What Was the Mayor's Brain Damage?
In 'a city under siege,' Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson eschewed dialogue.
Ottawa is home to a higher-than-normal percentage of well-paid, secure government jobs. One view of our nation’s capital, therefore, is that it’s a city of pompous paper-pushers who feel little connection to Canadians who perform physically demanding labour under physically demanding conditions.
This uncharitable perspective is reinforced by the city’s own closing submission to the Emergencies Act inquiry. The question a reader of that document keeps asking themselves throughout its 59 pages is What was the mayor’s brain damage?
If thousands of fellow Canadians - your brothers and sisters - have driven thousands of miles at their own expense in the dead of winter to your doorstep, that surely deserves a little respect. If their extended presence is a nuisance to the residents of your community, surely one of the first things you’d want to do is talk to them. You know, treat them like human beings rather than insects. Attempt to find some common ground. Dialogue. Negotiate. Problem solve. How can we work together to minimize grief for everyone? How can we help resolve this situation? Yet all the IQs combined in our nation’s capital ignored this most obvious course of action.
The city’s closing submission tells us
there is no question that protesters wanted to meet with political leaders, and there is also no question that such engagement can be useful in managing large protests…
But Mayor Jim Watson sat on his hands. We’re told Ottawa was “a city under siege.” We’re told the situation was “nothing short of dire.” We’re told this was a “crisis.” Yet it’s only because the police proposed negotiations between the city and the truckers that they even took place.
According to the City’s closing submission,
The Mayor and his Chief of Staff were ‘very reluctant’.
[City manager Steve Kanellakos] decided to meet with protestors on his own, without the Mayor.
Mr. Kanellakos began this process by telling the police that if he, himself, agreed to meet with the protestors, he needed “something in return.” In the universe inhabited by civic officials, the truckers weren’t entitled to even a conversation unless they first agreed to concessions.
Three people representing the truckers attended the meeting, two of whom were lawyers. On that occasion, city manager Kanellokos once again advised “that if a meeting with the Mayor was to occur, the protestors would need to give something back in good faith.” It was proposed that some trucks be moved “out of residential neighbourhoods in exchange for a meeting with the Mayor.”
Also around this time, says the closing submission,
Mayor Watson was contacted by Dean French. Mr. French is the former Chief of Staff to [Ontario] Premier Doug Ford. Mayor Watson testified that Mr. French said he had contacts with some of those involved in the Freedom Convoy and wanted to help.
Since the mayor was missing in action, third parties stepped forward to fill the vacuum. We’re told the mayor’s chief of staff
began drafting some conditions, which he sent to Mr. French, that were the Mayor’s opening position to the Freedom Convoy as to what the City required in return for any meeting with the Mayor. [bold added]
Fifteen days after the first trucks arrived in Ottawa - Mayor Watson finally signed a letter addressed to convoy organizer Tamara Lich. In it, he offers “to meet with you to discuss your protesters concerns.”
But only if she agrees to several things beforehand.
Part 2: The Hide-Under-Your-Desk School of Leadership
You may recall I’ve written about Mayor Watson previously:
Great point you bring up Donna! The one thing this old man has learned many years ago always believed is a man’s word must be his bond and if you tell fishermen stories (exaggerated or embellished) - you lose your credibility!! - How did this Mayor. So many Cabinet Ministers. Burr rates, and other witnesses give sworn testimonies under oath Will visually recorder and broadcasted around the world at real time have openly and publicly proved to every that they were actually bull crap ping liars??