Ottawa police chief wants staffing boost as protesters continue to refuel convoy

The latest protest developments:

• Court grants injunction to silence honking in downtown Ottawa for 10 days.
• Ottawa's mayor says 400 to 500 large trucks remain in the downtown core.
• Police have made 20 protest-related arrests since Friday, says chief Peter Sloly.
• Sloly says police need 1,800 more police and civilian personnel.
• Light rail is the only transit through downtown Ottawa.

Police Chief Peter Sloly has told a meeting of Ottawa city council he needs an influx of almost 2,000 police officers and civilians to "turn up the heat" on the ongoing protest in the city's downtown core.

City councillors are gathering Monday afternoon for a special meeting that includes more information on police needs and is expected to include a future review of the city response.

On Friday, Sloly said he doesn't have enough staff to end the protest, which has extended to day 11 in the nation's capital.

At noon Monday, Sloly told reporters the new police strategy announced Friday helped make this weekend's protest smaller compared to the previous weekend. He said police are currently making incremental progress toward ending the demonstration, but more help would "turn up the heat" on protesters and end it more quickly.

WATCH | Ottawa police chief's Monday update:

Ottawa police target support systems for convoy protest, chief says

3 years ago

Duration 2:09

Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly says officers have targeted funding sources and confiscated fuel in an attempt to bring the protest to an end, but will need more resources to ultimately be successful.

He went on to tell city councillors at the meeting he wants 1,800 more police and civilian workers to be able to take meaningful action, which almost matches the 2,100 police and civilian staff currently employed by the Ottawa Police Service.

Sloly said the civilian members could come from the federal and provincial level and include crime analysts and cyber investigators, along with those with financial, HR and IT capabilities to "raise our game, sustain our operations, resist some of the attacks we're having on our infrastructure from a cyber standpoint."

"We're looking for the full range of supports," he said.

On CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said requests will go to both federal and provincial governments for more officers to help out.

"We're going to require significant more police resources to bring a semblance of order to get more presence in the neighbourhoods," Watson said.

The mayor added at the meeting he's asked for provincial permission to increase fines for noise, idling and blocking roads.

In terms of his own questions for Sloly, Watson said he plans to ask when residents can expect to see the increased police presence.

Watson says he also knows a motion is coming forward to council for "a full, independent, comprehensive review" of the decisions and actions by various levels of government and the city, including the police force, in response to the ongoing demonstration.

That post-mortem review will be completed once the situation downtown is resolved, he said.

Meanwhile, an Ottawa judge has granted an interim injunction seeking to silence the honking horns that have plagued residents of downtown Ottawa for the past 11 days.

The temporary injunction order is effective immediately and is meant to silence the horns at all hours for the next 10 days. It covers the zone north of the Queensway, the city's main east-west artery.

WATCH | U.S. groups embrace convoy protests:

U.S. conservatives throw support, money behind protest convoy

3 years ago

Duration 2:18

Conservatives in the U.S., including right-wing media and high-profile Republicans, are vocalizing their support for the Canadian convoy and donating money. They're not pleased that GoFundMe has cut off the convoy’s fundraising efforts.

State of emergency: What will it achieve?

Watson explained the municipal state of emergency, announced Sunday, is "mostly an administrative tool" that allows staff to "bypass procurement bylaws if we need equipment, supplies," in response to what he called an occupation of Ottawa's downtown core and surrounding neighbourhoods. 

That tool, he said, gives more authority to the city manager and makes staff "more nimble" to purchase whatever's needed in response to the protest, without a long series of consultations and agreements. 

"It [also] sends the signal to the other two orders of government that this is a serious situation and we're going to need their continued support in terms of additional police officers," said Watson.

Over the weekend, city solicitor David White told city councillors the declaration of a state of emergency "does little" in terms of legal authority and does not give more power to Ottawa police.

In a statement, Ontario's solicitor general Sylvia Jones emphasized politicians can't direct police but discussions were ongoing "to ensure [Ottawa police] have every necessary resource they need to keep their community safe."

Ottawa caught between '2 warring factions'

When asked if the mayor will take to the streets and engage with protesters, Watson said the issue is not within his jurisdiction.

"This is a federal issue, not a municipal issue. We're caught between these two warring factions," said Watson, who added he'd meet with protest organizers about their "grievances" after the protest ends. 

WATCH | U of O criminology professor on Ottawa's 'stalemate':

Ottawa in 'stalemate' between police and protesters, expert says

3 years ago

Duration 4:59

'Hardcore' protesters remain in downtown Ottawa and are not leaving, says Michael Kempa, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa. This has led to a 'stalemate' that gives police and the city an opportunity to de-escalate the situation.

He also said he suggested to his federal counterparts to use a "high-profile, respected senior states person" to act as a mediator between protesters and decision makers, and to mediate a solution to resolve this stalemate. 

"There seems to be little movement on either part," he said. "I'm not going to condone their activities by showing up and having a chit-chat with them. I want them to leave."