Emergencies Act commission releases list of 65 anticipated witnesses
A comprehensive list of the expected witnesses to be asked to testify regarding the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to suppress the Freedom Convoy rallies in February has been released by the Public Order Emergency Commission.
The commission will begin its six weeks of factual hearings on Thursday, October 13, 2022, the list gives a look at the scale of the scope of Commissioner Paul Rouleau’s investigation into the matter.
“The Commission is about to embark on the public phase of the process of finding answers to the questions assigned to it by Parliament under the Emergencies Act. This critical phase will shed light on the events that led to the declaration of the public order emergency and fully explore the reasons advanced for the declaration,” wrote Rouleau in a statement.
“I am confident that, with the cooperation of all of the parties, the hearings will provide a fair and thorough process for the presentation of the evidence required for the Commission to be able to give the public the answers to which it is entitled.”
Among the witnesses that will be testifying span from government officials, to Convoy Leaders and law enforcement. Some of the names from the federal government that will be appearing as witnesses include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. From law enforcement we are expected to see RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, and former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly.
There will also be testimonies from CSIS Director David Vigneault, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and convoy organizers Tamara Lich, Benjamin Dichter, and Tom Marazzo.
The Emergencies Act was invoked on February 14, 2022 and then Trudeau revoke his invocation of the Emergencies Act on February 23, 2022 before the motion could make it to the Senate for review.
According to the process that was written in to the Emergencies Act, the government must hold an inquiry in to its use of the Emergencies Act within sixty days of after the expiration or revocation of a declaration of emergency and must produce a report to Parliament within three hundred and sixty days after the expiration or revocation of the declaration of emergency.
The 60 day mark after revoking the emergencies act was April 24, 2022 , this makes the inquiry in to the declaration of emergency late by at least 170 days despite the law saying it will need to be done within 60 days of expiry or revocation of the emergences act.
