Emergencies Act Inquiry Commissioner Says Focus Is on Government Actions, Not Protesters

Commissioner Paul Rouleau speaks during the first day of hearings at the Public Order Emergency Commission inquiry, in Ottawa, on Oct. 13, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

The commissioner presiding over the inquiry into the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act says the commission’s work will revolve around the mandate granted by Parliament, rather than the one given by cabinet which focuses on protesters’ actions.

“While this inquiry will deal with a wide range of issues, its focus will remain squarely on the decision of the federal government,” said commissioner Paul Rouleau during his remarks opening the public hearings phase of the inquiry in Ottawa.

He said the mandate from Parliament is one of “public accountability, the public’s legitimate right to know why the government proclaimed an emergency and whether the actions it took were appropriate.”

As well as the mandate given by Parliament and required by law after the Emergencies Act is invoked, Rouleau addressed the additional mandate given by the Liberal government.

Rouleau relayed that cabinet told the commission through an Order in Council to focus on issues such as the evolution, goals, leadership, and participants of the movement, the impact of domestic and foreign funding, the role of “misinformation and disinformation,” the economic impacts of the blockades, and the role and efforts of police.

The commissioner, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge, said “although these topics have been identified as worthy of attention, it is the mandate that has been given to us by Parliament that drives the commission’s work.”

Rouleau said the main questions the inquiry will try to answer are why the government declared a public order emergency, how it used its powers, and were those actions appropriate.

Freedom Convoy

The Liberal government declared a public order emergency on Feb. 14 to deal with cross-country protests and border blockades demanding the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

By the time the Emergencies Act was invoked, some civil disobedience activities had already been resolved by regular law enforcement action, and others dispersed of their own volition shortly afterwards.

Emergency powers were only used to clear the Freedom Convoy truck-based protest in Ottawa, with several top officials noting extraordinary powers were needed to compel towing companies to remove the trucks. Such powers are actually already contained in Section 129 of the Criminal Code.

Using the Emergencies Act triggered mechanism reviews such as the establishment of a special joint committee of MPs and senators, which started its work in March.

Some participants in the committee have expressed frustration about the lack of answers provided by ministers testifying and have repeatedly asked if government would lift cabinet confidence and solicitor-client privilege to obtain a fulsome picture of the events.

Commissioner Rouleau also mentioned in his opening remarks having issues with obtaining relevant documents.

He still noted the federal government has deployed “considerable efforts” to produce documents, with some still being provided as of Thursday. Some are classified under national security grounds or constrained by other forms of privilege, but Rouleau said work is being done to make these available to the public as much as possible.

In addition to a large amount of federal documents, Rouleau said the commission received over 50,000 documents from various entities ranging from police services to private citizens.

The Public Order Emergency Commission will hear from over 50 witnesses until Nov. 25, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Convoy organizers.