By Canadian Press

Police chief said ‘Freedom Convoy’ would end by first Monday: ex-police board chair

Oct 19, 2022 | 8:45 AM

OTTAWA — The former chair of Ottawa’s police board says the chief of police told her in late January that he would be very surprised if the “Freedom Convoy” protesters stayed for longer than one weekend.

Former police board chair and current city councillor Diane Deans is speaking at the federal inquiry into the government’s use of the Emergencies Act.

Documents tabled with the commission show former police chief Peter Sloly told the police board in a briefing on Jan. 26 that trucks were expected to arrive in Ottawa that weekend and may stay for an “extended period.” 

But Deans says in a one-on-one conversation, the chief told her he expected the protesters to be gone by the following Monday. 

She says the chief did not share specific intelligence reports with her or the rest of the board.  

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Three weeks after that meeting, Sloly resigned as police chief and Deans was removed as chair of the police board by her city council colleagues.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2022.

The Canadian Press