‘Their actions were unlawful’: Answers sought into feds use of Emergencies Act during Freedom Convoy

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association says it is looking for answers from the federal government as a public inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act during last winter’s “Freedom Convoy” protest in Ottawa gets underway on Thursday.

The inquiry will examine why the Act was invoked to deal with the convoy protests that took over a large portion of downtown Ottawa back in February.

“It is our opinion that their actions were unlawful and unconstitutional,” said Cara Zwibel with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

On Feb. 14, 2022, the Trudeau government invoked the Emergencies Act, which granted police extraordinary temporary powers to clear people and vehicles out of downtown Ottawa, and allowed banks to freeze the accounts of some of those involved.

The unprecedented use of the Act came as participants in the blockade were calling for a repeal of COVID-19 public health measures that were in place. Some of the protesters also wanted to bring about the end of the Liberal government.

Zwibel believes that so far, the federal government hasn’t presented enough evidence to prove the threshold was met to use the Emergencies Act to handle the protesters who camped out on the streets of Ottawa for weeks. She wants to see evidence why this was the only option left.

“The government has yet to prove that the legal threshold to invoke the Act was met, and the burden is on them and not the other way around,” she said.

The civil liberties group will be looking for answers from the federal government on what information they have that warranted the historic use of the Act.

Zwibel said she also has concerns that not all the information will be publicly released.

“There have been discussions about documents and about cabinet confidentiality,” she said.

Related: Canadians divided on whether Emergencies Act was right move to end protests: poll

According to a stipulation of the Emergencies Act, a public inquiry is required to be called to examine the government’s decision when it is invoked.

“This critical phase will shed light on the events that led to the declaration of the public order emergency and fully explore the reasons advanced for the declaration,” commissioner Paul Rouleau, who is running the inquiry, said in a statement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is among the 65 people on the list slated to testify at the commission, said the public would get answers.

“From the very beginning, I offered to the commission to appear at that commission so Canadians could understand exactly why we had to do what we did,” he said.

Other high-profile people on the list include Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Anita Anand, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, outgoing Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Peter Sloly, who resigned as chief of the Ottawa police during the convoy protest, and his replacement Steve Bell, and others. Absent from the list is Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

The commission is also expected to hear from key organizers of the convoy, including Pat King and Tamara Lich.

On Thursday, Rouleau is expected to give opening remarks and “overview reports” from commission lawyers, containing event summaries and core facts, which will be entered into evidence.

The inquiry will run for six weeks, at which point the commission will prepare a report to be submitted to the House of Commons by Feb. 20, 2023.

With files from The Canadian Press