Open in full screen mode Judge Paul Rouleau looked into the federal government's state of emergency during the occupation of part of Ottawa. The Canadian Press The federal government has not yet responded to the recommendations made by Judge Paul Rouleau who headed the commission of inquiry into the use of the Measures Act emergency, in 2022. A year ago, the commission presented its final report on the government's decision to declare a state of emergency during the occupation of part of the national capital and the blockade of certain border crossings. The commission ruled that the government was justified in invoking the law, but had made 56 recommendations, including certain legislative changes.
The judge Paul Rouleau
Judge Rouleau gave the federal government one year to respond to the commission of inquiry . The latter had to provide a detailed timetable for implementing the recommendations that it accepts and a detailed explanation of its refusal to implement [those] that it rejects.
Commission of Inquiry into the State of Emergency
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Commission of inquiry into the state of emergency
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However, the judge did not impose any sanction against the government if the latter failed to respond to him.
The office of the Minister of Public Safety says it will soon provide more information on the government response. However, he gave no explanation for his delay in submitting a response to Judge Rouleau.
One of the reasons may lie in a decision by the Federal Court which contradicts the conclusions of the commission of inquiry. The court ruled that the use of the Emergency Measures Act was “unreasonable” and that it contravened the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In February 2022, the government invoked this law, which authorizes temporary measures, in particular, the regulation and banning of public gatherings, the designation of secure locations, ordering banks to freeze assets and banning support for demonstrators.
This was the first use of this law since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988.
At the time, the federal government invoked the law to deal with demonstrators who had occupied the streets of downtown Ottawa for several weeks to protest against health measures aimed at fighting COVID -19.
In addition to the commission of inquiry chaired by Judge Rouleau, a parliamentary committee joint was also formed in March 2022 to examine the merits of the crisis situation declaration. Deputies and senators have met more than twenty times, but have not yet presented a substantial report. Its work was slowed down by the large number of documents that had to be translated into the other official language before being examined.
The translation is expected to cost millions of dollars. Elected officials have already expressed frustration about the delay caused by this work.
The decision of the Federal Court has complicated the process. Conservative MP Glen Motz, who sits on the joint committee, took the opportunity to request a reappearance of several ministers.
He also demanded information about the legal opinion on which the government had based its decision.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Was it legal? Did it follow the rule of law? Was it consistent with the Charter? These are the questions that the committee needs to examine, Mr. Motz said.