Ottawa police commander says Emergencies Act was helpful — but he's not sure it was necessary
CBC
An Ottawa Police officer who took over as event commander during last winter's convoy protests said it's hard for him to know whether invoking the Emergencies Act was justified because he never got a chance to execute his own plan to clear protesters from Ottawa's downtown.
Supt. Robert Bernier continued his testimony Wednesday morning before the Public Order Emergency Commission inquiry, which is investigating the circumstances that led up to the federal government triggering the never-before-used legislation on Feb. 14 to end the protest that had gridlocked Ottawa for weeks.
Bernier called the Emergencies Act measures helpful but said he was already planning to carry out a police operation before the law was invoked.
Commission lawyer Frank Au asked Bernier whether he thought the federal act was necessary to remove protesters.
"Hard for me to say. I did not get to do the operation without it," Bernier said Wednesday.
"I don't know what complications I would have had had it not been in place and utilized the common law."
Bernier, who took over as event commander on Feb. 10, said his team, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the RCMP were crafting a plan to end the demonstrations.
As event commander, he was responsible for strategic operational planning.
Bernier previously told the Public Order Emergency Commission he did not need to rely on powers granted under the federal act to secure tow trucks.
One of the measures in the Emergencies Act was meant to address problems with securing tow trucks. At least one Ottawa tow truck operator reported receiving hundreds of calls — including death threats — from protest supporters.
Bernier said that before the act was invoked, the OPP had assembled 34 tow trucks with willing drivers.
Police had promised to place police crests on the trucks and to cover other company markings to keep the drivers and their employers anonymous, he said.
Donnaree Nygard, a lawyer for the federal government, asked Bernier if he was aware the commitment for 34 trucks had fallen through.
"I was not informed of that," said Bernier.
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