It's becoming clear the federal government overreached to shut down Freedom Convoy | National Post - John Ivison:
October 26, 2022 - "Ottawa Police Services superintendent [Robert Bernier] led the mission that finally cleared the Freedom Convoy in February, and on Wednesday was being grilled by the counsel for the Public Order Emergency Commission, Frank Au, on the impact the government’s proclamation of an emergency had on his plans. Bernier said the invocation of the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 for the first time in Canadian history did not significantly impact the planning process for the operation that cleared the streets of protesters around Parliament Hill four days later. 'The plan I was developing was based on existing authorities,' he told the commission. 'I was satisfied we were going to have all the authorities we needed to take action.'
"Was it helpful to have the additional measures in the Emergencies Act? Au asked. 'Anything that contributes to mission success is a benefit,' Bernier replied. Was the invocation of the act necessary? Au persisted.... Bernier answered the question by opting for an evasion worthy of the House of Commons. 'It’s hard for me to say since I did not get to do the operation without it,' he said.
"Yet, it is clear from much of the testimony we have heard so far that, while useful, the events in Ottawa in February did not constitute a national emergency that required the use of legislation designed to address the most urgent and critical of situations. We have heard virtually nothing that bolsters the government’s case that the circumstances met the legal and constitutional bar. The closest thing to support for the government’s actions came from acting Ottawa police chief Steve Bell, who said it provided 'a very stable platform' for the execution of the police plan. But even he reiterated Bernier’s point — that there was a plan ready to go, regardless of the Emergencies Act.
"Police have said that the new powers were helpful in streamlining the swearing-in of police members from across the country and compelling some tow truck companies to remove vehicles from streets. But Bernier said there were already 34 tow trucks available for use before the act was invoked.
"It will be up to the government to convince Commissioner Paul Rouleau that there was a clear and present danger to national security. Lawyers for the convoy organizers have already said that will be difficult when there is no evidence protesters engaged in sabotage or serious violence, were manipulated by foreign agents or attempted to overthrow the government.
"Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino justified the use of the act by saying a small, organized group 'driven by ideology' was trying to subvert the government. Yet, the inquiry so far has heard only the opposite. Supt. Pat Morris of the Ontario Provincial Police operations intelligence bureau said that at no point during the protest did he receive reliable intelligence that led him to believe there was a risk that would rise to the level of a potential threat to national security. In documents submitted to the inquiry, Morris wrote that the RCMP’s integrated national security enforcement team (INSET) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) concurred that there were no national security concerns.
"In another document, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said she did not believe police had employed 'all the available tools' to break up the protest prior to the invocation of the act. In an email to Mendicino’s chief of staff just after midnight on Feb. 14, Lucki said that those other tools had already been factored into a plan to end the protest. All of this testimony suggests the government overreached.....
"When we do hear from government ministers, they will lean heavily on section 6(1) of the Emergencies Act — that invocation is justified if the government believes 'on reasonable grounds' that a public welfare emergency exists. The government must hope that the commissioner takes a similarly flexible view of what constitutes an emergency because what is becoming clear is that the Freedom Convoy was not a serious threat to sovereignty, security or the territorial integrity of Canada, and it could have been dealt with effectively by existing laws."
Consevative MPs Raqhel Dancho and Jamie Schmale on Emergencies Act use:
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