The lead Ontario Provincial Police superintendent who came in to assist Windsor police days into the Ambassador Bridge blockade in Windsor in February will testify Tuesday at the public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
Supt. Dana Earley arrived in Windsor on Feb. 10 as the OPP took the lead in developing and executing a plan to clear the hundreds of protesters following a request for help from Pam Mizuno, who was Windsor’s police chief at the time.
A blockade started on Feb. 7 and was cleared by police on Feb. 13, when hundreds of OPP officers along with officers from other police services helped move protesters away from the entrance to Canada’s busiest international land crossing.
The next day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, giving temporary powers to government that he said would help clear protests against pandemic restrictions.
On Monday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens testified he thought the act was “extremely helpful” in deterring people from returning to the Ambassador Bridge to protest, which Acting Deputy Chief Jason Crowley said officers were “very paranoid” about following the crossing’s reopening.
The commission was also presented with text exchanges between Dilkens and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino in which the mayor asked the minister if the act would be invoked.
Mendicino replied to a text from Dilkens asking about the act, saying to the mayor: “To the extent you can be supportive of any additional authorities that gets Windsor the resources you need to keep the bridge open, people safe, that would be great.”
During Monday’s testimony, a document prepared by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for federal cabinet ministers was brought into evidence when Dilkens was questioned by lawyer Brendan Miller, who represents convoy leaders.
The assessment report says CSIS warned cabinet on Feb. 13 that invoking the Emergencies Act likely would end the convoy in Ottawa, but would increase the number of people with anti-government views “and push some towards the belief that violence is the only solution to what they perceive as a broken system and government.”
The report said CSIS reiterated those concerns to cabinet members after the act was invoked.