Category: Emergencies Act

Not All Tools Exhausted Before Invoking Emergencies Act, Says Ontario Police Commissioner

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner Thomas Carrique said on Thursday he shares the “sentiment” his counterpart at the RCMP expressed about not all tools having been exhausted before the Emergencies Act was invoked. Carrique was testifying before the Public Order Emergency Commission and was asked what he thought about RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki’s stance on…


Some Emergencies Act Evidence Can Be Presented Non-Publicly at Inquiry, Commissioner Rules

The federal government can disclose some of its evidence to the inquiry examining the use of the Emergencies Act without releasing that information publicly due to national security reasons, the commissioner overseeing the inquiry has ruled. In his Oct. 26 ruling, Justice Paul Rouleau, who leads the Public Order Emergency Commission, said the Liberal government has…


Trudeau Pushes Back on Challenge to Use of Emergencies Act After Position of Police Forces Revealed

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pushed back Wednesday on recent challenges to the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act in February after both the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said they could have cleared Freedom Convoy protesters without emergency powers, and it was revealed that RCMP commissioner had said not all…


Tow Trucks Were Secured Before Declaration of Emergency, Testifies Second Ottawa Police Officer

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) had secured heavy duty tow trucks to remove the Freedom Convoy protest before the Emergencies Act was invoked, a senior officer of the force said on Wednesday. “The majority of the arrangements were all done by [Feb.] 13th because they were actually in transit to Ottawa,” testified OPS Supt. Robert…


Ex-Ottawa Police Chief Says Force Couldn’t Change Much About Response to Convoy

The former chief of the Ottawa police says his officers couldn’t have done anything materially differently during the response to the “Freedom Convoy.” A summary report of an interview with Peter Sloly has been submitted as evidence at the public inquiry investigating the federal government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act in February. In it,…


Ford Pushes Back On Order Summoning Him to Testify at Emergencies Act Inquiry

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his former solicitor general Sylvia Jones are going to court to fight an order to have them testify before the commission of inquiry into the Liberal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act. Ford defended the decision in the provincial legislature on Oct. 26, saying the inquiry is not a provincial…


RCMP Commissioner Relayed Advice to Ministers to Negotiate Before Using Force on Convoy Protesters

A day before the Trudeau government invoked the Emergencies Act, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki briefed relevant ministers on the plan to clear protesters and relayed expert advice about the need for negotiation before using force, according to a document obtained by The Epoch Times. “This group of experts has determined that there are crowd engagement…


House Committee Will Question OPP Over ‘Conflicting’ Freedom Convoy Testimonies

A House of Commons committee voted Monday to question Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officials on “conflicting” testimonies concerning whether or not the Freedom Convoy constituted a national emergency. NDP MP Alistair MacGregor presented a motion during a public safety committee meeting on Oct. 24 demanding that OPP officials explain why they told the committee in March that…


Protest Would Have Been Cleared Without Emergencies Act, Says Ottawa Police Interim Chief

Had the Emergencies Act not been invoked by the Liberal government, the Freedom Convoy protest would still have been cleared by law enforcement, says Ottawa Police Service (OPS) interim Chief Steve Bell. “In the absence of the invocation of the Emergencies Act, the OPS, the OPP, the RCMP—as part of unified command—were going to clear…


RCMP Commissioner Said Not All Legal Tools Exhausted Yet Hours Before Feds Used Emergencies Act on Convoy: Email

RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki said in the early hours of Feb. 14, the day the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act to clear convoy protests, that not all existing legal tools to deal with the protests had yet been exhausted. “I am of the view that we have not yet exhausted all available tools that…