The Public Inquiry Commission, which will examine the Trudeau administration’s invocation of the Contingency Measures Act to end last winter’s “Freedom Convoy,” will begin its work on September 19.
• Also read: Freedom Convoy: Poilievre’s pesky support
The work of the emergency commission should last a little more than a month, i.e. until October 28, 2022, and the final report should be presented “at the latest” on February 6, 2023.
“The public hearings are critical to enable the commission to gather the evidence it needs to form its findings and recommendations,” said Commissioner Paul Rouleau, Judge of the Ontario Court of Appeals.
The Emergency Measures Act was used between February 14 and 23 to evict anti-sanitation protesters who had occupied downtown Ottawa for just over three weeks.
It is a rewrite of the old War Measures Act. It was modified by Brian Mulroney’s government in 1988 for its widely disputed use during the October Crisis by Prime Minister Pierre-Elliott Trudeau.
The new law contains within itself an obligation for the government using these powers to conduct an independent investigation to decide whether or not the invocation of the law was justified.
Ottawa announced the establishment of the commission on April 25.
At the public hearings, experts, government officials and citizens are invited to testify.
The Commissionsurletatdurgence.ca website allows the public to understand and follow the work of the Commission.