Ottawa police board member ‘did nothing wrong’ despite accusations, resignation

An Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB) member who has been accused of participating in February’s truck convoy released a statement clarifying he “did nothing wrong” despite resigning earlier this week.

Robert Swaita released his statement on Thursday, March 3, one day after he and two other provincially appointed members submitted their resignations to the board.

“As a member of the OPSB, I was never privy to operational information of the Ottawa Police Services,” Swaita wrote. “Further, I never once shared confidential information of the OPSB with members of the public as I have seen alluded to in media releases by certain public officials.

“I want to be crystal clear — I did nothing wrong, nor has it been alleged in the article that I did anything inappropriate. I attended the protest on two occasions when the convoy first arrived in Ottawa.”

Swaita said he shared this information and his frustrations in conversations with the chair and vice-chair of the OPSB at the time, “well before the protest was declared illegal,” according to his statement.

“As a private citizen of Ottawa and a member of the OPSB, I wanted to better understand the growing frustration that was being felt by many Canadians to better undertake my duties as an OPSB member and a concerned citizen,” he added. “I heard many tragic stories of suicide, loneliness and job loss. I also went on a police ride-along to better gauge the challenges faced by our brave police officers with regards to the protest.”

Swaita then said he “unequivocally condemns” any racist or destructive behaviour and never attended the protest after it was declared illegal, clarifying that he had never made a donation.

“Finally, I want to personally thank the individual members of the OPS and the many police services across Canada for their hard work on bringing this to a safe conclusion and restoring order to our city,” he said. “This often goes unrecognized and underappreciated, but our officers need our help more than ever to continue to keep our community safe.”

Swaita said he volunteered to be on the OPSB to bring attention to better policing and enhance community safety while addressing important issues for front-line officers.

“I was honoured and humbled to be appointed two years ago by the Province of Ontario in this very important role on the [Ottawa Police Services Board],” Swaita wrote. “I discharged my duties faithfully and to the best of my ability.”