Inquiry says use of Emergencies Act was justified amid ‘Freedom Convoy’

The Public Order Emergency Commission says the Trudeau government’s implementation of the Emergencies Act was a reasonable response to the prolonged “Freedom Convoy” protests last year.

In a 2,000-page report released Friday, Justice Paul Rouleau says a sequence of policing failures and a failure of federalism resulted in disruptive protests, which disturbed residents near the streets of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

“I have concluded that in this case, the very high threshold for invocation was met,” he says.

“It is regrettable that such a situation arose here, because in my view, it could have been avoided.”

READ MORE: Emergencies Act inquiry to release final report

Rouleau says the majority of the emergency measures were reasonable and appropriate, while addressing the power to suspend vehicle insurance as counterproductive.

The report calls the “Freedom Convoy” a “singular moment in history” aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to online disinformation and misinformation.

The report includes over 300 hours of testimony and some 9,000 documents as evidence, which lasted several weeks last fall.

The inquiry heard from over 100 witnesses, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other officials.

READ MORE: Emergencies Act Inquiry: Convoy lawyer testifies protesters received leaked police information

The 1988 act gave authorities greater powers amid border blockades but it requires that a public inquiry be held to review the decisions made to invoke it.

The report also features 56 recommendations at improving police operations, the use of the act and the evidence presented during public hearings last fall.

Trudeau became the first prime minster to trigger the act on Feb. 14.

The commissioner says he does not accept the testimonials from organizers who deemed the protests as peaceful and lawful.

“The bigger picture reveals that the situation in Ottawa was unsafe and chaotic.”