Ottawa People’s Commission Recommendations
When I presented my testimony to the Ottawa People’s Commission, I was asked if I had a series of recommendations to offer. Following my presentation, I drafted the following four recommendations for ensuring that the harm caused by the Freedom Convoy occupation of Ottawa never happens again, with a focus on mitigating harm to disabled residents.
1. End legislated poverty
When the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was introduced in 2020, the federal government benchmarked the minimum monthly income that a person in Canada could reasonably expect to live on at $500 per week. This was before the country experienced the runaway levels of inflation that began hammering low-income residents in late 2021 and have continued through 2022. The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) remained frozen at $1,169 from 2018 until September 2022 when it increased to $1,228 – $772 less than CERB.
To further situate the ODSP rate in context, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa in December 2021 was $1,618.¹
Why does this matter to the events of January and February? Forcing people to live in poverty ensures that they have no means to weather emergencies. The vast majority of disabled Ottawa residents did not have the financial means to pay for the services that would have improved their safety and wellbeing during the occupation. These services include but are not limited to grocery and meal delivery, rideshare and taxi services, renting short-term accommodations outside of the affected neighbourhoods.
Arguably, creating the financial conditions in which disabled residents were unable to access food, medical appointments, and safe housing during the Freedom Convoy violates the rights of disabled residents including their right to security of person; their right to not be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the right of equal access to public service; the right to social security; and the right to rest.
There is a secondary reason why we must end the practice of keeping residents in legislated poverty, and it is that this state can be a site of radicalization, specifically for disenfranchised white people. It has been theorized that this is why the United People of Canada chose a base of operations in one of Ottawa’s more marginalized neighbourhoods, and why their predecessor, the Bike Church, has done the same.
2. Stoppage is not an option
During both the Freedom Convoy and the derecho clean up in May/June 2022, disabled people were left without access to food, medical appointments, and services that they would normally access. This is unacceptable and can never happen again. An entire population going without food and support is not an acceptable outcome ever.
I recommend that the City implement an emergency preparedness plan in conjunction with the network of service providers who provide critical services to disabled, low-income, elderly, and otherwise marginalized Ottawa residents. At a future juncture where a provider is unable to fulfill their standard delivery plan, due to natural/climate disaster or civil disruption, a City coordinator should operationalize a crisis plan for service delivery (e.g. calling service providers to see if their service has been affected, getting a list of clients who require meals/support, and operationalizing alternative means of providing service).
It is not the responsibility of service providers to enter into areas that are unsafe for them. It is equally unacceptable to leave disabled residents to fend for themselves during crises. The City must lead and preparing will be vital to succeeding in this effort.
3. Create a public Emergency Response Council
The Emergency Act Inquiry has revealed how the OPS’ laissez-faire approach to risk assessment left the city open to encampments to entrench themselves in our neighbourhoods and create unsafe conditions for residents.
The work of risk assessment and crisis management needs to be de-siloed and brought into a space where the work and decision making can be shared across City departments and with community members and civil society organizations. It is critical that an Emergency Response Council include space for members of Ottawa’s diverse communities to ensure that safety concerns are addressed in real time.
4. Reducing the Ottawa Police Service budget, year-over-year
The city’s police force have broken their social contract with its residents time and again. The OPS has a history of using disproportionate force against racialized city residents.² The force has a well-documented history of violence.³ Meanwhile, Tiktok videos, Instagram posts, and tweets during the Convoy clearly showed officers supporting the actions of the occupiers.
The OPS ought to hold town halls where they can demonstrate accountability to the residents whose safety and wellbeing they harmed through – at best – their inaction and – at worst – their overt support of the Freedom Convoy. But it’s hard to know if they would hear what residents share. It’s hard to believe that there are partners working towards accountability and amends in the OPS when they have given no indication to that effect.
For that reason, I strongly advocate for a continued reduction of the OPS’ budget year-over-year, with a reinvestment of these funds into the communities most significantly impacted by the harm caused by the OPS, including the disabled community. I believe in making evidence-based budgeting decisions. And this winter we saw the strongest evidence yet that not even a million dollars a day is sufficient funding to get the city’s police force to prioritize the wellbeing and safety of its marginalized residents. We are not only wasting valuable municipal resources when we ignore this pattern of behaviour and continue to approve funding requests for this force. We are funding a force that is actively harming our communities. It has to stop. We need time to heal.
Part of my recommendation for a redirection of funds would be creating a network of community and crisis resources to access when residents need help and support. I advocate for a City-led initiative to develop a crisis plan for both natural/climate disasters and civil disruptions that identify how alternative systems and organizations could be mobilized to restore community safety.
References
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/here-s-how-much-the-average-rent-is-in-ottawa-and-gatineau-que-1.5747110
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa-police-disproportionately-used-force-against-black-and-middle-eastern-people-in-2020-data-shows
https://leveller.ca/2019/01/ottawa-police-violence/
Header image lezumbalaberenjena, used under CC0