Public Safety Minister ‘Misunderstood’ in Saying Emergencies Act Invoked on Advice of Law Enforcement: Deputy Minister

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino at a press conference in Ottawa on May 30, 2022, to announce new gun control legislation. Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has repeatedly said that invoking the Emergencies Act in February was done based on the advice of law enforcement, but according to a senior public safety official, he has been “misunderstood” in saying that the act was requested specifically.

“I believe that the intention that he was trying to express was that law enforcement asked for the tools that were contained in the Emergencies Act,” said deputy minister Rob Stewart on June 7 in relation to Mendicino’s previous comments.

Stewart was testifying before the special joint committee of senators and MPs responsible for looking into the public order emergency declared by the government on Feb. 14 to deal with cross-country protests and blockades held in protest of COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.

In recent weeks, that committee and others have sought to find out which law enforcement agency requested or advised invocation of the act.

The RCMP commissioner and the current and former Ottawa police chief have all testified that they didn’t request the use of the act.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on two occasions in the House of Commons on April 27 that “it was only after we got advice from law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act.”

Mendicino made similar statements a number of times.

“It was on the advice of law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act,” he said in the House of Commons on April 28.

“We invoked the Emergencies Act on advice from the police,” Mendicino said in the House on May 3.

Based on these developments, The Epoch Times contacted Public Safety Canada (PSC) to find out which law enforcement agency under its purview requested or advised invoking the act.

“The decision by the Governor in Council to invoke the Act was based on consultations and advice from law enforcement,” wrote PSC spokesperson Magali Deussing in an email.

With the RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki saying last month that she didn’t advise on or request the act, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is the only other law enforcement agency under PSC’s purview that could be considered a stakeholder during the events.

The activities of the CBSA were disrupted by the border blockades in Surrey, B.C.; Coutts, Alberta; Emerson, Manitoba; and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario.

The Epoch Times asked CBSA if at any point it advised the government to invoke the Emergencies Act. It didn’t confirm nor deny.

“The decision to declare a public order emergency was made by the Governor in Council,” said CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy in a May 12 email.

Commissioner Lucki testified before the special joint committee on May 10 that no powers granted by the act were used to deal with the border blockades. The blockades in Windsor were dealt with using regular police enforcement on Feb. 13 and 14 respectively.

Protesters in Coutts and Emerson voluntarily dispersed on Feb. 15 and 16 after the act was invoked.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.