Ottawa police end 24/7 presence at inter-provincial checkpoints

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) will no longer be maintaining a 24/7 presence at inter-provincial checkpoints between Ottawa and Gatineau, after commuters were hit with significant delays earlier in the week.

According to a statement from the police service, officers will be deployed to the crossings on a rotating schedule until the expiry of the provincial stay-at-home order, on May 20.

The OPS says the purpose of these changes is to better ensure health and safety, reduce delays and hazards for travellers, while also ensuring essential workers get to their jobs on time.

OPS, Ottawa Public Health (OPH), and other local partners have been assessing the impacts these checkpoints will have on public health, safety and traffic, and made the decision based on the assessment.

However, the service says it's continuing to work with OPH and its partners to conduct daily assessments on the border operations. 

Mayor Jim Watson's office tells CityNews Ottawa the first 24-hours of the checkpoints also cost $113,000 in police staffing.

While there is no longer 24/7 monitoring on the crossings, OPS is urging individuals to only cross the inter-provincial border for essential reasons such as work, health care, for a humanitarian or compassionate reason, or if a primary residence is in Ontario.

The changes came into effect at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. The adjustments only apply to Ottawa police and there is no word on changes to the Ontario Provincial Police's enforcement on smaller passageways.