Police didn't give city or board enough info ahead of the convoy, auditor says

The Ottawa Police Servicewaited until days before the convoy protest descended on the capitalbefore informing the City of Ottawaand its police board aboutthe magnitude of what was expected,according to the city's auditor general.

"The intelligence shared with the city was insufficient," wrote Nathalie Gougeon in one of three audit reports released publicly on Wednesday that looked at how the city, police and the police services board responded to the protest.

"In the days leading up to the convoy's arrival, city departments received very little intelligence from the [Ottawa Police Service] and plans were informal and changing due to the fluid nature of the situation."

Gougeon found that while the city and police worked toward a common goal to end the protest, police held back information that could have helped the city respond more effectively to the events that overtook downtown neighbourhoods for three weeks.

While police reached out to select staff in a few city departments transit, public works, emergency services neither side engaged the city's provincially mandated Office of Emergency Management "despite receiving information that the protest would be considered high risk."

Instead, it was the emergency management office that had to reach out to police on Jan. 24, 2022.

Gougeon also found that even though the city has more expertise in managing the city's traffic, police didn't share a 46-page traffic plan from Jan. 26 with the city. It wasn't until Feb. 21, just two days before the end of the protests, that the city "obtained knowledge" of the plan.

She also found the city received conflicting risk reports from different sources, which means the city "may not have adopted the appropriate planning and preparedness approach."

Board didn't get info, also broke rules

Gougeon found a long list of issues related to the Ottawa Police Services Board.

Former police chief Peter Sloly, who resigned mid-protest, kept information from the board that oversees the police's executive. The board is supposed to be told as soon as possible about a major event that will involve police.

Although police had OPP intelligence as early as Jan. 13 that the upcoming protests would be massive and disruptive, Sloly didn't inform the board chair former councillor Diane Deans until Jan. 24., only four days before protesters were scheduled to arrive.

By Jan. 26, police had an initial operational plan, but the board was never provided with a copy or a detailed briefing of the plan, even though there was a board meeting that day.

Even two weeks into the gridlock and upheaval downtown, the auditor found that the board wasn't briefed about the integrated command centre with OPP and RCMP that Ottawa police approved on Feb. 13.

Sloly resigned two days later.

But it wasn't just the police with which the auditor found fault. The board broke a number of rules, too.

Deans, who was ousted as chair during an infamous council meeting on Feb. 16,was not allowed to hire an external interim police chief on her own. Although the board delegated to her the authority to make the hire, the Police Services Act says that responsibility must be delegated to two members. Gougeon also criticized the fact there was no vetting of the candidate Deans had chosen.

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City Coun. Diane Deans joins Power & Politics to discuss being ousted as chair of Ottawa's Police Services Board and the latest on the protests occupying the city's downtown.

The auditor also found the board held closed-door meetings that contravened provincial policy in-camera sessions are supposed to be publicly announced and even broke rules with group email discussions that constituted board quorum, and hence not allowed.

Gougeon's overarching finding was the board was unclear of its responsibility and role during the emergency. Among her 11 recommendations for the board are more training of members, making sure members have the necessary skills for the position and more staff support, including a dedicated lawyer.

The auditor will present her report on the police services board at a virtual meeting Thursday at 2 p.m.

Poor process and communicationsall around

Gougeon's audits are the main form of accountability done at the local level to review the actions of the city's politicians, police oversight board, and police force's executive during that intense period. They come on the eve of a report due Feb. 20 by federal public inquiry commissioner Paul Rouleau, who was tasked with assessing the Canadian government's use of the Emergencies Act.

Because of the federal inquiry, the city auditor scaled back the scope of her audit of the police's actions, but is open to doing more work after Rouleau's report is released if necessary.

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Gougeon found plenty to criticize about the City of Ottawa as well. In particular, the audits found many instances of poor communications and cracks in processes during the critical time.

Indeed, she points out that at the Jan. 26th council meeting where there was talk of creating a Ryan Reynolds Way there was no update on theconvoy rolling toward Ottawa, even though it was the main subject of reporters' questions afterward.

Gougeon found that former mayor Jim Watson should have declared a state of emergency sooner to signal "to the province the severity of the situation from the city's perspective."

And she said the city's lawyers should have told council about the pros and cons of seeking an injunction against the protesters sooner, as council might have decided to pursue that course, instead of leaving it to a private resident.

Councillors were provided with little information ahead of the convoy, which "hindered" their ability to tell their constituents what was happening. For example, when the city allowed trucks to park at the baseball stadium parking lot, area Coun. Rawlson King found out about it through the media.

There were also issues communicating with the residents directly impacted by the protests.

Many more people than usual were facing vulnerable circumstances during the convoy many need help getting groceries or medications, and felt threatened to walk alone but they didn't know where to turn. Although the city offered help, Gougeon found that the city didn't advertise how residents could get in touch.

The auditor made 20 recommendations to the city, most of them focusing on clearer and more formalized processes and communications during an emergency or crisis. City management has agreed with the bulk of the recommendations, and has instituted a new group with police that responds to major events.

Gougeon will present her report on the city's response to the convoy protests at the audit committee on Feb. 17.