The Liberal government has officially launched an independent public inquiry into its use of the Emergencies Act to remove Freedom Convoy demonstrators in Ottawa earlier this year.
In
a news release issued on April 25, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the creation of the Public Order Emergency Commission, which will look into the circumstances that led to the Emergencies Act being invoked.
Ontario Appeal Court Justice Paul S. Rouleau has been named commissioner of the inquiry and must provide a final report to the federal government by Feb. 20, 2023.
Rouleau was
first appointed as an Ontario Superior Court justice in 2002 and joined the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2005. He was also appointed Deputy Judge in the Supreme Court of Yukon in 2014, and of the Nunavut Court of Justice and the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in 2017.
“In the coming days and weeks, I will be working to establish the Public Order Emergency Commission and will be offering more information on the functioning of the Commission in the near future,” he said in an April 25 statement.
“I am committed to ensuring that the process is as open and transparent as possible, recognizing the tight timelines for reporting imposed by the Emergencies Act.”
Trudeau said the commissioner will look into the circumstances that surrounded the Emergencies Act being invoked and make recommendations to “prevent these events from happening again.”
Trudeau
invoked the act for the first time since its creation on Feb. 14, amid nationwide protests against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. The act gave police extraordinary powers to remove protesters at Ottawa’s downtown core and at several border blockades, where protesters had already largely cleared out by the time the act was invoked.
The protesters, many of whom remained in Ottawa for some three weeks were met with
police wielding batons and pepper spray. At one stage, mounted police charged into the crowd and knocked protestors down, including a woman who was injured as a result and ended up in hospital.
Additional powers granted under the act also allowed the federal government to freeze protesters’ and supporters’ bank accounts without a court order. Following the clearing of protesters in Ottawa, the government revoked the act on Feb. 23.
Soon after Trudeau invoked the act, premiers from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec
expressed their opposition to the measure, while three Maritime premiers said the move was “unnecessary.” At least two constitutional rights and civil liberties groups have also
filed legal challenges against the federal government’s use of the act.
The Liberal government gained the support of the NDP in its invocation of the act, while Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois opposed the move.
In March, a special joint committee of seven MPs and four senators was established to begin reviewing the use of the Act. That committee is set to meet again on April 26.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
