Romano calls trucker blockades illegal, in talks with police to ensure plan in place locally

A state of emergency put in place by the provincial government on Friday will help to ensure police have the tools they need to enforce the law when it comes to blockades that have clogged the streets of Ottawa and prevented the movement of goods across some of the border crossings in the province, says local MPP Ross Romano.

Romano, who is Ontario's minister of Government and Consumer Services, was asked about the protests happening in Ottawa, Sarnia, Windsor and on a much smaller scale at the border crossing in Sault Ste. Marie.

“I think there is a differentiation in the magnitude you see currently, but I think the overarching issue is the same,” said Romano.  “This protest is really an occupation at this point. It is making it difficult for people to access critical services and supplies and in some cases people are being prohibited from accessing medical services and get to hospitals as a result of blockades.”

The announcement by premier Doug Ford came after two weeks of anti-vaccination mandate demonstrations and blockades across the province.

“These are, at the end of the day, illegal activities and the police have the full authority and autonomy to address the enforcement elements of clearly any illegal activity,” said Romano of the blockades. 

The state of emergency orders are expected to make it "illegal and punishable to block and impede the transportation of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure" and maximum fines for non-compliance could reach $100,000 and up to one year of prison.

“We want to ensure those tools are there for police, so the premier has recently implemented the state of emergency to allow police to have some additional abilities to enforce the laws that exist today and to ensure they are enhanced somewhat,” said Romano. “This gives the police a little bit more, I hope, ability to do their job.”

Romano said he had a discussion with Chief Hugh Stevenson of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service (SSMPS) on Thursday.

“He and I spoke yesterday just to ensure there was a plan in place,” said Romano of his discussion with Stevenson. “He did fill me in on the details of the plan and assured me what was expected to occur locally we were prepared and we were ready. From all indications to this point we have been ready and are continuing to monitor the situation and are prepared for anything that may arise.”

Romano noted the provincial government is not directing the police to enforce the law when it comes to the blockades, but is giving them the tools they need.

“This is a matter for the police to enforce. We do not direct the police from the provincial level on what they are allowed or not allowed to do. We just want to make sure they have the tools so they can do the job they are already mandated to do and I think this was a case where they needed a little bit of help in order to do that job,” said Romano. “We can’t, as elected officials and as a provincial government level, tell the police what to do but we want to make sure they can do the job they are already authorized to do.”

At least two police cruisers were parked near the entrance and exit to the International Bridge on Thursday during a small protest and Friday morning when no one was seen protesting, but signs were left in the snowbank.

SSMPS spokesperson Lincoln Louttit said the department has no comment on any plans to deal with possible blockades at the International Bridge.

"We are aware of a small group of people who have been demonstrating in the area. They were spoken to by officers and urged to follow all Highway Traffic Act guidelines and local by-laws and not to impede traffic," said Louttit.