🔴LIVE UPDATES Day 4: Public Order Emergency Commission investigates Trudeau's use of Emergencies Act
https://rumble.com/v1oklc9-live-trucker-commission-day-4.html
The public inquiry investigating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act began on Oct. 13. As part of the government's obligations following the invocation of the Act, a commission must be convened within 60 days and its subsequent report must be tabled in Parliament within 360 days after the Act is revoked.
This inquiry, deemed the Public Order Emergency Commission, was announced by Trudeau on April 25 after the Emergencies Act was revoked on February 23. The mandate delivered from the prime minister tasks the commission with handling the examination and assessment of the basis for the Trudeau government's decision to use the Emergencies Act, the circumstances leading up to the invocation and whether this was an appropriate and effective measure chosen by the government to address the Freedom Convoy.Â
A review of the legislative policy and regulatory framework will also be part of the commissions duties, which could feature potential amendments to the Emergencies Act. The full order in council relating to the Public Order Emergency Commission can be read here.
Sheila Gunn Reid is live tweeting the hearing today as it happens. Watch above, or follow along below:
Ayotte says it was a difficult situation and it made his officers look like they were taking sides because if they weren't allowed to ticket convoyers, how could they then go out and enforce bylaws in the rest of the city on other residents?
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Ayotte: "Not enforcing what they do for a living was a morale hit for bylaw officers. They were criticized in the media for not doing their job but in fact they were told not to do their jobs by senior leadership. It was a morale issue' a want to go out and do their job."
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Ayotte says this op stance related primarily to officer safety. His bylaw officers are not armed or trained in the same way that police are. He didn't have all the intelligence that police had regarding the elements in the crowd.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
He refers now to riot images out of the USA.
Ayotte is testifying that within the red zone and outside of the red zone with convoy related vehicles, they could not ticket or tow without police support/approval and that stance was maintained throughout the entire protest.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Ayotte testified that outside of the red zone, his bylaw officers enforced bylaws unless it was evident the bylaw scofflaws were related to the convoy. (Signage etc. that indicated they were truckers)
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Saturday Jan 29. Ayotte testifies that bylaw officers were acting as they normally were, issuing parking tickets, etc.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Until Ayotte received notifications from the EOC that a red zone had been established for traffic management and that bylaw should not go into the red zone.
Commission is calling its next witness. Kim Ayotte. He's the head of emergency services in the city of Ottawa.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Lawyers for the commission say they received 60,000 documents. They're currently entering reports, meeting minutes and situational reports into evidence.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Commissioner asks Watson if he feels the feds and the province of Ontario are equally responsible for sending additional policing.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson says yes.
Watson: I didn't ask anyone to invoke the Emergencies Act.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson talks about the threats he received personally. He says that somebody was coming from Nova Scotia with guns to shoot him.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
He said his executive security as well as the police took the threats against him and other counselors very seriously.
Champ: why didn't you reach out personally to councillors Fluery and McKenney to offer comfort to them in this difficult time?
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Waston: I had 2 calls and a zoom call with McKenney. I had 2 or 3 calls with Fluery. Post event, I invited both of them for breakfast with Chief Bell
Watson who previously testified before the break that he wasn't negotiating with the protesters and that the protesters were unable to be reasoned with just testified that his chief of staff was negotiating on his behalf with the protesters.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Smh. Pick a lane, Jim.
Ottawa busybody lawyer Paul Champ tried to get Watson to admit that Dean French was aligned with the protesters.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson, to his credit, would not concede that.
"He didn't suggest to you that he saw the protesters as patriots?'
"No"
Watson: I was putting pressure on everyone to get moving.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson didn't learn of Chief Sloly's resignation until the announcement of it.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
They had lunch weeks later together.
Watson says he regarded the resignation as an act of leadership.
Watson says the EA was instrumental in the peaceful resolution of the protests.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
"yes very much so"
Sloly lawyer: The city has a long history of allowing vehicles to come into Ottawa.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: yes, for example, they allowed the farm protest to come onto Wellington, and they left after they said their speeches.
I guess Watson forgot about this. He was negotiating. And the truckers were negotiating in good faith. https://t.co/orrJBEGCsN pic.twitter.com/uzSHUbl5xu
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Lawyer for Peter Sloly is now examining Watson.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson admits that he had full confidence in Sloly until Sloly resigned.
Watson also admits that Sloly worked around the clock.
(It feels as though there's a lawsuit coming at the city after everything is said and done)
Miller: your statement that you couldn't negotiate with these people rationally isn't true. Because the one time you did negotiate with them, they did negotiate rationally.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: no I didn't. Because I wasn't involved
(He is trying to distance himself from city officials)
Miller: you agreed the truckers upheld their end of the bargain (to move the trucks)
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: yes, in that aspect.
Miller: you said you couldn't negotiate with these people rationally. But you did.
Watson: I didn't get involved in that personally. It was Mr French.
(Lol)
Watson keeps talking about how politicians are not allowed to direct police services. Ok fine.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
But he called/wrote letters to Justin Trudeau, Premier Ford, and two other MPs for operational help from the OPP and RCMP.
Miller: And no time did you ask for financial assistance from the minister.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: I asked the premier.
Miller: But you know you're supposed to ask the minister.
Miller: You're very familiar with the municipal act as you held that office.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: correct.
Miller: I can't see where in any of the evidence in this hearing that you contacted Minister Steve Clark (the municipal affairs minister).
Miller is trying to get Watson to admit his political leanings, Watson is playing cute about his employment history.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson was a member of the provincial government as municipal affairs minister for the Ontario Liberal Party.
Miller: The OPP and the OPS did not and could not update you on their actual operational plan.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: no they could not.
Miller: you weren't aware of the policing operational plan
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: I was never made aware of the op plan nor was I made aware of the time that it was going to be launched.
Miller: you saw certain uniformed officers arrived from OPP?
Watson: I saw a lot of OPP officers
Miller: Did you mishandle the situation?
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson: we did the best we could but that was not good enough.
Miller: can you agree the matter was politicized by you?
Watson: no
Miller: was this politicized by the feds?
Watson: no
ok, convoy lawyer Brendan Miller is going to examine Watson. They are going to seize Miller's bank account for this line of questioning.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
(Tow truck drivers are not Watson's slaves)
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
"we were told by every tow truck company that they were not coming. They refused to help"
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
then the EA was invoked and they had no choice. Awful.
Watson says he liked that the Emergencies Act compelled tow truck drivers to violate their consciences to move trucks out of the downtown core of Ottawa when they would not previously.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
"the tow trucks showed up because they had no choice and they cleared out the streets"
Watson says the city did not ask the Feds to invoke the Emergencies Act.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
"No one had raised the emergencies act with us. When it was invoked, and I was briefed on the powers, I thought this was a positive act. I very much supported it. I sent a letter thanking the PM for it"
Watson looked like he was sucking a lemon, having to admit truckers were acting in good faith and keeping up their end of the negotiations.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Trudeau's invocation of the EA put an end to all that. Police were directed to end the main protest and stopped helping move trucks out.
Watson begrudgingly admits that on Feb 14, truckers began moving trucks out of residential areas. 40 big rigs and 62 other vehicles, according to Watson.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson testifies the movement of trucks was stopped after the invocation of the Emergencies Act, and police were redeployed
Now Jim Watson describes himself as an armchair critic in the response to the convoy protest in his city
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
(He is the mayor who cried to GoFundMe, plotted with the PM against Ford and former Chief Sloly and spread so much disinfo about the convoy he could run a bot farm in Kosovo)
Watson says the "process proceeded as it should", referencing the police moving in on peaceful protesters in the nation's capital wherein journalists were pepper sprayed and Alexa Lavoie was shot with a crowd control gun and clubbed, and protesters were trampled with horses.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
OK
Sorry about the blurry screenshot but while Doug Ford is standing shoulder to shoulder with Justin Trudeau, behind closed doors Watson and Trudeau were blaming Ford for failing to act in Ottawa.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
(But the feds failed to send enough RCMP after the city manager requested them) pic.twitter.com/3egwnmYVrL
Trudeau was trying to get Watson to throw Sloly under the bus.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
JT: There are moments where you are saying one thing and he is saying another. Is there anywhere we can help around that?"
Watson: PM, now is not the time to change courses. We have to do our best to support him" pic.twitter.com/wzflxDZlxz
Jim Watson says that he was concerned about the optics of having " vulgar flags" and " Confederate flags" and "swastikas" being waived around in front of the backdrop of Parliament Hill.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson, hysterical exaggerator. For context: https://t.co/5uRjonkAkf
Based on this readout from a phone call between Justin Trudeau and Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, Trudeau seems to have wanted a quicker crackdown on protesters by Ottawa police after former Chief Sloly said he would respect Charter rights to protest. pic.twitter.com/vB4BEViTsW
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson says the first time he asked the Feds for additional resources in a meeting with Mendicino's office was Feb 3.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
The state of local emergency to deal with the aforementioned hot tubs and fireworks was Feb 6.
Watson calls the convoy "horrific" and says it was turning into a "volatile" situation". Then he describes the horrific situation:
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
fireworks and hot tubs.
Watson testifies that it only took one phone call to GoFundMe to get the crowdfund cut off to the truckers. He said they underestimated the impact of the protest on Ottawa.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
He told them the crowdfund was damaging his city.
Watson also notes that someone put an "end the mandate sign on the Terry Fox statue" https://t.co/OV1XY3RjRE
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson didn't care about the pride flag on the statue. pic.twitter.com/rwQ6o3ryTc
"These people had their time" Watson explained to the PM.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
Watson cites some now-debunked nonsense to call the actions of the convoy "disgraceful" and "completely despicable"
claiming protesters urinated and danced on the tomb of the unknown soldier. https://t.co/TNdgV5PQFf
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson is testifying at the POEC (public order emergency commission) this morning.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 18, 2022
He is currently explaining a phone call he had with the prime minister.
Watson told the prime minister about the pressure he was putting on former police chief Sloly to act.
We have now arrived at the 4th day of the #POEC Emergencies Act Inquiry.
— William Diaz-Berthiaume (@wdiazberthiaume) October 18, 2022
Current Ottawa mayor Jim Watson is set to testify in front of the committee today.
STAY TUNED: https://t.co/YpdRcagI0C #EmergenciesActInquiry
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