The 'Freedom Convoy' protests would not have spun out of control if not for a series of failures by the Ottawa Police Service, the commission examining the invocation of the Emergencies Act has found.
The report of the public inquiry into the federal government's use of the Act, tabled Friday in Parliament, delves into a series of problems with the police response, including intelligence gathering and communications failures, inadequate planning, poor communication and a lack of coordination.
Justice Rouleau's report breaks down the inadequacies in the police response into a dozen sections, starting with shortcomings in intelligence gathering. The report found that Ottawa police lacked a system to ensure proper dissemination of its own information within the force, and there was also a disconnect with the OPP-led intelligence-gathering effort.
That disorganization led to different police units working at cross-purposes, both at the Coventry Road operation and at the intersection of Rideau and Sussex, which became a focal point of the protests.The plan that existed on January 28 to deal with the protests was "largely a traffic management plan for a weekend event," the report said.However, Ottawa police did not develop an overall operation plan until February 13.
Rouleau said in particular, Sloly's statement that there may not be a policing solution to the demonstrations attracted "disproportionate scrutiny." The report also said that Sloly's decision-making may have been unduly influenced by meetings with advisors from Navigator, an external crisis communications firm. Those meetings appeared to have morphed into operational discussions, the report found.
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