Trudeau’s Invocation of Emergencies Act Justified, Inquiry Finds
Summary from the AllSides News Team
After nearly 10 months, a federal inquiry has found Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell the 2022 Freedom Convoy as legal.
The Details: The Public Order Emergency Commission, headed by Justice Paul Rouleau, held 31 days of hearings in Ottawa where 77 witnesses spoke. Rouleau, who was appointed by Trudeau, called the Prime Minister’s actions “drastic” but not “dictatorial”, and believes the necessary circumstances to invoke the act were created by a lack of synergy between government branches and law enforcement. Rouleau said he did not arrive at the conclusion easily, and that “reasonable and informed people could reach a different conclusion”.
For Context: By law, the Canadian Federal Government reserves the right to take “extraordinary temporary measures” in times of emergency. The measures employed by Trudeau notably included selectively freezing bank accounts of protestors and banning public demonstrations.
Key Quotes: “We didn’t want to do it, but we had gotten to a place where there was no other choice to keep Canadians safe,” said Trudeau. Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative party said, “The only reason that we had this emergency is because... Justin Trudeau created (it), by attacking his own population.”
How The Media Covered It: The Freedom Convoy and Emergencies Act continue to be polarizing topics. New York Times says the protests “attracted right-wing separatists and extremists from Western Canada”. Breitbart News says Trudeau’s claims that the protests were the work of white supremacist extremists are false.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Canadian Inquiry Clears Trudeau in Use of Emergency Powers to Stop Protests
A Canadian commission of inquiry has cleared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of emergency powers to stop protests against his coronavirus vaccine mandates a year ago, over the objections of civil liberties groups.
The final report of the Public Order Emergency Commission was published on Friday. Justice Paul Rouleau found, “with reluctance,” that Trudeau’s actions met the high “threshold” for invoking emergency powers.
The convoy disrupted traffic, clogged the streets of the capital, and briefly blocked a border crossing to the U.S.. Trudeau, falsely claiming the protests were the work of white supremacist...
From the Center
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...
From the Left
Trudeau Was Right to Use Emergency Powers to End Blockade, Report Says
One of the biggest political issues in Canada in recent years has been whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abused his authority by imposing never before used emergency powers to end protests against Covid regulations that had paralyzed the capital and shut down a border crossing that disrupted billions in trade.
On Friday, a public inquiry concluded that Mr. Trudeau was justified in imposing the sweeping measures because it was the only way to restore order and safety and protect the country’s economy.
At the same time, the judge who oversaw...
AllSides Picks
May 10th, 2024
May 8th, 2024
More News about World from the Left, Center and Right
From the Left
From the Center
From the Right
