Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
After policing the "Freedom Convoy," the RCMP came away with lessons learned, newly released documents show -- including the need to better prepare for the potential targeting of emergency phone lines.
Briefing notes obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information laws also point to security pressures to protect leaders in Ottawa and detail the challenges that arose from the fact the protests had no clear leadership.
The force compiled the documents before six top RCMP officials, including Commissioner Brenda Lucki, were interviewed by lawyers with the Public Order Emergency Commission last September.
In early 2022, Lucki was among the officials Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet looked to as they grappled with how to respond to protests staged near Parliament Hill in Ottawa and at several U.S. border crossings.
To clear the protesters, who were demonstrating against Trudeau's government and COVID-19 public health measures, Ottawa ultimately invoked the federal Emergencies Act -- a move that Justice Paul Rouleau ruled was justified in a final report released a month ago.
The hundreds of hours of testimony and thousands of pages of documents presented over six weeks of public hearings last fallculminated in 56 recommendations, 27 of which were directed at improving police operations.
But long before the Rouleau report's release, the RCMP had already prepped its own list of "preliminary lessons learned," two of the briefing documents show.
The Mounties acknowledged that "setting the tone early with protesters" was important and was"complicated by the lack of clear leadership."
Another lesson learned was the need to prevent vehicles or other encampments from becoming "entrenched" in a public space, according to the document.
Other suggested improvements to future operations included "anticipating swatting of emergency call lines," providing officers with hearing protection and planning for an uptick in security demandsfor members of Parliament and cabinet ministers.
University of Ottawa criminology professor Michael Kempa suggests that the lessons learned show the RCMP realizes that it cannot use its approach to policing past protests as a blueprint for future ones.
"They're saying, 'We can't rely on our past experience."'
In an interview, Kempa said the convoy was an example of a "new form of mass protest," which can be organized through social media and can raise tons of money, but that doesn't have clear leadership among different protest groups.
The document prepared for its officials came complete with a timeline and description of the tasks the RCMP performed during the weeks-long protest in Ottawa, which included providing security escorts for cabinet ministers, party leaders and judges.
It says the force's protective division saw a sharp uptick in the number of threats and "inappropriate comments" made against officials under its protection, the majority of which were directed at Trudeau.
The briefing note says the RCMP opened 168 "adverse files" from Jan. 21 to the end of Feb. 28 in 2022, compared to 44 during the same period in 2021.
During last fall's inquiry, Lucki's performance came under heavy scrutiny when it was revealed that she did not share information with cabinet that a plan was in place to clear protesters from Ottawa.
While testifying, Lucki acknowledged: "I guessin hindsight, yeah, that might have been something significant."
The inquiry also learned that in the hours before the decision was made, Lucki had sent a note to a senior official that suggested she felt not "all available tools" had been explored.
In a "hot issues note"dated two days after her time on the stand -- also obtained by The Canadian Press under access laws -- the RCMP was more direct about its need for the emergency powers due to Ottawa's "unique challenges."
"While law enforcement partners including the RCMP eventually devised a viable plan to dismantle the convoy in Ottawa, the timeliness of these actions would not have been possible without the proclamation of a public order emergency under the Emergencies Act," the note reads.
It adds: "The (Emergencies Act) gave law enforcement the tools to get the job done quickly and safely."
Kempa said that while Lucki's testimony was "somewhat confusing" as to whether she felt the powers were needed, the force seemed more "unambiguous" internally in suggesting they were not only helpful but necessary.
In an statement Friday, the RCMP defended Lucki's testimony as being consistent with the briefing documents.
"There was a plan in place, the Emergencies Act gave law enforcement the tools needed to get the job done quickly and safely by helping to reduce the footprint of the illegal protest in Ottawa and there were other legal tools and authorities that existed," spokesperson Cpl. Kim Chamberland wrote.
Chamberland added that RCMP officials discussed the importance of the lessons learned and offered suggestions for future policing during the commission hearings.
The briefing documents show that before the inquiry began, the RCMP also compiled a set of "outcomes" it wanted the commission to consider.
One was the introduction of a "new National Police Act" that it hoped would provide "clear" authorities for peace officers and "clarify thresholds" between different levels of police when it comes to national crises.
The RCMP also wanted Rouleau to consider "effective deterrents and increased penalties with the Criminal Code of Canada and applicable legislation to prevent individuals from organizing, participating or conducting unlawful protest activity."
Asked if the government was considering any legislative changes following Rouleau's report and the convoy protests, a spokeswoman for Justice Minister David Lametti's office did not offer a direct answer.
"We are reviewing the report carefully, and as (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) committed to, will issue a comprehensive, public response to the commissioner's recommendations within the next year," Diana Ebadi said in an email.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2023.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.