The Hide-Under-Your-Desk School of Leadership
Ottawa Mayor Watson's baffling priorities.
Yesterday, I explained that even though Ottawa city officials believed the Freedom Convoy protest had thrown the nation’s capital into crisis, then Mayor Jim Watson had no interest in talking to these protesters. He belongs to the hide-under-your-desk school of leadership.
After police beseeched city officials to get involved, Mayor Watson ran for cover. The city manager - a civil servant, as opposed to an elected official - took the meeting with trucker representatives instead.
During his testimony at an Emergencies Act hearing in October, the mayor referred to the truckers as “this group that has been causing such damage” and justified his reluctance this way:
Well, you know…is this just a public relations stunt to get a couple of pictures to say, ‘Look, we've met with the top City bureaucrat, and we're going to meet with the mayor…’ [page 98]
Stepping into the line of fire for the good of the community? Rolling up shirt sleeves and doing everything possible to find an off-ramp acceptable to everyone? Not me, thanks. Someone might take a photo.
After an outside individual contacted Mayor Watson offering his services as a negotiator, the mayor handed that individual off to his chief of staff, Serge Arpin. During the mayor’s testimony, a lawyer who represents Ottawa residents seemed confused. Does Mr. Arpin have hostage negotiation experience? What background made him suitable to be the point man? Here’s Mayor Watson’s response:
Well, good will and common sense. You know, we were in a crisis, and we needed all hands on deck, and he's been my Chief of Staff for 12 years, excellent communicator, solid education, and Francophone, and I was - had no hesitation in asking him to do this. He was - over 12 years he was given a lot of different tasks and I had full confidence that he could negotiate this. [page 165]
Did the mayor mean to suggest that he himself lacks goodwill and common sense? I mean, what higher priority could the Mayor of Ottawa have had at that point in time?
next installment: A Mayor, A Protester, An Agreement
It would have then proven if the Government was willing to at least try to settle this VIOLENT OCCUPATION by this small fringe minority of “Racist terrorists”.
As a War History buff due to my high respect for the bravery and willingness to sacrifice their safety and in many cases their future - I wonder if anyone from either side considered delegating a person to Cary a large white flag and try to approach someone from the opposing side to agree to try to arrange a meeting to arrange a seize fire, or to negotiate a deal to remove wounded or to take an action to lessen harm to civilians, etc. If the trucker’s delegate approached the Parliament hill building that housed the House of Commons and Trudeau’s Official office - would the police have stopped that person (Let’s say it was Tamara Lich) from advancing or offer to escort her safely to her her distinction? My point is if the P.M. and Premier Ford didn’t have the balls to step forward to at least start a dialogue toward settlement- then a trucker white flag messenger would have been proven if no one of any real authority (which in my opinion excluded the Mayor and his office)