Alberta to Participate in Federal Emergencies Act Inquiry

The Alberta government will participate in the federal Emergencies Act inquiry beginning Thursday.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said the province has been granted full rights to actively participate in all aspects of the investigation.

Public hearings are scheduled to begin this Thursday in downtown Ottawa and run through the end of November, according to the Public Order Emergency Commission. More than 60 witnesses are expected, including high-level demonstrators, law enforcement, ministers and people affected by the occupation.

Previously, the Federal Court of Canada granted Alberta intervener status in four legal challenges to the Emergencies Act. This would allow the Government of Alberta to intervene on non-constitutional and constitutional issues raised in court.

It also comes after former Prime Minister Jason Kenney filed an application for judicial review of the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act in February. Kenney had always been critical of the Emergencies Act, invoked by the federal government in response to the convoy protests in Ottawa.

He called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the law « disproportionate » and « unnecessary, » saying the province already has the legislative tools to end the lockdowns. Kenney previously referenced the province’s Critical Infrastructure and Defense Act (CIDA), a bill that allows law enforcement to issue fines and arrest people who block critical infrastructure such as highways and railways.

« Alberta will demonstrate that the Coutts border blockade was effectively addressed prior to the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, » Shandro said.

« The decision to invoke the law violated the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Albertans and gave the federal government the ability to seize assets without due process. »

1:11
Trudeau ‘can’t wait’ to testify at Emergencies Act public inquiry

Trudeau argued it was necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act, a decision that « was not taken lightly. » He maintained that the law was a “measured and time-limited means to be able to regain control of the situation”.

« But part of that process is making sure there’s proper accountability and oversight after the fact, and that’s why there’s a public inquiry into the use of the law (into the measures of emergency), so that Canadians can understand what and how these powers have been used. Trudeau said at a press conference on Wednesday.

“That’s why, from the beginning, I offered to the commission to appear before this commission so that Canadians could understand exactly why we had to do what we did.

770 CHQR has contacted Premier Danielle Smith’s office with a request for comment.

–With files from Rachel Gilmore, Global News.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.