(Ottawa) The Attorney General of Ontario is asking the Federal Court to hear his arguments no later than 1er november. He maintains that the prime minister, Doug Ford, and minister Sylvia Jones do not have to testify at the Commission on the state of emergency since they benefit from parliamentary immunity.
Updated yesterday at 9:08 p.m.
Mr. Ford and Mme Jones, who was in charge of public safety in Ontario during the “freedom convoy,” is scheduled to testify Nov. 10, according to the motion filed with the court. Faced with their repeated refusals to cooperate, the commission’s prosecutors sent them a summons to appear on Monday.
Lawyers from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Ottawa Coalition representing downtown residents and businesses, and the Canadian Constitution Foundation wanted to hear from the two politicians.
Premier Ford’s inaction when hundreds of trucks paralyzed downtown Ottawa last winter was raised during Mayor Jim Watson’s testimony last week. The Ontario premier had even refused to participate in a federal-provincial-municipal tripartite table. The Ford government saw this as a crisis that needed to be handled by the police.
The political contest between the Progressive Conservative government of Doug Ford and the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau has received little attention in the testimony to date. Mr. Ford was then less than six months from the election that would keep him in power, and some federal conservatives had given their support to the demonstrators.
In his motion, the Attorney General of Ontario argues that Members of the Legislative Assembly cannot be subpoenaed while parliamentary business is in progress or 40 days before or after each legislative session.
Doug Ford did not show up for question period on Tuesday when the opposition parties were expecting him. The New Democratic Party and the Green Party of Ontario believe that the Premier should agree to testify.
Mr. Ford said last week that he had not been invited to testify. A version contradicted by the official documents of the Commission.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and seven of his ministers are due to give their version of the facts in November. The public inquiry is one of the safeguards included in the Emergency Measures Act. Franco-Ontarian judge Paul Rouleau must determine whether the historic use of this legislation was justified to put an end to the convoy of trucks in Ottawa and the blockades of border crossings elsewhere in the country.
With The Canadian Press