Windsor police did smooth job with Ambassador Bridge blockade compared to how Ottawa protests handled: report

The plan by Windsor, Ont., police to deal with the Ambassador Bridge blockade a year ago was executed "smoothly" compared to how the City of Ottawa dealt with pandemic mandate protesters, according to the report released Friday on the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act.

The report, written by Public Order Emergency Commission head Paul Rouleau and released Friday, found the government met the "very high" threshold needed to invoke the act, citing "a failure in policing and federalism."

It also noted that communication was unified between Windsor police and the municipal government.

"Unlike in Ottawa, police integration in Windsor proceeded swiftly and smoothly." 

The commission was tasked with evaluating the federal use of the Emergencies Act in February 2022 in the wake of convoy protests in Ottawa as well as other parts of Canada, including in Windsor.

Rouleau's report makes 56 recommendations to improve intelligence sharing, police response to wide-scale protests and the Emergencies Act itself.

He criticized the handling of the convoy protests in Ottawa, saying a failure by the Ottawa Police Service to properly assess intelligence gathered as numerous protest convoys converged on the capital, coupled with a "confused command and control structure" at the top of the organization, were major factors enabling and exacerbating the three-week occupation of the country's capital last winter.

The government invoked the act on Feb. 14, a day after the bridge blockade in Windsor by protesters had been cleared by police.

The blockade of the bridge, a vital international trade crossing, began Feb. 7.

On Feb. 11, a court injunction that prohibited blocking the bridge was granted and the Ontario government declared an emergency in response to the convoy protests.

The commissioner found Ontario Provincial Police and RCMP prioritized the blockade over the other protests because of the economic impact of blocking truck traffic.

In explaining why Windsor was prioritized, Rouleau also cited "the smaller and less entrenched nature of the Windsor protest compared to Ottawa, the rapidity and seamlessness of the integration between the [Windsor Police Service] and the OPP, and the fact that the plan in Ottawa was not yet ready."

Rouleau said the Ambassador Bridge blockade was "reasonably foreseeable" for at least three days before it happened, but police efforts to prepare were limited by several factors, including:

• Jurisdictional issues between Windsor police and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
• A lack of police resources from the OPP prior to the blockade.
• A lack of success in negotiating with protesters.

"I also find that the WPS had learned from what had happened in Ottawa and tried to prevent a blockade of the bridge by controlling the intersection nearest to it," Rouleau's report says. "However, protesters responded by blocking other intersections farther from the bridge."

In a statement issued before the public release of the report, Windsor police Chief Jason Bellaire said the service will look at Rouleau's conclusions.

"In the coming days, we will review the report and examine any recommended changes to our procedures to ensure we're doing everything we can to appropriately respond to emergency situations, keep members of our community safe and protect the local economy," Bellaire said.

The NDP's Canada-U.S. border critic, Windsor West MP Brian Masse, said he hopes Rouleau's recommendations will lead to more measures to prevent any other blockades of the Ambassador Bridge.

"I'm hoping that we actually get a better plan for the future," Masse said.

'All levels of government' need to learn from events

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens praised police for de-escalating and clearing the protest. He said people in Windsor are owed a thorough review of the report to ensure such an event doesn't happen again.

"The true value of this report will be found in how all levels of government learn from the events of last year and our collective response."

Last fall, Dilkens and Windsor police Acting Deputy Chief Jason Crowley were among those who testified before the commission.

Dilkens said at the time that the declaration was helpful for Windsor, even if it wasn't used in breaking up the protest itself.

"From an Emergencies Act perspective, anything that would send a signal to people contemplating coming to Windsor to start this over again I thought from my chair was extremely helpful," Dilkens said in early November. 

"That ought to have sent a signal that this was a serious matter and would not be allowed to happen again."

Dilkens had said he was not aware if the act prevented any other attempts to block the bridge.

Rouleau found there were continued threats, which led to a sustained police presence and weeks of closures around Huron Church Road, which leads to the bridge.

But Rouleau also suggested the act was not a factor in keeping the area secure.

"Police established these checkpoints without relying on the Emergency Measures regulations and continued to use them following the revocation of the Public Order Emergency," he said.