Trudeau’s use of Emergencies Act was appropriate, inquiry finds

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell last winter’s convoy protests was appropriate, but the emergency declaration could have been avoided if not for failures and missteps by police and government officials, an inquiry has found.

Those errors were committed by a wide range of players, including the Ottawa Police Service, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Mr. Trudeau himself, the inquiry’s commissioner, Justice Paul Rouleau, concludes in his final report, which was tabled in the House of Commons on Friday.

The report catalogues the convoy protesters’ actions and motivations, the jumbled reactions and failures of police leaders and politicians, and breakdowns in communication that occurred at all levels. These things combined to allow the protests to spiral out of control, it says.