Northern MP wants independent inquiry into how Ottawa protest 'morphed' into occupation

Charlie Angus says Canadians have a right to protest, but this one turned into something different

Image | Charlie Angus

Caption: Timmins-James Bay NDP MP Charlie Angus wants to see an independent inquiry into how a convoy protest against vaccine mandates became an occupation in front of the Parliament buildings in downtown Ottawa. (CBC)

One northern MP wants to see an inquiry into what went wrong in Ottawa that allowed a protest convoy against vaccine mandates to occupy the downtown streets for three weeks.
Timmins James Bay MP Charlie Angus was living in Ottawa during the three week occupation, but has since returned home to northern Ontario.
He called the occupation 'a circus' and 'a debacle from the beginning'. He said Canadians are allowed to protest, but in this case something went wrong, as the protest 'morphed' into an occupation.
"To have to see that many police come in to clear this out showed how deeply entrenched this had become," Angus said.
"I think when people saw how many police were needed to actually clear this out — and it was extraordinary, the whole nation was spellbound watching it — you realize that this was something that had started out as protests, but had morphed into something different, and I think more concerning."
During the occupation, Angus himself received death threats, and was warned several times by security not to go out due to threats to his safety.

Image | TRUCKER PROTEST 20220220

Caption: A man secures a camper before it gets hauled away in Ottawa on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, after police worked to clear a trucker protest that was aimed at COVID-19 measures and grew into a broader anti-government protest. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press)

He said he was especially concerned for the residents who live in the affected Ottawa neighbourhood since they were threatened, harassed, and bullied by protestors. As well, many of the small businesses in the area were forced to shut down during the occupation.

Answers needed

"I think what really concerns me is: how did we get to this moment where Canada has looked like a failed state on the stage of the world," Angus said.
"We really need an inquiry coming out of this. The failure at the local police level, the civic level, the provincial level and the federal level, that allowed this situation to metastasize and become so polarizing and so divisive for our country," Angus said.
"Something went really off here and I think we need the inquiry — an independent inquiry not run by politicians but an independent inquiry — to try to get some answers so that Canadians understand what happened and how we ended up in this place of such division."
Angus thinks an inquiry will also help any future groups that plan to protest on Parliament Hill.
"I want to reassure people that the right to protest is good."
"I don't want any other protesters to have to worry that they're going to be arrested if they come and protest," he said.

Emergencies Act passed

After a weekend of debating in the House of Commons, Angus and his fellow New Democrats supported the Liberals in passing the Emergencies Act, Monday night.
That act, invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 14, provided police with the extra resources and powers to remove the protestors.
Between Friday and Sunday this past weekend ,191 arrests were made, resulting in 389 charges against 103 people. As well, 79 vehicles were towed away from the Ottawa downtown streets.

Image | Downtown Ottawa convoy protest day after

Caption: Police fences block off a section of downtown Ottawa on Sunday morning February 20, 2022, the day after significant police action to clear the area of Freedom Convoy protesters. (Olivia Stefanovich/CBC)

On Monday morning, during a news conference, Trudeau said the decision to invoke the never-before-used act did not come lightly.
"It became clear that local and provincial authorities needed more tools to restore order and keep people safe," Trudeau told the media.
"Even though things seem to be resolving very well in Ottawa, this state of emergency is not over," he said. A number of people connected with the protests remain in the nation's capital.
The Emergencies Act states that it cannot be in force for more than 30 days, meaning it will remain in place until mid-March at the latest.
That will allow the government time to deal with any other event or protest that could crop up elsewhere in Canada, similar to the one that blocked the Ambassador bridge in Windsor; and to determine where funding for the occupation may have come from.
Angus said he plans to hold the Prime Minister accountable, and wants Trudeau to show what progress the measures have resulted in within seven days.
"These are tools we never want to have to use again, and once you've opened this Pandora's box, of course, it becomes very easy for a future government to use these tools."