‘He was kicked out’

TORONTO:

Several leaders in Ottawa’s black community are adamant that Police Chief Peter Sloly was ‘sabotaged’ and made a ‘scapegoat’ of the recent truckers’ demonstration, and are hoping for the full truth from any subsequent enquiry.

Jamaica-born Sloly became the first black person to head the Ottawa Police Service in 2019.

He resigned from that post mid-February amid criticism of his handling of the ongoing trucker protest in Ottawa, which held the city under siege for 19 days, and caused major traffic and other disruptions to Ottawa’s downtown area.

According to a release from the service, Sloly and the Ottawa Police Service’s board mutually consented to parting ways on February 15. The city is still searching for a replacement.

Ewart Walters, a prominent member of Ottawa’s black community who was instrumental in bringing Sloly to Ottawa from Toronto, is, however, crying foul.

Walters insists that while Sloly said he resigned, it was a firing.

“He was confronted and given the remaining two and a half years of his contract money and kicked out. The person who did the kicking, the board chair, Diane Deans, then suffered the same fate as the city council kicked her out, especially after she had arranged a secret, sole-sourced hiring of another chief. He has now withdrawn from his contract,” he stated.

In an earlier interview with CBC news, Walters remarked that “it means that we have lost the opportunity to bring in a critical mass of black officers, which was part of what was proposed … [and] the kind of complaints that black people have been making about relations with police are likely to continue”.

Sloly’s role as police chief was intended to tackle systemic racism, improve its response to mental health calls, and rebuild trust with the city’s black community

Walters said the job posting for which Sloly applied was designed through a dialogue between the police board and members of the black community over some months.

DEEP-SEATED RESENTMENT

Chuk Lafors, 50, a web developer, told The Gleaner he thinks the top cop was a scapegoat for the fiasco of the convoy demonstration. Although not racially motivated, but because it was under his watch, someone had to take the fall, he explained.

“What power did he have? Was the help he needed from other provincial police, such as OPP and the RCMP, forthcoming?” he asked.

“These truckers were heavily funded by external politicians internationally.”

Anthony Josephs, publisher of the Toronto-based Caribbean Camera, a biweekly black newspaper, says Sloly “unfortunately got a job to command a predominantly white organisation”. He believes the protest brought up the deep-seated resentment they had for having a black leader.

“They took that opportunity to throw him under the truck, in this case.

“It’s a lost opportunity for Ottawa because Sloly is a brilliant leader. They had to get new and special laws to move the protesters along, because this has never happened anywhere else in the world,” Josephs said.

He also pointed out that the Ottawa police were outnumbered and outmanned, because of the magnitude of the chaos the protesters created and were able to keep going for 21 days.

“So, in essence, Sloly’s arms were tied. Other police forces, such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Toronto Police, Ontario Provincial Police, and Quebec, eventually had to be called in to dismantle the mayhem.”

Others, like community activist and advocate Valarie Steele, suggest that an even wider network worked against the former chief.

She says once Sloly resigned, it was evident to her that there were much more hidden facts happening behind the scenes than the public knew about - and which would come out eventually.

She expressed gratitude for his tenacity and the legacy he leaves behind.

“Thank you, Mr Sloly, for your years of service to Ontario and Canada, we deeply appreciate your service. It is unfortunate that the demonstration in Ottawa turned out to be an occupation, and while there are lots of finger-pointing done, who would have thought that this could have happened in our nation’s capital?” she said.

“We are fully aware of the ugly aunts and uncles in the United States; but now we are sure we also have them in Canada.

“This is really an ugly mark on Canada, and I hope everyone is paying close attention to the different groups that made up the truckers’ demonstration.

“However, what happened in Ottawa helped cities like Toronto, Regina, and Quebec City to pre-empt another occupation and from keeping the ugly aunts and uncles from getting close to the legislative building.”

Steele concluded: “I hope the enquiry that must take place in this debacle sheds more light into this. There is much more. It is too bad that Peter Sloly is the fall guy.”