On the heels of participating in the Public Order Emergency Commission looking into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act in February, the City of Windsor is calling on all levels of government to be prepared for future disruptions at its land border.
Legal counsel for the city and police prepared closing submissions for the commission, in which it asks for all levels of government to collaborate on a unified plan to deal with threats to critical infrastructure like the Ambassador Bridge, one of North America’s busiest border crossings by volume.
The February blockade of the bridge by so-called freedom convoy protesters lasted seven days and stopped the flow of goods in both directions, costing hundreds of millions in lost revenue and pulling many local policing resources into the mix.
In the submissions, Windsor asks the government to co-ordinate an “inter-jurisdictional framework” to manage future disruptions near critical infrastructure to ensure a “clear command structure.”
The lawyers who crafted the document also displayed concern that once the blockade was cleared by police, upper levels of government did not address the city’s root concerns or provide plans for any such events in the future.
“Windsor is justifiably concerned that the ‘tyranny of the urgent’ means other levels of government have since moved on to the next crisis without engaging with the city’s requests or with local concerns,” counsel for the city said.
The city makes 18 recommendations to improve collaboration and develop a framework for collaboration to protect both the infrastructure assets, but also citizens in the city trying to go about their lives.
“Local concerns must be at the forefront. Windsor is not a case-study – it is a community,” reads the submission. “Its citizens live, work, and learn in the shadow of the Bridge and along its main access road.”
The city also asks for a play-book of sorts that will create clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all levels of government, should a protest or similar event occur down the road.
“The solution must address the division of responsibilities at all orders of government, the available tools and authorities at all levels, and ensure resources are available when and where required,” reads the submission.
Lawyers for the city also make the case for reimbursement of policing costs, given the city was acting to support national interests in protecting the international bridge crossing, leaving the city footing the $5.6 million policing bill.
“The question still remains as to who should bear the cost of additional resources employed in situations such as this, which go beyond typical municipal policing matter and into the realm of national, economic emergency,” counsel said. “It is unreasonable to expect municipal taxpayers to bear the financial brunt of responding to emergencies that have provincial and national implications.”
“The costs of protecting of national critical infrastructure should be borne by the federal and provincial governments rather than municipal taxpayers.”
Recommendations are expected in the commission’s final report, which must be tabled in the House of Commons by Feb. 20.
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