Justin Trudeau expected to testify at Emergencies Act inquiry next week – National
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s time to testify at the inquiry into his government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act last February is fast approaching.
Trudeau and several of his ministers are scheduled to appear before the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) next week to answer questions about the Liberals’ choice on February 14 to use emergency powers to end the so – calling it « freedom convoy », a week later. -long blockade of Ottawa and several Canada-US border crossings earlier this year.
It was the first time in Canadian history that the Emergencies Act was used. Trudeau revoked him on February 23. As part of the legislation, an investigation into its use must be held and the POEC was formed on April 25, with former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Paul Rouleau named president.
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Was the Emergency Measures Act justified during the convoy protests? The investigation released today
The commission has been holding hearings since Oct. 13 and has heard testimony from protest leaders, police, and state and federal officials. Hearings will continue until the end of this month and the inquiry is due to submit its final report – including both its findings and recommendations – by February 6, 2023.
In addition to Trudeau, officials expected to appear next week include Defense Minister Anita Anand, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Justice Minister David Lametti, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. .
David Vigneault, Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Michelle Tessier, Deputy Director of Operations at CSIS, Marie-Hélène Chayer, Executive Director of the CSIS Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre, Katie Telford, Chief of Staff of Trudeau, Brian Clow, Trudeau’s deputy chief of staff and John Brodhead, Trudeau’s director of policy, are also scheduled to appear next week.
Before the government invoked the Emergencies Act in February, people protesting public health measures related to COVID-19 were holed up for weeks in downtown Ottawa, along with at border crossings in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
Ottawa residents were subjected to incessant horns and blocked city streets, forcing businesses to close.
Police said they received hundreds of reports of abusive behavior during this period, including harassment of people wearing masks, threats and intimidation, and fireworks being set off in residential areas in the middle of the night .
The occupation ended when law enforcement in multiple jurisdictions launched a massive operation to clear the streets of Ottawa, remove the trucks and infrastructure set up by the convoy, and arrest those who chose not to. leave the area after the demonstration has been declared illegal.
– with files from Rachel Gilmore of Global News
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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