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‘Freedom Convoy’ caught police, institutions off-guard, ex-Ottawa police chief says

Ottawa’s former police chief, who resigned amid heavy criticism of the drive’s dealing with of the “Freedom Convoy” protest in February, says Canada’s establishments and police companies have been unprepared for the size of the demonstration.

Peter Sloly says the protest represents a “paradigm shift” within the sorts of safety occasions going through Ottawa and he’s calling for the road in entrance of Parliament Hill to be closed to automobiles to stop one other large nationwide safety menace.

Sloly spoke out for the primary time since he stepped down in the course of the warmth of the protest on Feb. 15, when Ottawa’s downtown streets have been seized by lots of of big-rigs, different vehicles and 1000’s of demonstrators protesting COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal authorities.

He tells a parliamentary committee the simplest technique to forestall one other nationwide safety menace from approaching Parliament Hill can be to shut Wellington Road to visitors and set up boundaries and bollards to regulate the circulation of individuals and potential threats.

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He additionally suggests putting Wellington Road below the jurisdiction of Parliamentary Protecting Companies as an alternative of the Ottawa police, although he warned that might be a pricey resolution and gained’t clear up communication points between the varied police companies that function on and close to Parliament Hill.

Sen. Vernon White, who served as Ottawa police chief from 2007 to 2012, instructed the committee he’s been advocating for the closure of Wellington Road and Elgin Road close to the Nationwide Struggle Memorial since a terrorist stormed the Hill in 2014.



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