Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Feb. 9 that the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) needed to “act immediately” to clear the Ambassador Bridge blockade in Windsor, according to a call transcript.
“What are the next steps? You’ve said the OPP are going in. Are they keeping you apprised and do they understand the urgency?” Trudeau said.
“They can’t talk this out for 3 weeks, they need to act immediately.”
Ford pushed back on Trudeau and said he could not direct police.
“They’ll act, but without directing them, it’s hard to describe their game plan,” said Ford.
The Ontario Premier said the OPP would have a plan, “unlike Ottawa whe[re] ... they didn’t have a plan.”
“This is critical, I hear you. I’ll be up their [expletive] with a wire brush,” said Ford.
The transcript of the call was entered as evidence at the Public Order Emergency Commission on Nov. 8.
The commission is reviewing the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government last February.
Directing Police
Ford said several times during the call that he was not able to direct police as Trudeau expressed concern about the situation.“The police are a little shy and I can’t direct them,” said Ford early in the call.
Protesters started blocking the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor on Feb. 7, in the context of cross-country protests and blockades demanding the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
The crossing between Detroit and Windsor handles over $300 million in daily trade between the countries.
Trudeau told Ford he shouldn’t need more legal tools to deal with the issue which was “doing millions of damage a day and harming people’s lives.”
“At a time we’re trying to draw in investments, a whole bunch of people are looking at this and saying we can’t even clear up a protest on a bridge?” said Trudeau. “We’ve got to respond quickly to this.”
“I’m just as frustrated as you and if I could direct the police, I would,” Ford said.
“Are you saying the OPP can’t help?” asked Trudeau.
“I can’t direct them. I can’t call them and say get your asses in there and kicking [expletive]. It’s up to the OPP,” Ford said.
Trudeau advised Ford that he had told the RCMP to be “prepared to respond to any ask” to address the Windsor situation.
Ford declared a state of emergency in Ontario two days after the call on Feb. 11, whereas Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14.
The Windsor bridge blockade was resolved by police without using federal emergency powers on the night of Feb. 13.
