During day four of the Emergencies Act Inquiry, Ottawa’s mayor conceded that the one time negotiations were attempted with protestors, they worked. 

The revelation came in response to questioning from Freedom Corp counsel, who are representing convoy organizers. 

“You agree that the protestors lived up to their end of the bargain – right?” asked Brandon Miller of Freedom Corp, a private Alberta-based corporation that educates Canadians about their Charter rights and pursues legal action when necessary.

Ottawa’s mayor, Jim Watson, reluctantly acknowledged that negotiations worked.

“On that particular issue, yes,” Watson said. 

During the convoy, Dean French, a mediator, worked with the city and truckers to reach an agreement to have the truckers move from residential areas.

Miller found the concession by Watson contradictory, given previous comments from the mayor about demonstrators.

“But you said earlier in your evidence that you couldn’t negotiate with ‘these people’ rationally, but you did have that done in the end, didn’t you?” 

Watson deflected. But Miller was persistent.

“You said earlier you couldn’t negotiate with them rationally, and you had no dealings with any negotiations with them, except for the issue [that worked], right?”

Watson again deflected, saying he wasn’t part of the negotiations. 

In February, French said, “Mayor Watson stuck his neck out and negotiated with the leadership council representing the truckers. Because of his willingness to dialogue, the truckers agreed to move some of their rigs out of downtown Ottawa’s residential neighbourhoods.”

But on Tuesday, Watson distanced himself from French’s statement.

Earlier in the day, Watson called the protestors “yahoos” and “abhorrent” and said that Ottawa was “under siege” despite no acts of physical violence from protesters taking place during the three weeks of protests.

On Monday, witness testimony echoed a similar concession regarding the negotiations with protestors. One witness was Ottawa City Manager Steve Kanellakos.

Miller showed Kanellakos text messages from February showing an exchange between Kanellakos and lawyer Keith Wilson, who is representing the protestors.

“FYI Trucks are ready to move but are being blocked by police,” a text from Wilson to Kanellakos revealed. 

“I’m fixing that. We are allowing 10 trucks now as a sign of good faith,” Kanellakos responded.

The next day, Wilson reiterated the truckers’ desire to fulfil their end of the negotiation mediated by French.

“The truckers want to move 40 plus trucks tomorrow starting in the morning…” 

But by this time, then-police Cheif Sloly was relieved of his duties, and Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act. 

Police shifted their entire tactical response. Negotiations fell apart.

Subsequently, interim chief Bell took the helm and assured Ottawa residents that the upcoming weekend would be the last of the Freedom Convoy protest.