A federal commission in Ottawa will turn its attention to the Ambassador Bridge blockade as a number of key Windsor officials are called to testify about the response to protesters shutting down North America’s busiest international crossing.
The commission is looking at the events leading up to the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act on February 14, hours after the nearly week-long Ambassador Bridge blockade was cleared.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens will be the first person to testify on Monday, followed by acting deputy chief Jason Crowley with the Windsor Police Service (WPS), who was the officer in charge during the protest.
Documents tabled by the City of Windsor and WPS during the commission have given a glimpse into what was happening behind the scenes as a few hundred people shut down a key international trade corridor that sees nearly a quarter of Canada’s export and imports by road.
Those documents highlight the advance warning senior police and city officials had leading up the initial protest on Feb. 7, an apparent disconnect between the chief and mayor when it came to policing resources required, and internal concerns that police were “panic buying” with little oversight during the protests.
Ottawa organizers deny involvement
Lawyers representing the Government of Canada, Ottawa residents, the Freedom Convoy and various police agencies will be able to question witnesses about their experience during the protests.
Last week, testimony was given by organizers of the Freedom Convoy who were asked if they had involvement with the protest in Windsor.
“There was one message that somehow came through either text or email from somebody that was in Windsor, and I don’t — I cannot honestly — I don’t know who this person was,” said Tom Marazzo, who describes himself as a Freedom Convoy volunteer.
“I know they were in Windsor and my only reaction was, “Whatever you do, make sure you keep at least one lane open across that bridge so that there can be traffic going back and forth.”
Trucker Chris Barber was a key organizer of the Freedom Convoy but said he had no communications with people in Windsor or any other protests outside of Ottawa.
“No, they were all — as far a I understand, they were all organic movements,” he told the commission.
Brigitte Belton, a trucker from Wallaceberg, Ont., who also participated in the Ottawa events, denied involvement with Windsor protests and said she tried to prevent the blockade.
“I spoke with ADT Trucking, who called me and asked me if we could block the Windsor border, and my response was, “No way. Continue to slow roll,” she said.
The commission also put forward an email sent on Feb. 11 to Tamara Lich, a well-known organizer of the Ottawa protest, where someone asked Lich to help organize the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge.
Lich forwarded that email to someone else and denied involvement.