It is better to have remorse than regrets, they say. Ultimately, this is the maxim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau followed when he decided to use the Emergencies Act to dismantle the Freedom Convoy.
In his testimony before the Rouleau Commission, Mr. Trudeau explained that after carrying out all the required consultations and finding himself in the “solitude of power” that every head of government experiences one day or another, he is asked: “What if I don’t sign or decide to wait and the worst happens? »
The worst is never certain, and he himself acknowledges that the occupation of Parliament Hill might have ended peacefully without a state of emergency being declared, but he felt that it was the right thing to do under the circumstances.
You can’t blame a man for acting according to his conscience. And there is no reason to doubt Mr. Trudeau’s sincerity. The calm assurance he displayed during his testimony reflected his certainty that he had acted well. The vast majority of Canadians, whose only concern was getting back to normal, no matter what means, also believe he made the right decision.
The commission’s mandate, however, is not to find out whether this decision was politically well-advised, but to determine whether the gravity of the February 2022 situation met the criteria for invoking a law that had no never been used since its adoption in 1988, insofar as this precedent could be invoked by a future government.
We will be grateful to the Prime Minister for not having sought to distort the spirit of the law by over-dramatizing the economic consequences of the blocking of the passages to the United States and the damage caused to Canada’s reputation abroad , as did its Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland.
By Mr. Trudeau’s own admission, economic considerations were secondary in his decision, and he does not appear to have concluded from his conversation with President Biden that the latter was so concerned.
It is true that the images of the capital paralyzed by truckers who went so far as to bask in a sauna in front of parliament were not particularly flattering. From there to fear that American investors will desert this “banana republic”, there is however a margin. Moreover, our neighbors have never noticed an aversion to regimes of this nature.
One can only doubt the objectivity of a politician, however sincere he may appear, who defends his decisions. It would certainly have been preferable to know the opinion of the Department of Justice concerning the broader definition of the concept of “threat to security” adopted by the government, compared to that which is provided for in the Law on the Canadian Security Intelligence.
Mr. Trudeau, however, had good reason to believe that several elements presented a risk of violence and that the various police services were unable to resolve the crisis. Not to mention the indifference of Doug Ford’s government, which seemed to wash its hands of it.
All things considered, one is tempted to conclude that it was less the action of the truckers than the ineptitude of the authorities that made recourse to emergency measures necessary. Had it not been for the incompetence of some and the procrastination of others, we could very well have avoided it.
Thursday, the Prime Minister deplored the lack of space given to French during the work of this commission chaired by a Franco-Ontarian judge, before which many Francophones, including those responsible for the security services, testified only in English. “Obviously, I will try to use it as much as possible so that everyone can understand me in both official languages,” he said, while emphasizing that an interpretation service was available.
Above all, we were treated to another demonstration of the farce of official bilingualism. You could almost count on the tips of your 10 fingers the sentences that Mr. Trudeau uttered in French.
Yes, he answered the questions in the language used by the person asking them, but it was obvious that he felt much more comfortable expressing in English the nuances that such a delicate subject required.