The deputy solicitor general for Ontario told the Emergencies Act inquiry on Thursday that the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa last winter did not pose a significant public safety risk.
“I was getting consistent messaging from Commissioner Carrique and from Deputy Minister Stewart that there were not any overriding public safety concerns,” said Mario Di Tomasso.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner Thomas Carrique reports to Di Tomasso, and Rob Stewart was his counterpart at the federal level as deputy minister of public safety.
“From my perspective, what we did not see is any serious violence taking place at that point in time. So no murders, shootings, robbery, stabbings, aggravated assaults, nothing of that sort. So from my perspective, no overriding public safety concerns at that point in time,” said Di Tomasso, who was addressing his Feb. 3 handwritten notes relating to a call with Stewart….