The Trudeau government was in self-congratulatory mode on Monday, after it announced the creation of an independent public inquiry into its use of the Emergencies Act during the trucker convoy crisis earlier this year.
Calling the inquiry wasn’t just a matter of the government “checking a box,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said. “This is healthy for our democracy.”
Mr. Mendicino even boasted in a CBC interview that his government went beyond the minimum required by law, by calling a full public inquiry presided over by a judge, and with the power to summon witnesses under oath and compel them to provide documents.
He is technically right. The act says only that, within 60 days of the end of the emergency, an inquiry must be called “into the circumstances that led to the declaration being issued and the measures taken for dealing with the emergency.” It does not spell out precisely what kind of inquiry.
But it hardly counts as a display of magnanimity for the first government in history to declare a national emergency under the act – an act carefully written with the misuse of the old War Measures Act in 1970 in mind – to follow through with the requirement to expose itself to full accountability for its decision. It is the very least Canadians should expect. No one should be expressing (or expecting) gratitude.
It is also bizarre that the Liberals are telling Justice Paul Rouleau to examine not just whether their use of the Emergencies Act was justified, but also, to quote the order-in-council creating the inquiry: “the evolution and goals of the convoy and blockades, their leadership, organization and participants”; “the impact of domestic and foreign funding, including crowdsourcing platforms”; and “the impact, role and sources of misinformation and disinformation, including the use of social media.”
Who, exactly, do the Liberals think will be on the hot seat in this inquiry? Who is it they anticipate Justice Rouleau will be compelling to appear?
It’s all too apparent that the Trudeau government doesn’t want the inquiry to focus too much on its decision to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14. What it appears to want is for the inquiry to put as much public attention on those who organized and took part in the trucker convoy that turned Parliament Hill into a giant parking lot for weeks on end.
And that is wrong. There may be an argument for some examination of the motives, methods and funding of the organizers of the convoy – although it wouldn’t be a very compelling one. Using social media to spread nonsense is hardly peculiar to this event. It’s also absurd to suggest that the main subject of this inquiry should be an alleged insurrectionist plot of the Jan. 6 on Capitol Hill variety, particularly given that Parliament continued to meet and MPs continued to work, day after day, just steps from the parked trucks.
Justice Rouleau should keep his inquiry focused on just two questions: Was the Trudeau government right when it decided a blockade of downtown Ottawa could not be effectively dealt with by any other Canadian laws – a fundamental condition for invoking the Emergencies Act? And were the extraordinary steps taken by the government under the act proportionate, such as making it illegal to participate “in a public assembly that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace,” and freezing protesters’ bank accounts?
These are real questions; the answers are unclear. But it is the government’s action, and its justification or lack thereof, that must be the subject of the inquiry.
It should be remembered that the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge was ended by a court injunction and a concerted police effort before the Emergencies Act was invoked. Could something similar have worked in Ottawa? Or was the Emergencies Act needed to bolster the Ottawa police force with additional resources and legal powers?
The actions of the protesters obviously have to be examined to the extent they are relevant to the government’s decision to use the Emergencies Act. One cannot assess the government’s response without considering what it was responding to.
But Justice Rouleau should ensure the inquiry does not lose focus. His subject must be what the Trudeau government did, and whether it was appropriate under the circumstances. It is the government, and the government alone, that is in the hot seat.
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