OTTAWA — The mayor of Windsor, Ont. supported the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, even though police had already cleared out the serious blockade at a local border crossing, he told a federal inquiry Monday.
Mayor Drew Dilkens feared protesters would return to the Ambassador Bridge border crossing, he said Monday while testifying at the public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
The government invoked the act to clear “Freedom Convoy’” protesters who were blockading streets around Parliament Hill and several border crossings.
The protests began in Ottawa Jan. 28 and spread to several border crossings in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.
Dilkens said “slow-roll” convoys began disrupting traffic along the main road to the Ambassador Bridge in late January. On Feb. 4 he said he got the first indication the convoy intended to block the bridge entirely and a text message exchange shows he relayed that information to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino that same day.
“Thx man,” Mendicino responded, and suggested the two of them touch base on the weekend.
By the evening of Feb. 7, Canada’s busiest border crossing was completely blocked as protesters set up a camp and declared they would not leave.
Dilkens said that blockade sparked “a national economic emergency” halting cross-border trade and travel for days while the demonstrators protested COVID-19 mandates.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of trade are carried across the bridge daily, particularly for the automotive industry, which the city said suffered under the temporary closure.
On Feb. 11, the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association successfully sought a court injunction to ban the demonstrators from blocking the border. Police moved in to remove the protesters who refused to leave in the following days and laid 44 charges.
The bridge reopened to traffic in the early hours of Feb. 14.
But Dilkens said he was worried the protesters would return.
“Anything that would send a signal to people contemplating coming to Windsor to start this over again, I thought from my chair, was extremely helpful,” Dilkens told the inquiry Monday.
Further text messages between Dilkens and Mendicino show the two spoke about the possibility of invoking the act in the hours after the border crossing was cleared.
“Are you guys taking some legislative action re: Emergencies Act,” Dilkens wrote to Mendicino on the morning of Feb. 14. He told the commission he had read about the possibility in a news report
Mendicino responded that he would give him a call, but told him “to the extent that you can be supportive of any additional authorities that gets Windsor the resources that you need to keep the bridge open, keep people safe, that would be great.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a public order emergency on the afternoon of Feb. 14.
Dilkens said he gave Mendicino the support he sought but Dilkens also said he is not sure any Emergencies Act powers were ultimately used to prevent further blockades.
Other documents the City of Windsor submitted to the commission show it was also concerned that if protesters were cleared from Ottawa, they would try to block the Ambassador Bridge again.
The Public Order Emergency Commission, which is required under the Emergencies Act, has scheduled public hearings in Ottawa through to Nov. 25.
At the heart of the matter is whether the emergency declaration and the powers under the act were necessary to clear the protests which lasted for more than three weeks.
Among the special but temporary powers adopted under the act were the ability to freeze bank accounts of some participants, force the cancellation of insurance for vehicles parked in designated red zones and compel tow-truck companies to help remove the vehicles.
The commission also learned that Dilkens was in direct contact with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who was facing pressure from businesses who relied on the bridge to transport goods and workers between the United States and Canada.
“We need to get that bridge open ASAP,” Ford texted Dilkens on Feb. 13 after police regained control over the bridge. “I have every major company all over me.”
Ford and then-solicitor general Sylvia Jones were asked to appear before the inquiry to give evidence about their response to the protests, but challenged the summons in federal court.
A Federal Court judge decided Monday the premier and his minister will not have to testify due to immunity provided to them by parliamentary privilege, though both witnesses “may have valuable evidence to offer.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2022.
Laura Osman, David Fraser and Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
