Testimony From Ottawa Mayor, City Officials Prompts Call for Doug Ford to Testify at Emergencies Act Inquiry

An RCMP tactical vehicle drives past the Parliament Buildings after a massive police operation quelled the Freedom Convoy protest days earlier, in Ottawa on Feb. 20, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Civil liberties advocacy groups are calling on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to testify at the inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.

The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF), the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Ottawa Coalition are requesting Ford and Solicitor-General Sylvia Jones to testify due to the testimony of Ottawa city manager Steve Kanellakos, Chief of Staff to Ottawa mayor Serge Arpin, and Mayor Jim Watson.

“Ford and Jones’ evidence is relevant and necessary to a full and accurate determination of the facts,” a CCF press release stated.

The release said testimony from Kanellakos, Arpin, and Watson with related documents show there were multiple attempts to get Ford and Jones to participate in discussions with federal and municipal officials, but they refused.

Ford declared a state of emergency on Feb. 11, levelling up police powers. On Feb. 14, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, greatly enhancing police powers to remove and fine protesters and freeze their assets.

Ford revoked the provincial state of emergency on Feb. 23, and the public emergency order was also withdrawn in the Senate.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on as Ontario Premier Doug Ford responds to a question following an announcement in Ottawa on Oct. 17, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Ford said at an Oct. 17 press conference that he stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Trudeau. “If you disrupt the lives of the people of Ottawa every single day, disrupt the lives of economic flow across our borders, I have zero tolerance for it,” he said.

According to transcripts read at the inquiry, Trudeau accused Ford of “hiding from his responsibility ... for political reasons” during a Feb. 8 phone call with Watson.

“We’re all politicians, the three of us, and my sense is that he didn’t necessarily want to wear the situation because he felt it was very much the responsibility of the police service, and I fundamentally disagreed with him,” Watson said during the call.

According to CCF’s press release, Watson said that police resources could have been provided in Ottawa sooner if Ford and Jones had participated in discussions. It also mentioned that Trudeau told Watson to seek provincial resources before requesting federal support.

“The Emergencies Act is a last resort that can only be used when all other legal authorities are ineffective,” Sujit Choudhry, counsel for the CCF, said in the release.

“Premier Doug Ford and Minister Sylvia Jones must answer why the Premier did not use his emergency powers under Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to address the Ottawa protests.”

During testimony on Oct. 13, the Ontario Provincial Police said the Emergencies Act powers gave police useful tools, but the protests could have been dealt with without them.

The Canadian Press and Omid Ghoreishi contributed to this report.