Ottawa FOI Part 2 - How Jim Watson and Mathieu Fleury caved to the pro-abortions

Below I've transcribed emails I received from my city of Ottawa FOI, regarding the pro-life flag mess.

They tell the story of how the pro-life flag received authorization to be flown at city hall, for last year's March for Life.

You may recall that Mayor Watson blamed the flag mess on the fact that the bureaucrats approved the flag.

This may be so, but as you will see below, the request originally came via email and was addressed to both Mayor Watson and Councillor Mathieu Fleury. Fleury even spoke to the requester.

It seems that somehow the request was handled by the bureaucrats who by the way, clearly have a close relationship to the mayor. All you need to do is look at their positions:

• Protocol Officer
• Chief of Protocol
• Communications Director to Mayor Watson
• Executive Assistant to Mayor Watson

Why didn't Watson or Fleury refuse the request when it first came in? Do they not read their email?Fleury clearly did, because he even spoke with the flag requester. Instead they took the flag down, after it had gone through (we must assume) the proper channels and only when the excrement hit the fan with the pro-abortions screaming bloody murder did Watson cave.

It also seems that Fleury, who spoke to the flag requester, even told him that his request was being considered. The next thing we know Fleury throws the requester under the bus when he signed that horrid proclamation against the flag.

Nice way to treat your constituent.

Monday April 24, 2017 at 1:04 AM.
An email is sent from a person (name redacted) to Jim Watson, and cc'd to councillor Mathieu Fleury:

"Mayor Watson,

Mayor Greg Dionne of Prince Albert Saskatchewan a strong believer in freedom of speech and freedom of rights has flown the life flag in his city. Ottawa has a variety of flags, as a taxpayer I respectfully request that this flag could be flown also for the 20th anniversary of the March for Life here in Ottawa. Please advise if this request could be granted. Attached flag going up in Prince Albert.

Yours truly"

Monday May 01, 2017 at 1:06 PM
Another message came into the city via their website. The message says this:

"Spoke to Matthew Fleury this AM about a reply to my request to Mayor Watson, I received a reply it would be under consideration. Mr. Fleury advised me it would be your department. Would appreciate a reply ASAP."

Tuesday May 2, 2017 9:17 AM 
Email from Communications Officer, Mayor's Office to Executive Assistant to Mayor Jim Watson

"This is the original request" (Attached to this email is the original April 24 email flag request)

Tuesday May 2, 2017 11:07 AM 
Email from Executive Assistant, Mayor's office to Protocol Advisor

"[Communications Officer, Mayor's office] received this correspondence concerning your earlier inquiry."

Tuesday May 2, 2017 1:13 PM
Email from Protocol Advisor to the Chief of Protocol:

"This is the request that we received yesterday through Councillor Fleury's office. Councillor Fleury told the gentleman that we will give consideration to his request however raising the flag is very controversial. In having to reply to this request I need your guidance."

Tuesday May 2, 2017,  2:47 PM 
From Chief of Protocol to Protocol Advisor

"Can you see if we are proclaiming the day; if we are, it would be difficult to deny the request. We can discuss at our one-on-one tomorrow.

Tuesday May 2, 2017 2:52 PM:
From Protocol Advisor to Chief of Protocol:

"I will bring this forward tomorrow. A proclamation has been issued and sent to the organizer." 

Wednesday May 10, 2017 3:48 PM
From Protocol Advisor to Director of Policy

"Attached is the flag as per your request."

More later.

March for Life 2017 - we will never give up

I was very discouraged after returning yesterday from the March for Life.

Every year we do this march, but last year, and now this year, our city approved route was to go down Elgin St. past the Human Rights monument. We believe in human rights for preborn children.

But we were diverted at Albert St. because of other protesters. I took one of their brochures. Oh. And one of them told me she didn't want me video taping her. I ignored her.

The police told us we were diverted to prevent a confrontation with these other protesters. The thing is, the thousands of us are peaceful. So there certainly wouldn't have been a confrontation from us, but rather from these 50 or so threatening, screaming, masked protesters who didn't have the courage to show their faces.

Why did we have to be diverted because these others were allowed to prevent our charter right to peacefully protest? Why didn't the police divert them instead? Because the police knew they wouldn't get lip from us. But they would from these others.

And these people were threatening: they originally stood on the corner of Elgin and Slater; then they began to cross and then stood in the middle of the street (with police allowing this); then we were diverted; then when this wasn't enough for these aggressive people, they headed north on Elgin towards where we were being diverted. Reinforcement police came running past us towards these masked people to prevent them from encountering us.

And what were our city councillors doing all this time? They were complaining that a pro-life flag was being flown at city hall.

Our councillors were "outraged" at this. I am not making this up. They were outraged. They didn't like our "individual conviction" to stand up and speak out for preborn children who cannot speak for themselves; who are defenceless; who are killed every year in the thousands by abortion--and who don't have any city councillors brave enough to speak up or out for them. (Catherine McKenney, Diane Deans, Marianne Wilkonson, Tobi Nussbaun, Jeff Lieper, Mathieu Fleury, Jan Harder, followed by Jim Watson who then cowed to them and removed our flag)

But this morning I woke up and I felt much better. I remembered what Cardinal Collins said yesterday at the pro-life Mass at St. Pat's Basilica. We are to use our talents in the pro-life cause. We are not to be discouraged.

We will continue to speak up and to march in defence of preborn children and their mothers. With a flag or without a flag.

I videotaped the whole march. Thanks to Maureen for downloading it.