40, and Lumsden, 42, take comfort in each other holding the same roles in their sports.

“It goes both ways. I couldn’t have been more excited about who they hired,” Edney said. “When Jesse was coming in, I knew that we were going to be able to collaborate and work together and get things happening for our sports.”

Added Lumsden: “We’ve been friends for a long time, so I knew how he was going to do in his role and before taking the role, having the conversation with him, I felt a lot of comfort.

“I asked ‘are you going to be around for a long time?’ He said ‘yeah, I’m not going anywhere.’ I said ‘OK, good.'”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Canada’s Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Routliffe pick up second win at WTA Finals

Published

28 mins ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.

The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.

The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.

Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.

The final is scheduled for Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.

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