Hello,
Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly has resigned from his position amid intense criticism from politicians and local residents on how his service has responded to ongoing demonstrations in the nation’s capital.
Ottawa Police Board chair Diane Deans said on Tuesday that Mr. Sloly is “no longer employed” with the Ottawa Police Service. She said no further comment would be made on this labour relations matter. Deputy police chief Steve Bell will serve as interim until further notice, she added.
Mr. Sloly, 55, became Ottawa Police chief in October, 2019. His resignation took place on the 19th day of demonstrations that have brought the downtown core to a standstill.
Parliamentary Reporters Kristy Kirkup, Marieke Walsh and Michelle Carbert report here.
A detailed profile by Ms. Carbert of Mr. Sloly’s career and approach to policing is available here.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
PROTESTS
EMERGENCY ACT BOLSTERS BANK, INTELLIGENCE AGENCY POWERS - Federal Emergency Act measures will expand the powers of Canada’s banks and financial intelligence agency to monitor and stem the flow of funds to protesters who have blocked downtown Ottawa and key corridors, as the federal government escalates its efforts to end the disruptions. Story here.
COUTTS PROTEST WINDS DOWN - The protesters who used semis, farm equipment, campers and other vehicles to block access to and from the U.S.-Canada border at Coutts, Alta., wound down their demonstration on Monday night, with the last holdouts were moving out of the area on Tuesday morning. Calgary Reporter Carrie Tait reports here from Coutts.
PORTRAIT EMERGES OF DONORS FOR OTTAWA PROTESTS - Leaked data for the largest online fundraising campaign supporting the Ottawa protests reveal tens of thousands of Canadian and U.S. donors have collectively contributed millions of dollars to the demonstrations. Story here.
GLOBE AND MAIL EXPLAINER - What is the federal Emergencies Act? A summary of the law’s powers and uses. The Explainer is here.
MEANWHILE
NEW RULES FOR TRAVELLERS - Vaccinated travellers will no longer need a molecular COVID-19 test to enter Canada starting on Feb. 28, because the pandemic situation in Canada has improved, the federal health minister announced on Tuesday. Story here.
CANADA PROVIDES WEAPONS AND A LOAN FOR UKRAINE - Canada is providing lethal weapons to Ukraine and a $500-million loan as the Eastern European country girds for possible war with Russia. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that his government has approved the shipment of $7.8-million of weapons and ammunition “in light of the seriousness of the situation” facing Ukraine. Story here.
POTENTIAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL GRAVES FOUND - A First Nation in eastern Saskatchewan says 54 potential graves have been found through a search with ground-penetrating radar at the site of two former residential schools. Story here.
COMMITTEE FINDS CYBERDEFENCE GAPS - The committee of MPs and senators that oversees federal security policy has uncovered gaps in Canada’s cyberdefences that could leave many agencies vulnerable to state-sponsored hackers from countries like China and Russia. Story here.
FEDS PLAN TO WELCOME 420,000 IMMIGRANTS THIS YEAR - The federal government aims to accept nearly 432,000 immigrants to Canada this year, as a part of a three-year plan to fill crucial labour-market gaps and support the recovery from the economic effects of the pandemic. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS - Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, Feb.15, accessible here.
NEXT STEPS FOR THE EMERGENCIES ACT: Government House Leader Mark Holland talked about the path ahead for enacting the Emergencies Act on Tuesday, taking questions from the media as he arrived for a cabinet meeting: “So we have seven days. We’ll be introducing a motion into the House imminently. Obviously, these are provisions that have never been used before, so we want to make sure that we’re proceeding prudently and that we are working and having conversations with other opposition parties around not only the introduction of the motion, but also the formulation of the committee, because there needs to be a parliamentary committee that’s joined with both the House and the Senate. So there’s obviously conversations that are taking place with Senate leadership as well.”
PERRIN BEATTY ON EMERGENCIES ACT - In 1988, Perrin Beatty, as the defence minister for the Progressive Conservative government under prime minister Brian Mulroney, was responsible for bringing in the Emergencies Act, which has been unpacked this week to deal with current protests.
Now the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Beatty spoke to the Politics Briefing newsletter on Tuesday about current events:
Q-How have you felt about the act being used now?
A-Sad that it has come to this, but satisfied and pleased that we have a piece of legislation like this that is nuanced and protects civil liberties and allows government to act at times of crisis.
The police are being asked to deal with a breakdown of our political system. All of us want to hope that when people exercise their right to dissent and to protest, it would be done peacefully and without violating the rights of others, that we would have the capacity within the system to deal with any problems without having to use the Emergencies Act, which is really designed to be a measure of last resort.
Q-When this act came into being, what was your thinking about when it would ever be used?
A-All of us hoped it would never be necessary for governments to assume extraordinary powers, but we all recognized that there would be crises in the future of a wide variety where the government would have to have extraordinary powers. We needed to build in checks and balances to protect people’s basic rights. We recognized we needed something that was more modern, more nuanced [than the War Measures Act] that would allow government to respond quickly in a time of crisis , but would also provide the protections that are expected in a democracy.
Q-What did you think of the Prime Minister’s comments yesterday, explaining his thoughts on using the act?
A-His description of the nature of the act, the protections of the act, were quite accurate. I think we’re still waiting to get a full explanation from the government about what the needs were, what required the act that could not have been met through other methods.
Q-What are you watching for next?
A-The decision to invoke the act moves the situation to a new level. The decision to invoke the act signals an intent to do something to resolve the situation very quickly.
Q-It would seem as though the act has been enacted, but police officers still have to go out there and do the work. And it looks, from walking around downtown, like it’s going to be difficult work.
A-Exactly, and that’s the issue.
Q-As a long-time Ottawa resident, how do the protests make you feel?
A-It’s being captive in my own community, not being able to have the freedom to move about and to go about our normal lives. We’re going to need to look at the question of whether we need to increase security in Ottawa with it being a national capital. If you compare the ratio of police to inhabitants in Washington or other capitals, the ratio is very low in Ottawa. I would hate to see it being necessary, just as I hated, as a former Parliamentarian, to see security constantly ramped up on the Hill, but the government may feel it has to, as a result of the world that we live in becoming more dangerous.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
ANAND AT NATO MEETING - Defence Minister Anita Anand left for Brussels on Monday to represent Canada at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Defence Ministers’ Meeting from Feb. 16-17.
THE DECIBEL - On Tuesday’s edition of The Decibel, Globe Queen’s Park reporter Jeff Gray gives us an update of what happened over the weekend on the convoy protests and explains the moves Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have made in recent days as the public’s patience wears thin on the protests and blockades at border crossings and in Ottawa. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister chaired the cabinet meeting, spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and attended Question Period.
LEADERS
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet attends Question Period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh attends Question Period.
No other party leader schedules released.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on how you can debate whether it’s an ‘emergency,’ but the blockades can’t be allowed to continue: “But at a certain point, there’s nothing left to talk about. People have to get out of the road, or the law has to make them get out of the road. At a certain point, if the rule of law isn’t enforced, it isn’t the law any more, and instead of a government by the consent of the people, we end up with a minority ruling by force. At the borders and in Ottawa, that point has been reached, and passed. If Emergencies Act powers are used in a limited and targeted manner, to give police additional authorities to unblock blockades, they are justified.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on whether invoking the Emergencies Act is too much: “Up until now, Mr. Trudeau has shown little interest in accepting responsibility for ending the protests. Monday, he took full responsibility. If the government mismanages occupations and blockades, public support will evaporate. He is taking a political risk. But for the Conservatives Party, the situation is dire. The party supported the initial aim of the Ottawa protest, which was to end mandatory vaccinations for truck drivers crossing into the United States. But that protest has devolved into a populist, right-wing occupation of the parliamentary precinct with an aim to force an immediate end to all pandemic restrictions and maybe to bring down the government as well.”
Rita Abrahamsen and Michael C. Williams (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on a new approach needed to blunt the appeal of far-right movements: “Three ideological strategies characterize recently ascendant right-wing movements, and elements of each are evident in the truckers’ protests. First, they are anti-globalist and anti-elitist. They claim to speak for the “real people, in real places,” those forgotten by the “globalist” elite that dominates the corridors of power. Second, they are opposed to the “administrative state” and the growth of non-legislative powers in the hands of bureaucrats and experts. Precisely for this reason, COVID-19 public health measures have been a boon for the right, whose supporters see an encroaching state in each new regulation. Thus, vaccine mandates are a symbol that unifies and mobilizes opposition to an unrepresentative and overbearing state. Third, recent right-wing movements attack what they see as condescension from mainstream media and cultural institutions that disparages the values and concerns of ordinary people.”
Peter MacKay and Vern White (The National Post) on how what’s happening in Ottawa is not freedom, but anarchy: “No doubt the convoy of truckers and others who now control downtown Ottawa were buoyed by the welcome mat extended by elected officials; those who swore an oath to protect Canadian institutions. Hypocritically, one day members of Parliament clamour for rail blockades to come down and then the next they cheer on those who boast of their illegal intent and then paralyze supply chains, impede traffic and restrict ordinary citizens from the peaceful enjoyment of their lives.”
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