Justin Trudeau To Take The Stand In Inquiry Into Freedom Convoy Response

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be called to testify at hearings on the government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end protests against the mandate earlier this year.

The Emergency Public Order Commission, headed by former Ontario Superior Court Judge Paul Rouleau, is scheduled to begin hearings next week, with a mandate to assess the government’s use of the Act for the first time. since it became law in 1988. .

Although the preliminary list of about 60 witnesses prepared by the commission’s lawyer has not yet been made public, CTV News has learned that it includes eight cabinet ministers, including Trudeau.

Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland are among those also expected to be called to testify.

Trudeau invoked the Act on February 14 to end protests against COVID-19 measures that have occupied Ottawa and clogged border crossings in Alberta and at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario. It was revoked nine days later, after police broke up the protests.

The government argued that police needed additional tools, including the ability to freeze the bank accounts of convoy supporters, to end the protests. But critics, including the Conservative Opposition, said the decision was unnecessary and an unwarranted intrusion on Canadians’ rights under the Charter.

The commission has subpoena power to compel witnesses, but government officials are expected to appear voluntarily. The Prime Minister’s Office told CTV News that Trudeau anticipated being asked to present evidence and “welcomed” the opportunity.

The proposed witness list also includes several leaders of the so-called Freedom Convoy, including some currently facing criminal charges, as well as law enforcement officials from the RCMP, the Ottawa Police Service and the Ottawa Provincial Police. Ontario.

Keith Wilson, one of the attorneys who has represented convoy leader Tamara Lich, says his clients are in the process of gathering documents to present to the commission. Wilson says he has text messages and phone records showing organizers had “ratified a deal” to get the trucks out of downtown Ottawa before the Emergencies Act was invoked.

Wilson says his clients have not yet been scheduled to testify, but have been told to be ready to take the stand next Tuesday. The hearings are scheduled for October 13 to November 24, but could be extended.

There are 39 people and organizations qualified to participate in the investigation, but it is up to the commission’s lawyers to choose whom to call to testify. Those standing could be given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses.

The commission said it would not release the full list of witnesses until next week.

“The Commission has provided a preliminary list of witnesses to Parties with standing,” spokesman Michael Tansey said in an email. “The list is not final and was provided to the Parties on a confidential basis.”

It is unusual, though not unprecedented, for prime ministers to testify in public inquiries. In 2005, then-Prime Minister Paul Martin appeared before the Gomery Commission investigating allegations of corruption related to the Liberal government’s sponsorship and advertising programmes.

Martin’s predecessor, former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, also testified at the Gomery hearings. The commission’s finding, that Chretien and his chief of staff bore some responsibility for the improper spending, was later overturned by the Federal Court of Canada.

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