'The plan needs to be urgent': Windsor council wants feds to act on emergency commission recommendations
It’s been a little more than a year since the week-long protests that blocked the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.
What followed was a public order emergency commission into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, and the resulting 2,000 page report with dozens of recommendations.
A special report was presented to council Monday night by Jennifer King, the lawyer who represented the city at the commission.
“The commissioner took the time to comprehensively analyze a huge volume of evidence and testimony of a number of witnesses to make findings of fact about what happened last year during the protests,” said King, whose most recent task was to look at those recommendations and give council some takeaways.
The big ones, she said is the recommendation for improved inter-jurisdictional communication, as well as clearer guidelines with respect to requests for policing resources.
She said Windsor was heralded at the commission for their communication with the public during the blockade, coordinating responses between the city and police to ensure policing operations were not compromised.
“Windsor was seen as an example of a response that went well, and so was used in the report to show how to communicate during an emergency,” King said.
She also points out some short-comings in the public order report, such as the absence of municipalities in federal-provincial emergency management coordination and the downloading of policing and emergency response costs to municipalities.
“You have to have everybody at the table, all levels of government at the table to make sure that there's a coordinated response,” she told council.
It’s been more than a month now since the report was published and according to the city, there has been no correspondence from the federal government on next steps.
As King articulated to council Windsor’s border crossing is somewhat unique in that a provincial road and an international, federally regulated bridge are connected by local roads that served as the epicentre of the week-long blockade.
Council agreed it would like to hear from the federal government to develop a clear framework to be prepared for any potential future crisis.
”As I understand it, there hasn't been any clear indication of what steps the other levels of government are taking to ensure that that everybody sits down at the table, and certainly not in the last month,” she said.
She added, “There needs to be a plan and the plan needs to be urgent.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.