Government officials – including the heads of the Canadian Spy Agency and the RCMP – will answer questions Tuesday night about the circumstances that prompted the liberal government to use its never-used emergency powers to quell protests in Ottawa earlier this year.
The federal government cited the Emergency Situations Act in February during the Freedom Convoy, giving it temporary powers to deal with blockades and protests against pandemic restrictions.
Public Security Secretary Marco Mendicino, Canadian Security Director David Vigno, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucy and Ted Gallivan, Executive Vice President of the Canadian Border Service, are due to appear before a special joint committee of MPs and senators considering use of the Emergencies Act of 6.30pm ET.
Attorney General David Lametti and Justice Department officials will answer questions afterwards.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that it was necessary to use the Emergency Act to address “serious challenges to the ability of law enforcement agencies to enforce the law effectively.”
“It’s about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people’s jobs and restoring trust in our institutions,” he said in mid-February.
The unprecedented implementation of the Emergency Situations Act allowed a ban on travel to protest areas, banned people from taking minors to illegal gatherings and allowed banks to freeze the accounts of some of the protesters. This also enabled the RCMP to enforce municipal regulations and provincial violations when necessary.
Lucky said the legislation has helped its staff control protests against the vaccine mandate in the capital’s center.
“So for us, operationally, it was all about reducing that footprint in Ottawa, and the only way to do that was to stop people from coming in or encourage them to leave,” she said in February.
“We used it as a great deterrent for people to enter the area.
A separate investigation has been officially launched
Tuesday’s commission is separate from Monday’s investigation into the use of the Emergency Situations Act.
Trudeau has appointed former Ontario Supreme Court Justice Paul Roulo to lead this independent public inquiry – the Public Order Emergency Commission – as it examines events that led to the Emergency Situations Act and makes recommendations “to prevent a recurrence of these events, “a government statement said.
Police order protesters on 19 February 2022 (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
Opposition conservatives say the investigation is too focused on the protesters’ actions and the role played by fundraising and disinformation in the event.
“The liberal government is doing everything in its power to ensure that this investigation is insignificant and fails to hold them accountable,” Conservative MPs Raquel Dancho, Dane Lloyd and Gerard Deltel said in a joint statement Monday.
By law, the investigation into the use of the act must be called within 60 days of the revocation of the declaration.
Asked what information would be disseminated during the investigation, House of Representatives leader Mark Holland said the government should take into account both transparency and national security.
The council’s order, which sets out the rules for the investigation, calls on the commissioner to avoid disclosing information that could be “harmful” to Canada’s international relations, defense and security.
“We have two competing interests,” Holland told reporters Tuesday before a cabinet meeting.
“The most important thing we can do is make sure that society has all the information it needs to see clearly why decisions have been made and how they have been made. But we also know that we must protect national security. These are difficult things to balance. “
Rulo’s final report must be published in both houses of parliament before February 20, 2023.
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