OTTAWA-
The former chairwoman of the Ottawa Police Board said the police chief told her in late January that he would be very surprised if the “Freedom Convoy” protesters stayed longer than a weekend.
Former police commission chair and current city councilor Diane Deans speaks during the federal inquiry into the government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
Documents filed with the commission show former police chief Peter Sloly told the police commission at a January 26 briefing that trucks were due to arrive in Ottawa this weekend and may remain there for an “extended period”.
But Deans says in a one-on-one conversation, the chief told him he expected the protesters to be gone the following Monday.
She says the chief did not share specific intelligence reports with her or the rest of the council.
Three weeks after that meeting, Sloly resigned as police chief and Deans was removed from his position as chairman of the police board by his colleagues on the city council.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on October 19, 2022