đź”´LIVE UPDATES (Day 8): Public Order Emergency Commission investigates Trudeau's use of Emergencies Act
Follow along with updates from the eighth day of the Emergencies Act inquiry as it happens.
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inquiry, deemed the Public Order Emergency Commission, was announced by Trudeau on April 25 after the Emergencies Act was revoked on February 23.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:
Former Interim Chief Steve Bell caught on a hot mic saying "thank you sir. Did you see me? Squirming?"
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Bell is awful under scrutiny. He is forced to admit that they never referenced the Hendon reports from the OPP before they made their plan to deal with the convoy on its first weekend.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
OPS didn't rely on Intel they had.
"This plan was not intelligence lead?"
Bell disagrees
The lawyer for Gov of Ontario is making Bell admit that nowhere in the Hendon Intel reports from OPP did it say the truckers would leave after one weekend.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Bell is squirming.
" Your planning was based on what you thought would happen rather than the intel at your disposal"
more on the internal back and forth on negotiations. They didn't want senators to have to walk past some trucks, as tho anyone knows who a senator is in Canada. pic.twitter.com/pO6bce6U58
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Trudeau's politicization of issues was causing major comms problems for OPS. Notes call Ottawa councilors the "weakest point" (lol, no kidding! remember the microaggressions)
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
OPS wanted assistance screening FB for accounts that were offensive or causing issues. Priorities! pic.twitter.com/UoPTlmUgQd
BL is Brenda Lucki wondering if this was BLM, would they be so hands-off.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Is she crazy? cops took a knee to that political movement. She was looking at the political fall-out. pic.twitter.com/BgIIHrBsPc
Again, I reiterate there were only 16 charges between January 27th and February 13th.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
The majority of those were for mischief, many for the crime of bringing fuel into to protesters.
(I'm not even sure if hate crimes charges were laid at any point)
Bell is just exaggerating https://t.co/ezrYKYP9Q4
Bell on the violence in the streets:
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
"included honking incessantly, idling, engagements we saw between our community members and members of protest - intimidating, hate/bias crimes, assaultive behavior - and a sense that ppl couldn't leave their houses. It was almost constant"
At 4:40 p.m. on February 6th, OPS started seizing fuel at Coventry road after PLT had been engaging with protesters for 2 hours.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
It derailed everything. However, the protesters were compliant. They surrounded the cops and videotaped, but were not violent during enforcement.
I'm literally quoting a document before the POEC.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
I love how viscerally you react to the truth. It's like a demon reacting to Latin. https://t.co/jw5swGUnjT
CSIS said the money was not foreign in nature. https://t.co/cuqH45Q7EA
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
You're probably having trouble keeping up with all CBCs corrections and redactions. I get it. It's a lot. https://t.co/acIOlliRv7
Those two people being trampled might disagree. https://t.co/A3Tqkrl7R6 pic.twitter.com/FOshxwgwAY
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Let us never forget that former Interim Chief Steve Bell claimed to have no clue that people were trampled by horses in his city, journalists pepper sprayed, one beaten with a club and shot with a pepper canister from a riot control gun at close range.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Do you have any points to make that aren't insults? Should we meet behind the swing sets at recess and fight?
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Liberal Internet ™️is not sending me their best trolls anymore. Sad. https://t.co/8ErFdw4yw4
Bell testifies that he had no idea about the degree of criminality or "disobedience" that he would experience
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
In the lead up to the invocation of the emergencies act, only 16 convoy related people were charged with anything between January 27th and February 14th.
Criminality!
January 29 OPS Intel report, threat assessment:
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
No mention that the convoy itself was a terrorism event, says that the truckers had the ability to shut down movement in the city, at worst
OPS knew the convoy may leave the city at different times depending on personal intents
Rollie, our journalist pepper sprayed and beat herself then? https://t.co/H2vkpULvX5 https://t.co/Md698q7RRN
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Threat assessment report notes that the egress of the truckers could last an extended period of time.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Though the lawyer for Sloly skimmed right over it, The OPS threat assessment noted that the truckers were coming to Ottawa to express their "lawful opinions".
" It was a paradigm shift, about how protests are done in this country"
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
When prodded tho, Bell refuses to call it a terrorist level event.
" I don't think I'm in a position to identify whether it was a national security threat"
Steve Bell says that the OPS came into 2022 deficient in resources, before the convoy.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
They had lost experienced personnel to retirement.
(The ineptitude of the OPS and an inability to replace people lost to attrition is not an excuse to invoke the EA)
Steve Bell maintains the tow truck lie that he needed the EA to get trucks to come to Ottawa. Heard previous testimony that seven companies had over 30 heavy haul trucks willing to come.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
He liked the financial investigations/crackdowns.
And he liked the extra police powers.
Right. Right. Right. I wouldn't know anything about real truckers. Good argument. https://t.co/GUmiu4mqwu
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Former interim Chief Bell notes the advice he gave to his officers about the volatility of the situation when engaging in proactive enforcement measures (ticketing). Again he says it's volatile but never says how.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Former interim Chief Bell says that the convoy behavior was escalating. Although he doesn't ever say what the escalating behavior was.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
He said it was a dangerous city before. And the convoy was compounding it. But he never says how.
(he's completely rewriting history)
Feb 7 and 8, emails with Bell show the PLT unit had come to an agreement with the convoy that a meeting with a city manager level bureaucrat would be enough to facilitate the removal of trucks beginning the very next day.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
And police quickly got to work on it.
Former Chief Sloly didn't think that the OPP and the RCMP were acting in good faith. He said they were taking direction from their political masters.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Bell, on the other hand, calls them exceptional partners.
(I don't think there are any good guys here, the more I watch this)
Docs show interim Chief Bell and acting Deputy Chief Ferguson were big supporters of the police liaison team in their negotiations with the truckers.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Chief Sloly said that Deputy Chief Bell would be " held accountable for the success of the [traffic mitigation] plan."
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
(Relating to the secondary convoy that was headed towards the city of Ottawa for the weekend of the 11th and 12th)
On February 12th, Sloly tried to get OPS to close the off ramps again to prevent another convoy from coming into the city. At that meeting OPS general counsel Christiane Huneault sat in the meeting.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Ultimately, Sloly agreed. OPS lacked authority.
Classist garbage.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
You'd die without truckers. https://t.co/pejMTk3tyx
Violent pig roasts! https://t.co/5KW3XOyhuC
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Now discussing the closing of off ramps into the city on February 4th to prevent more people from coming into the city.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Sloly directed OPS officers to close the off ramps. Dept Chief Bell stated that OPS lacked authority to close inter-provincial bridges. That it fell on OPP
Me, when people in my comments section are telling me the convoy pig roasts were "violent". pic.twitter.com/dV666HMHUc
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Another document shown to former acting Chief Bell
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
"Supt Abrams also reported that OPS planners and the OPS planners assisting them were receiving contradictory directions."
Steve Bell is being shown a document where OPP Supt Abrams informed him about the chaos in the OPS.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
" That OPS was disorganized and poorly coordinated. Supt Abrams explained that it was an uncomfortable situation, but he felt compelled to raise his concerns and offer advice"
Steve Ball, head of the Ottawa hotel association, told an issues manager from Mayor Jim Watson's office that they needed the truckers' business. pic.twitter.com/etfGwGAEOk
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
oh ok, that totally means the truckers were terrorists, then. Good argument. I love Trudeau now. You've convinced me. https://t.co/Jm3lzjD1Xw
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Again, from the same doc:
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
"the demographic of the convoy is very unusual. The protests, globally, are made up entirely of the middle class"
Trudeau's fringe minority. Lol
Bell now talks about the violence "we have seen on our streets"
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Yeah, like trampling old ladies with horses, shooting journalists with pepper spray canisters, and snatch-and-grab arrests of anti-regime protesters.
This was narco-state garbage, not seen in Canada.
from the same doc:
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
"there is significant popular support for this event on a scale not seen in recent years
"In 6 years working large demonstration events from the intelligence point of view, the writer has never seen such widespread community action"
Fringe minority? Lol
Bell, the former intel lead, is being shown an early intelligence document informing him "there is a quickly growing fund that can pay for food, lodging, fuel and legal costs"
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Convoy was "truly organic" with "support from the widespread population"
"expect large crowds"
Bell testifies that the convoy came onto his radar around Jan 20 in a morning operational meeting.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Currently Frank Au, a lawyer for the commission, is going through the operational structure of the OPS with Bell. Many of the senior intelligence and information officers were new to their roles. Bell testifies the sharing of info was ID'ed as a problem long before the convoy.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
this morning, former acting Chief Steve Bell, who was deputy chief under Peter Sloly for half the protest, is testifying. Bell was in charge of intelligence at the OPS. He was only 2 months into that role.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
(Bell was not appointed permanent chief, BTW) https://t.co/ycfMvVei4O
Trudeau invoked the EA to euthanize the weeks-long peaceful trucker convoy protest in Ottawa, giving police extraordinary powers of arrest, search and seizure of bank accounts and other assets.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
Several senior bureaucrats and police have testified the act was not necessary.
back at it again this morning at the public order emergencies commission, a fail-safe built into the law Emergencies Act to prevent the unnecessary invocation of the counter-terrorism law by tyrants on peaceful citizens. Follow and support our reports at https://t.co/6lwJ7YU83K
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 24, 2022
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