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Judge Paul Roulot may force people to testify in public and require the government to provide documents
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April 25, 2022 • 7 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 605 comments Police patrol a barricade as vehicles block streets in the center as trucks and supporters continue to protest against coronavirus vaccine (COVID-19) mandates in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 3, 2022. Photo by BLAIR GABLE / reuters / REUTERS
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OTTOVA – A judge of the Ontario Court of Appeals will oversee an investigation into the government’s use of the Emergency Act, with the power to force testimony and request documents as to why Liberals invoked the act for the first time in Canadian history.
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Ontario Court of Appeal Judge Paul Roulo has been named commissioner of what the government calls the Public Order Emergency Commission. He will have to submit a report to parliament by February 20, 2023.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited the Emergency Situations Act on February 14 after three weeks of protests in central Ottawa that blocked streets, along with several other blockades at border crossings across the country.
The law gave the government the power to freeze bank accounts to cut off convoy funds and force tugboat drivers to remove vehicles. The act was repealed nine days later on February 23.
The government was legally obliged to announce an investigation within 60 days of repealing the law, a clock that expired on Monday. The inquiry is in addition to a parliamentary committee examining the call, which will hear Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino and Justice Minister David Lametti on Tuesday night.
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In a statement, Roulo said he was honored to be selected for the job and looked forward to the job.
“I am committed to ensuring that the process is as open and transparent as possible, taking into account the short reporting deadlines imposed by the Emergency Situations Act.
Official cabinet orders have given Roulo a mandate to investigate why the act was announced, the development of the convoy, the police response, the economic impact of the blockades, the financing of the protests and the disinformation that may have fueled them.
Mendicino said the government wants to ensure that this type of prolonged blockade does not happen again in the future and wants an in-depth review of its actions.
“It’s not just checking the box. This is healthy for our democracy and we want to thank the Commissioner before his important work, “he said.
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He said the government supports its decision to invoke the law and welcomed the inspection.
“It was a necessary decision. It was a responsible decision. That was the right thing to do. And we certainly look forward to working with Justice Rouleau. ”
Rollo can make people testify publicly and ask the government to provide documents. The reference to the law has been challenged in several lawsuits, and the government relies on the Cabinet’s confidence to deny requests for documents.
Trust in the cabinet has long been part of Canadian law, which prevents ministers from talking about discussions around the cabinet table to allow for free debate. It also protects all documents presented during cabinet meetings from public sharing.
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Mendicino said the lawsuits and the investigation are different and Roulo will have access to the documents he needs to do his job, but did not rule out the possibility of giving up the cabinet’s trust in the investigation.
“The judge will have wide access, including classified documents. “Our intention is to work with the judge so that he has a good record so that he can do his job,” he said.
At the time, Conservative MP Glenn Motz said the government should be completely transparent about why it had invoked the law, but suggested it would not because it had never needed extraordinary powers.
“This government has not yet presented a convincing argument that the reference to the SCT actually meets the high, incredibly high threshold for national security,” he said. “Will this government finally be transparent and accountable to Canadians by sharing the information and documents it refers to when referring to the Emergency Situations Act?”
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Rollo has wide freedom to decide who will testify and under what circumstances. It can also allow other groups to participate in the investigation and get the government to provide them with the means to do so.
Mendicino said most of the decisions on how the investigation is going are in Rulo’s hands.
“One of the hallmarks of this public inquiry is that it will have the ability to function independently, impartially, by the government, and that is one of the reasons the government has chosen to conduct this full-fledged public inquiry.
As in most public investigations, the process is designed more as a fact-finding mission, and Roulo is forbidden to establish that any criminal laws have been violated or to rule on any civil liability.
Approximately 200 people were arrested in a massive police operation in downtown Ottawa after the act was lifted.
Twitter: RyanTumilty Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com
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