(OTTAWA) Deputy Premier Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday that she had not received any requests from law enforcement to invoke the Emergency Measures Act to put an end to the “freedom convoy”. She also does not recall having had such a discussion with the Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino.
Posted at 8:50 p.m.
The Conservatives are calling for the resignation of Minister Mendicino for misleading people. He said in April that the police had asked the government to invoke the law. He then testified before a joint committee of the House of Commons and the Senate which must determine whether the historic use of this legislation was justified.
The Emergency Measures Act grants extraordinary powers to the government in a situation beyond its control. It had never been invoked since its adoption in 1988 to replace the War Measures Act.
“Did you invoke the Emergency Measures Act on the advice of the police,” asked the Conservative Senator, Claude Carignan, to Mme Freeland during his testimony Tuesday evening.
“I have not personally received such advice,” she admitted.
She later indicated that she did not recall discussing a request from law enforcement with the Minister of Public Safety, in response to questions from the senator. “Personally, I don’t recall such a discussion,” she said.
Hundreds of trucks paralyzed downtown Ottawa for three weeks in January and February, forcing the closure of several businesses and the Rideau Mall. Others had blocked the Ambassador Bridge at Windsor, Ontario as well as the border crossings at Coutts in Alberta and Emerson in Manitoba.
Police forces were quickly overwhelmed by the scale of these protests against compulsory vaccination and other health measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to invoke the Emergency Measures Act was a “collective decision”, indicated Mme Freeland.
“We did the right thing,” she said.
His testimony gave rise to several heated exchanges. Conservative, Bloc and New Democrat elected officials grew impatient with his sometimes evasive answers.
Further details will follow.