The history-making inquiry into the federal government’s use of emergency powers to quell┬аthe convoy protest last winter is beginning to take shape ahead of its start later this week.┬а
The Public Order Emergency Commission will begin public hearings on Thursday into the circumstances around the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. It is expected to hear from┬а65 witnesses during its factual stage,┬аincluding protest participants, law enforcement representatives, cabinet ministers, and officials with provincial and┬аmunicipal governments,┬аas well as businesses and organizations impacted by the protests.
On Tuesday, the commission┬аreleased a list of anticipated┬аwitnesses. It includes:
1. Victoria De La Ronde
2. Zexi Li
3. Nathalie Carrier
4. Kevin McHale
5. Catherine McKenney (City of Ottawa)
6. Mathieu Fleury (City of Ottawa)
7. Steve Kanellakos (City of Ottawa)
8. Serge Arpin (City of Ottawa)
9. Jim Watson (City of Ottawa)
10. Diane Deans (City of Ottawa)
11. Patricia Ferguson (Ottawa Police Service)
12. Craig Abrams (Ontario Provincial Police)
13. Carson Pardy (Ontario Provincial Police
14. Pat Morris (Ontario Provincial Police)
15. Steve Bell (Ottawa Police Service)
16. Russell Lucas (Ottawa Police Service)
17. Marcel Beaudin (Ontario Provincial Police)
18. Robert Drummond (Ottawa Police Service)
19. Robert Bernier (Ottawa Police Service)
20. Thomas Carrique (Ontario Provincial Police)
21. Peter Sloly (former Ottawa police chief)
22. Brigitte Belton
23. James Bauder
24. Steeve Charland
25. Patrick King
26. Benjamin Dichter
27. Tom Marazzo
28. Chris Barber
29. Tamara Lich
30. Drew Dilkens (City of Windsor)
31. Dana Earley (Ontario Provincial Police)
32. Jason Crowley (Windsor Police Service)
33. Jim Willett (Village of Coutts)
34. Marco Van Huigenbos
35. Marlin Degrand (Alberta)
36. Mario Di Tommaso (Ontario)
37. Ian Freeman (Ontario)
38. Rob Stewart (Public Safety Canada)
39. Dominic Rochon (Public Safety Canada)
40. David Vigneault (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)
41. Michelle Tessier (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)
42. Marie-H├иlene Chayer (Integrated Threat Assessment Centre)
43. Deputy Commissioner Michael Duheme (RCMP)
44. RCMP┬аCommissioner Brenda Lucki
45. Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki┬а(RCMP)
46. John Ossowski (former president of┬аCanada┬аBorder Services Agency)
47. Michael Keenan (Transport Canada)
48. Christian Dea (Transport Canada)
49. Michael Sabia (Department of Finance)
50. Rhys Mendes (Department of Finance)
51. Isabelle Jacques (Department of Finance)
52. Cindy Termorhuizen (Global Affairs Canada)
53. Joe Comartin (Global Affairs Canada)
54. Jody Thomas (Privy Council Office)
55. Jacquie Bogden (Privy Council Office)
56. Janice Charette (Privy Council Office)
57. Nathalie Drouin (Privy Council Office)
58. Defence Minister Anita Anand
59. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino
60. Minister of┬аEmergency Preparedness and President of the King’s Privy Council┬аBill Blair
61. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
62. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra
63. Justice Minister David Lametti
64. Intergovernmental Affairs┬аMinister Dominic LeBlanc
65. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister┬аChrystia Freeland
Former Ontario Superior Court justice Paul Rouleau has been chosen to lead the inquiry. He has been tasked with examining the circumstances leading up to the invocation of the Emergencies Act тАФ a decision that continues to be politically divisive eight months later.
The act gave the government new powers to address the anti-vaccine mandate protesters that blocked main arteries around Parliament Hill with parked trucks and other vehicles for nearly a month.
Rouleau also has been directed through an order-in-council to offer “lessons learned” about the use of the act and to comment on the “appropriateness and effectiveness of the measures taken.”
Commission to kick off with document dump
According to a statement from the commission, Rouleau will begin the public hearings with an opening statement on Oct. 13, followed by presentations and overview reports by the┬аcommission’s lawyers.
The commission said the overview reports will┬аinclude summaries of preliminary facts, which will be placed into evidence.
At Rouleau’s request, the Liberal government has waived cabinet confidence on documents related to its invocation of the act. It’s only the fourth time in Canada’s history that a public inquiry has been given access to such high-level documents.
It is not clear yet how┬атАФ┬а and if тАФ┬аthose sensitive documents will be made public.
“The commission is about to embark on the public phase of the process of finding answers to the questions assigned to it by Parliament under the┬аEmergencies Act. This critical phase will shed light on the events that led to the declaration of the public order emergency and fully explore the reasons advanced for the declaration,” Rouleau┬аsaid in a statement Tuesday.
“I am confident that, with the co-operation of all of the parties, the hearings will provide a fair and thorough process for the presentation of the evidence required for the commission to be able to give the public the answers to which it is entitled.”
Hearings will take place at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa on Wellington Street, not far from the heart of the protests.
The first phase of the commission will meet for six weeks and is scheduled to wrap on Nov. 25. The next week the commission┬аwill begin a policy stage where it┬аhosts roundtables with policy experts.
Rouleau’s final report is due Feb. 6.
