(Ottawa) The Border Services Agency estimated that the threat from truck convoys was low before the use of the Emergency Measures Act, but his assessment changed the very next day. A phrase indicating a threat to the economic security of Canada was then added to his daily intelligence reports.
This unusual addition was raised on Wednesday by the lawyer for the Commission on the state of emergency, Gordon Campbell, during the testimony of the former big boss of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), John Ossowski.
“Why did the description of the threat change from weak for your agents and infrastructure to adding this point on the operational impact that could lead to a threat to the economic security and prosperity of Canada? asked M.e Campbell. He noted that this is the same type of language used by the government to justify the use of Emergency Measures Act.
Mr. Ossowski replied that this is a personal initiative of the general management of the center of border operations. “I am convinced that they did so without trying to provide tacit or implicit support for the Emergency Measures Act “, he said.
“I think you’ll agree that a threat assessment is meant to guide public actions and policies, not serve as a vehicle to rationalize them,” the lawyer said. He added that repeating “government lines” dilutes customs officers’ ability to assess the threat and protect Canadians.
The Emergency Commission must determine whether the historic use of the Emergencies Act was justified to end the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa and blockades of border crossings elsewhere in the country.
A convoy of trucks blocked the Coutts border crossing in Alberta starting January 29, the day after the first heavy trucks arrived in downtown Ottawa. Other trucks blocked the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor starting Feb. 7 and blocked the Emerson Bridge in Manitoba starting Feb. 10.
Despite this, intelligence reports prepared by agency employees indicated that “‘the overall threat to CBSA officers and infrastructure is low’ until the morning of February 14, the day the government announced that he would use the Emergency Measures Act. The sentence on the threat the lockdowns posed to Canada’s economy and prosperity was added in a second report released the same day late afternoon. It was subsequently included in the reports produced the following days.