Negotiator behind deal with Freedom Convoy says Ottawa was too quick to use emergency powers | CBC News - Guy Quenneville, Stephen Hoff:
August 17, 2022 - "The man who negotiated on the City of Ottawa's behalf with Tamara Lich and other organizers of the Freedom Convoy says an agreement for truckers to leave the city's residential streets wasn't given enough time to play out before the federal government used its emergency powers to quell the weeks-long occupation. 'This is a black mark on Canadian history,' Dean French said of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, just a day after word of an agreement between the city and truckers became public. 'History will show this was a total overreaction.'
"Starting in late January, protesters rallied against pandemic restrictions and blocked neighbourhood access and main arteries around Parliament Hill by clogging the streets with trucks and other vehicles. Triggering the act gave authorities sweeping temporary powers, including the ability to freeze the bank accounts and credit cards of protesters and compel tow truck companies to help them clear out vehicles. Attending any event deemed an unlawful assembly, such as the Ottawa convoy protest, also became illegal....
"[U]nsealed cabinet meeting minutes revealed Trudeau took the unprecedented measure of invoking the act only a day after being told by his national security adviser of a potential 'breakthrough' in the crisis. The office of the public safety minister later said the minutes referred to negotiations led by the city that were 'ultimately unsuccessful'.... The government considered the outcome of those negotiations 'as a factor in the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act,' the minister's office added.
"French ... said dozens of trucks were starting to move from residential areas when the Emergencies Act was invoked. 'Why wouldn't Trudeau's cabinet have waited on the Sunday night [Feb. 13] to say, '[Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson], a very credible, respected mayor, has an agreement. Let's just wait two or three days to see if this peaceful resolution works' .... French told Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday....
"According to a Feb. 12 letter from Watson to Lich, the agreement called for all protest trucks to be removed within 72 hours from residential areas and from the parking lot of a baseball stadium. They were to move to Wellington Street just south of Parliament Hill. If there was 'clear evidence' of the convoy beginning to clear from neighbourhoods before noon on Feb. 14, Watson would meet with Lich, the mayor wrote. In a letter of reply sent that same day, Lich told Watson the Freedom Convoy's board agreed with his request 'to reduce pressure on the residents and businesses' and consolidate vehicles around Parliament Hill. 'We will be working hard over the next 24 hours to get buy-in from the truckers,' Lich wrote. 'We hope to start repositioning our trucks on Monday [Feb. 14].' Lawyer Keith Wilson, who represents Lich on her non-criminal cases, gave CBC a memo from Lich and other convoy organizers he said was distributed to hundreds of convoy participants that day to tell them about the new strategy. 'We need to reposition our trucks so we don't give the Prime Minister the excuse he desperately wants to use force and seize our trucks,' the memo says....
"The details of the agreement became public just hours before the cabinet meeting where Trudeau and assembled ministers were told of the 'breakthrough,' French said. 'It was pretty clear,' he said of the agreement. 'I'm surprised the wording from the security adviser to the prime minister and the cabinet wasn't a little bit more direct: 'The mayor has an agreement'.'"
"Some of the trucks — not all of them — moved from residential streets after the agreement was announced and Lich's Twitter account cast doubt on whether a deal had actually been made. Kapelos also pointed out that another key convoy figure, Pat King, denounced the deal.... 'Yes, there was some walk back-ing and some clarity that needed to take place,' French said, adding that he'd 'love to know' how many trucks had moved according to the Ottawa Police Service. 'I think it's the key question,' French said of the public inquiry that will ... analyze the Trudeau government's reasons for tapping into emergency measures.
"The mayor declined to comment on the reported 'breakthrough,' citing his planned appearance at the inquiry."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/freedom-convoy-protest-trudeau-emergencies-act-1.6552820
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