Another week of anticipated police testimony as part of the Public Order Emergency Commission' inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act got underway on Monday, with interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell appearing.
Bell as deputy chief oversaw intelligence, information and investigations for the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) before taking the helm of the embattled police force during the "Freedom Convoy" protests upon the resignation of his predecessor, Peter Sloly.
From the legal guidance OPS was operating under, to the usefulness of emergency powers, here are some key moments from the hearing.
DIDN'T FORESEE CITIZENS BECOMING 'LEVERAGE POINTS'
During his testimony Bell said one of the gaps in the city's intelligence was how the truckers and other anti-COVID-19 restriction and anti-government protesters would look to use Ottawa residents as a "leverage point."
"We've never experienced, and had no intelligence to indicate that it was actually going to be the leverage of the community and the activities of the protesters to use our community members through their activities, as the leverage point to be heard," Bell said.
Later in his testimony, Bell testified that that OPS has realized it did not put enough emphasis in its early planning for and handling of the convoy when it came to the impact of the protest on the community.
"I don't think it can be understated, the real impact of this protest was the community harm that was created… There wasn't any information that identified that, and that for me is what created the need, the emerging need for us to make sure that we had the action plans in place as we saw that emerge. Our communities were dramatically exposed to violent activity over that period of time," he said.
Challenged on the degree of violent activity seen during the protests by a lawyer representing the convoy organizers, and whether he actually meant physical assaults, Bell said: “I was specifically describing the violence that our community felt as a result of the combination of actions that the occupiers engaged in.”
Following up the convoy lawyer asked then if he meant the violence felt and not actual violence. Bell said: “That is correct, not the Criminal Code definition of violence, but the violence that they felt by having excessive horns blared… not having trucks run 24/7 a day… by having people intimidate them, and follow them, and by having people rip masks off their head, by feeling sheltered in their home.”
Another intelligence gap area that has already been well-explored in the commission's hearings to-date has been around how long officials anticipated protesters would stay.
On Oct. 24, Bell told the commission that while there had been "regular but passing reference" to the potential for the protests to extend beyond the first weekend, "based on the fact that it was believed to be a small group," establishing an "egress" plan was not identified as a priority.
INTELLIGENCE REPORT: CONVOY NOT 'USUAL SAD PLAYERS'
One of the most notable elements of Bell's appearance came through a document submitted into evidence: an OPS "Intelligence Assessment" dated Jan. 29, but prepared a day prior.
This report contained a few insights, including that convoy participants were well-funded and stocking up on supplies, that "persons with extremist political views" were backing the protest online, and that the "most likely police matter" would be the number of vehicles on local roads.
"The Convoy will be able to stop and effectively shut down movement if they desire," it reads.
Under a section describing the context surrounding this event, the report prepared by OPS Sgt. Chris Kiez states that while "most protests are repetitive," what they were seeing with the convoy was "rare."
"This event is... less of a 'professional protest' with the usual sad players, but rather, is a truly organic grass roots event that is gaining momentum," reads the report, which goes on to mention how there appeared to be "a powerful manifestation of deep discontent with how people feel they are being governed."
Further, in describing the demographic of the protesters heading to the nation's capital, the report calls it "unusual."
"The demographic of the Convoy is very unusual; the protests globally are made up almost entirely of middle-class members of society. Since the so-called 'silent majority' is numerically much larger than the professional activists. As a result, law enforcement is being met with numbers of people beyond the norm."
'TRUCK ISN'T A PROTECTED ENTITY': LEGAL INSIGHT
Bell was questioned during his testimony about a legal opinion prepared for Ottawa police that he shared with other top OPS leaders, including Sloly, on how they would be able to end the convoy while balancing Charter rights and public safety considerations.
In part the legal opinion stated that "where individuals or groups do not hinder or obstruct vehicular traffic for extended periods, they maintain the right to protest in so far that it does not engage or entail unlawful conduct."
Asked by a commission lawyer about transport trucks and other vehicles being allowed to enter the downtown core and park during that first weekend, where they later became entrenched, Bell said that OPS did have the ability to prevent vehicles from going downtown, saying that: "a truck isn't a protected entity under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, people are."
However, the OPS didn't stop the convoy because it hasn't been something they'd done with previous vehicle-based demonstrations.
"We had always allowed them because our experience was they had come and they had left, and we had managed them, and that was a regular occurrence for us," he said.
The lawyer then asked whether he agreed with Sloly's view that the OPS did not have legal authority to deny the "Freedom Convoy" access to downtown and that any road or traffic restrictions had to be commensurate to the threat. Bell said yes.
"I would absolutely agree, based on the intelligence we had. We didn't have legal authority to deny the protesters from a protest. All of the activity had been lawful and peaceful and there was no indication of anything contrary to that."
EMERGENCIES ACT 'SIGNIFICANTLY BENEFICIAL'
In a summary from Bell's summer pre-interview with the commission, Bell's position was outlined when it came to the usefulness of the various levels of government's enacting of emergency declarations.
Bell said that when Ottawa declared a state of emergency this "created easier avenues for OPS funding and procurement," but that the police service "did not leverage any of these avenues."
When Ontario declared a province-wide emergency, the declaration and powers this enacted "did not directly help OPS" but noted it did indirectly benefit as the Ontario Provincial Police had enhanced capabilities.
As for the impact of the federal government invoking the Emergencies Act, Bell said that these extraordinary powers "were significantly beneficial to OPS in ending the occupation," though he "did not have an opinion on whether the Emergencies Act was necessary."
Questioned on these remarks, a lawyer representing the federal government asked Bell whether he agreed that the Emergencies Act allowed law enforcement to “create a stable atmosphere in advance of launching the operation to clear the downtown core.”
In response, Bell said: “That is absolutely true... That resulted in a very low, small number of injuries.” He also testified in agreement with the federal lawyer that there was “an interconnectivity” between the protests in Ottawa and those in other provinces, and that provided as the government lawyer put it, an “escalating situation across the country.”
HAVE OPS LEARNED HOW TO PREVENT OCCUPATIONS?
Part of the commission's mandate is to find out what happened in order for those involved to learn from the mistakes and ensure they do not happen again. On Oct. 24, a commission lawyer asked Bell what he thought the Ottawa police could have been done better. Bell then used this opportunity to describe how he thinks the Ottawa police have already learned from how they handled the convoy.
"In terms of intelligence, I know that one of the things that we've developed is better capacity and capability around open source information. What was born out of this situation was a unit that's been created within our organization, specifically dedicated at collecting open source information and sharing it into intelligence," Bell said.
"One of the things we've been able to do is: we read the intelligence differently now. We've had multiple subsequent events in this city where we've used our experience to leverage our operational planning," he continued, citing the springtime "Rolling Thunder" protests as an example of how he believes the OPS "prevented a subsequent occupation to our streets."
