Canada’s PM Defends Use of Emergency Powers to End ‘Freedom Convoy’ Protests
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testifies before the Public Order Emergency Commission public inquiry on November 25, 2022, in Ottawa.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has been investigating the Canadian government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act on February 14 – the first time in history – to end the Freedom Convoy anti-COVID-19 restrictions protests.Justin Trudeau has vehemently pushed back against those questioning his government’s move to wield special emergency powers – the never previously invoked Emergencies Act – to put a lid on the “Freedom Convoy” blockades in February 2022. Canada’s prime minister informed the Public Order Emergency Commission that he was “serene and confident” that he was right to crack down on the trucker protests launched in response to COVID-19 restrictions. Reflecting on his invoking of the 1988 Emergencies Act on February 14, Trudeau wallowed in a bout of “what ifs” during his testimony on Friday.
“What if the worst had happened in those following days? What if someone had gotten hurt? What if a police officer had been put in a hospital? What if, when I had an opportunity to do something, I had waited?" he queried.
According to Trudeau, his responsibility as PM meant he had to be prepared to make “tough calls and keep people safe.”He cited the advice input received by him from his Cabinet, senior officials, and leaders of the opposition ahead of the decision to opt for an unprecedented course that would “keep Canadians safe.”Trudeau conceded that he had ultimately made up his mind by 3:40 p.m. on the aforementioned date after getting an “invocation memo” from the Clerk of the Privy Council. The memo, Trudeau claimed, informed him that the “threshold” for acknowledging reasonable grounds for “threats to security of Canada” had been met.”It was a big thing, not a small thing, to have the head of the public service formally recommend the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the declaration of a public order emergency. It’s not something that had ever been done in Canada before,” Trudeau said.
Canadian Lawmakers Extend Emergency Act Powers to Tackle ‘Freedom Convoy’ Blockades22 February, 02:35 GMTThe invoked measures, which were in place until February 23, were necessary, said the PM, as “there was the use of children as human shields, deliberately. Which was a real concern both at the Ambassador Bridge and the fact that there were kids on Wellington Street, that people didn’t know what was in the trucks, whether it was kids, whether it was weapons, whether it was both.”Regarding reports that Canada had been under international pressure over the fallout from the protests and their impact on Canada-US trade, PM Trudeau, when asked if he believed President Joe Biden was overly concerned about the protests, said “no.”“I think he was very concerned, but I don’t think anyone was more concerned than me,” Trudeau testified.
World’Very Worried’ Biden Reportedly Pressed Canada’s PM to End ‘Freedom Convoy’ ProtestsYesterday, 13:51 GMTThe PM’s testimony wrapped up the public hearing stage of the commission’s probe, which spent 31 days questioning scores of witnesses from among Ottawa residents, local officials, police, protesters, and federal ministers holding senior government positions. In the following week, the commission is set to hear opinions from academics and experts, with Commissioner Paul Rouleau eventually expected to draft a final report, slated to be tabled in Canada’s Parliament in February.
