Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones have been summoned to appear as witnesses at the public inquiry examining the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act, after they declined to voluntarily appear.
Lawyers for the Public Order Emergency Commission say they asked Ford and Jones to sit down for an interview on Sept. 19, but the pair refused several requests.
The commission has also invited both to appear as witnesses, but last week Ford told reporters he hadn’t been asked.
According to a letter sent by commission lawyers today, they believe Ford and Jones have evidence that would be relevant to the inquiry’s mandate.
The commission has the authority to summon witnesses to testify.
The public inquiry, which began earlier this month, is tasked with investigating the Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in February as the “Freedom Convoy” paralyzed the national capital’s downtown core.
