The Ottawa People’s Commission: After the convoy, transformative changes are needed*

It has been fourteen months since central Ottawa was overtaken by hundreds of trucks and thousands of angry protesters, launching a 3 ½ week occupation marked by violence, hate and other human rights abuses to which the city’s residents, workers and business owners were largely abandoned by governments and police.

There have been in-depth reports examining how this could have happened in the nation’s capital, most notably the Public Order Emergency Commission and reviews conducted by the City of Ottawa’s Auditor General.  Does that mean the whole sorry experience should now be relegated to the ‘that was no fun, but here are the lessons learned’ category; and we should simply move on?

Not at all. What the Ottawa People’s Commission on the Convoy Occupation has learned from more than 200 Ottawa residents who testified and made written submissions to us makes that abundantly clear. We have outlined the conclusions and recommendations we draw from what we heard in our final report, released today.

What makes the People’s Commission different is that we heard the community perspective, which was at best a footnote in the official reviews.  The testimonies and submissions we received reveal that far more requires attention than revamping policing protocols.

The experience of the convoy occupation both highlighted and exacerbated deeper dysfunction in Ottawa, which we expect resonates in cities across the country. The aftermath provides an unprecedented opportunity to advance foundational change, aimed at forging a city that is equitable, safe, vibrant, accountable and inclusive.

For some residents in central Ottawa the convoy experience was a shocking eyeopener to insecurity, violence, hate, broken leadership and police failings. For many residents, while the plotline was new, the experience was too familiar. What was different this time, however, was how divergent communities were brought together in understanding that the status quo is not working.

There is a great deal of hard work ahead.  Here are four broad dimensions in need of serious attention.

First, Ottawa’s leaders need to earn community trust. For some residents that trust was never there and for others it was shattered during the occupation. Officials at all three levels – municipal, provincial and federal – must make it clear they are committed to earning that trust every day. That includes genuine apologies, full redress for harms and losses, and concrete action that advances meaningful change.

Second, Ottawa needs to get serious about human rights. That means all human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social. It is not enough to rely on the Charter of Rights or the Ontario Human Rights Code. It is time for a Human Rights Charter for the city, to guide and direct all aspects of municipal business and to ensure the rights of disadvantaged groups are protected in times of peace and protest. Alongside that Charter, a municipal human rights commission or similar body needs to be established, with the necessary powers to make human rights stick.

Third, an enormous amount of change is needed with respect to accountable leadership and civic engagement in Ottawa. The amount of petty, divisive and vendetta politics on display within city council during what was an unprecedented crisis, was staggering. The province gave the entire affair a miss.  The federal government seemed hamstrung other than invoking the Emergencies Act.  And the inability of the three governments to coordinate their efforts -- nothing new -- merits a return to elementary school lessons about playing together.

While all of that was happening, activists, lawyers and everyday residents working at community level to keep people safe and supported felt, not just overlooked, but undermined and even derided by officials for their efforts. What real leadership means, how to ensure it is representative of and responsive to the communities it serves, and how government embraces and supports civic engagement, all needs a full scale reset.

Lastly, we must address hate, and we need to open space for dialogue and to build community. Everything about the convoy experience was rooted in hate, racism and discrimination, although that never seemed to be understood as central to what was unfolding. The convoy experience also laid bare the extent to which, across society, we have become lost in echo chambers of misinformation that make it impossible to hear, understand and learn from each other.

At the same time, everything about the convoy experience was also a reminder of the power of grassroots mobilization, and how community resilience and imagination builds connections and creates solutions. Community-based collaboration and an insistence on human well-being and human rights must be our starting point if we are to fix what is broken.  

*Writing along with fellow Commissioners, Leilani Farha, Monia Mazigh and Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, originally published as an opinion editorial in the Ottawa Citizen on April 4, 2023.