Five months ago, the first Freedom Convoy trucks arrived in Ottawa. What began as a weekend of planned protests expressing restrictions against COVID-19 and anti-government sentiment quickly turned into a week-long occupation of downtown Ottawa and the blocking of key border crossings.
After weeks of business closures, cross-border congestion, constant horns and fears of threats or acts of “serious violence … to achieve a political or ideological goal”, the federal government took the unprecedented step on February 14, citing the Emergency Act .
When declaring a national state of emergency for public order, officials were given new powers and large-scale police operations were carried out to make arrests as well as to clear blockades and camps in the capital. Subsequently, a series of investigations and investigations were launched at various levels, promising to get to the bottom of what exactly happened.
From shedding light on what justified the government’s decision to use unprecedented emergency powers and how they were used, to the circumstances that led to the unprecedented protests that gave rise to what supporters see as a “freedom movement.”
The participants in these inquiries already point out what they consider to be shortcomings and wonder whether it will be possible to take full account of the events that took place.
As the nation’s capital prepares for another weekend of planned protests and these official inquiries are ticking, what is the deadline to see these probes completed? Will the results lead to recommendations to ensure that Canada learns from this situation? Can Prime Minister Justin Trudeau be called to testify?
CTVNews.ca looks at the location of the main commissions and studies.
NATIONAL ASSIGNMENT: PUBLIC ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMISSION
The initiation of a national investigation was ordered under federal emergency law within 60 days of the lifting of emergency powers. On April 25, Trudeau appointed longtime judge Paul Roulo to head the independent Public Order Emergency Commission.
With a mandate to investigate the circumstances that led to the use of the law and the measures taken to deal with the emergency, it is expected that the final report to parliament will inform how to prevent a recurrence of such events.
Still in its early stages, the Commissioner has so far decided which stakeholders will be given the right to participate and is now finalizing with those deemed appropriate – including the three levels of government, the convoy organizers, such as the police force – the project for rules of procedure and practice.
Once this is completed, stakeholders will have until July 18 to submit documents.
In what the commission sees as a victory, it was announced on June 28 that the federal government had agreed to submit sensitive documents to the cabinet related to their consideration, for reference to the Act and its implementation.
With regard to the term of the commission, between July and October is considered the period of time in which opinions may be submitted by members of the public and organizations that do not have the authority to make inquiries.
While Commissioner Roulott rejected the request for an interview, the commission’s senior communications adviser, Michael Tansey, said the plan was to hold public hearings between September and October and that they were “likely” to be a mix of personal and virtual, with the final formatting still should be ironed.
From then on, the focus will be on gathering all the evidence received and heard, and then examining the report in the two official languages with the findings and recommendations by 6 February 2023.
“The commission has a very broad mandate that needs to be fulfilled in a very short time. This will be a challenge that can only be achieved through procedural creativity and, importantly, cooperation from all parties. The commission is committed to meeting its deadline, to conducting a meaningful investigation, and in a fair and transparent manner, “said a statement posted on the commission’s website on June 1st.
PARLIAMENTARY INVESTIGATION: SPECIAL JOINT COMMITTEE ON ANNOUNCEMENT OF EXECUTIVE SITUATION
First out of the door when it came to digging into the use of the Emergency Situations Act, so far this combined committee of MPs and senators has held several meetings, hearing cabinet members, key police forces, and senior federal security officials, and has issued a very short interim report.
Although what opposition lawmakers believe were ministerial non-responses and conflicting testimonies from police and other officials about what led to the law enforcement, NDP co-chair Matthew Green told CTVNews.ca that they were still far from getting a complete picture of what happened.
“We were disappointed with the government’s obstacles and unwillingness to provide our commission with even the most basic facts,” he said. “I am someone who supported the law, by the way. I did it by believing their word and I am really beginning to doubt the veracity of their claims.”
A more political inquiry by its very nature, there has been criticism that some of the interrogations may have focused more on collecting party points than on getting to the bottom of the issue.
In addition, the committee is not expected to hold hearings in the next two months.
As Parliament is on a summer break, the current thinking is that the committee will meet again in September to hold what Green describes as one-day “super hearings”.
Green said members will do the commission’s work this summer, including digging into secret documents related to the convoy, which they have requested from the federal cabinet and is expected to be handed over in July.
According to Green, there are also some expectations that, given that Rollo mentioned the parallel work of the special joint commission, they will have access to the material provided to the national investigation, although they function as an independent review mechanism.
Regardless of the deadline and more hearings ahead, Trudeau is among the witnesses who could be called this fall, Green said.
“I do not want this to drag on. “I think if the government was more accountable with their answers and the information we asked for, we would be much ahead,” Green said. “Canadians deserve answers. This is a very serious thing that has just happened … If we don’t deal with it now, we will deal with it later.”
Accordingly, other House studies were provoked during and after the protests. The Committee on Public Safety and National Security recently completed a study on the rise of ideologically motivated violent extremism, concluding that more resources should be devoted to the issue.
The Committee on Procedures and Home Affairs continues to examine whether it is time to extend the federal operational jurisdiction for security within the parliamentary section. Related to this is the ongoing conversation about how to move past the current cement barricades to permanently block the insignificant movement of vehicles on Wellington Street.
CIVIC INITIATIVE: THE PEOPLE’S COMMISSION OF THE OTTAVA FOR THE OCCUPATION OF THE CONVOY
As CTV News Ottawa reported, on June 27, an Ottawa-based group announced it was committed to launching a public commission on the aftermath of the convoy, with the view that ongoing investigations into what happened in the nation’s capital have not been cut.
The Ottawa People’s Commission for the Occupation of Convoys has appointed three commissioners to write and report on how the weeks-long occupation of downtown streets and the presence of protesters across the city affected those living and working in Ottawa.
The commission plans to hear “ordinary citizens, advocacy organizations and social agencies, business owners, workers and others whose lives have been turned upside down during the occupation,” according to commission co-chair and public activist Ken Rubin.
“We need answers from the authorities about how such a devastating attack on the city was allowed,” Rubin said.
Consultations with the community are scheduled to take place throughout this summer and autumn, with a view to presenting the final report by the end of January 2023 to mark the one-year anniversary of the convoy’s inception.
There is a desire to hear more from residents and the impacts they feel as part of the parliamentary process, Green told CTVNews.ca, noting that this perspective is “lost” in the “high-level” meetings that have taken place so far.
“I would be absolutely interested in them coming to testify in the commission and presenting their findings. They deserve a voice in this, “Green said.
Earlier this spring, the Ottawa city’s chief auditor also confirmed plans to review the city’s response to the protests, including whether systemic problems within the Ottawa police service have compromised their response.
Add Comment