Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino says the government is committed to full transparency as it investigates the use of the Emergency Law to end protests for a “freedom convoy”. But he would not undertake to share confidential documents from the cabinet about the decision.
In an interview with CTV in question on Sunday, Mendicino said Ottawa was giving Judge Paul Roulo, who led the investigation, “broad powers” to determine whether the Act’s justification was justified.
“We have been transparent all along and are now fulfilling our obligations under the Emergency Situations Act by launching a full-scale public inquiry that gives Justice Rouleau broad powers to coerce witnesses, coerce documents, coerce information, including classified documents,” he said.
“Our desire is to work very closely with him.”
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the creation of an independent Public Order Emergency Commission, which will continue for most of the year.
Rulo, a longtime judge, will have to present his final report, including key findings and “lessons learned”, to both the House of Commons and the Senate in the two official languages by February 20, 2023. He is expected to weigh on the appropriateness and the effectiveness ”of the measures taken by the government to invoke the Emergency Situations Act.
It will cover “the evolution of the convoy, the impact of funding and disinformation, the economic impact and efforts of the police and others responding before and after the declaration” in hopes of preventing a recurrence of such events, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
As many of the discussions around the convoy and the reference to the Act were held behind closed doors at the cabinet table, liberals are under pressure to relinquish cabinet confidentiality, so Roulo has unrestricted access to the necessary information.
Mendicino was adamant that the commissioner would do so without committing to abandoning the principle.
“We will be there to work with Judge Roulo to ensure that there is transparency and, most importantly, to make sure that he has the information that he needs to confirm and review very, you know, very carefully.” he said.
Asked what the government’s threshold is to continue with the law, saying all other laws were insufficient to resolve the issue, the minister said there were many factors.
“We did not watch any of these events in isolation. We looked all over the country and saw that our corridors were blocked. “And while there has been some progress, there have been significant risks in the future that these blockades may return,” he said.
“The advice we received from our law enforcement officials was that existing bodies are not effective – and this word is very important because it is built into the Emergency Test – they are not effective in restoring public safety,” he said. he.
The Conservative Party called the investigation a “bleach”, questioning both the scope and the depth of Rulo’s mandate.
“The Liberal government is doing everything in its power to ensure that this investigation is insignificant and fails to hold them accountable,” said Raquel Dancho, a critic of conservative public safety, Dane Lloyd and an industrialist. critic Gerard Deltel.
With files from Rachel Ayelo of CTV News
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