The Public Order Emergency Commission hearings first day kicks off.
The Commission heard opening statements of the lawyers that will be representing various parties participating in the inquiry.
Rouleau opened with explaining how public commissions work and what the public is to expect during the month and a half long hearing. He also said the process is “fact-based”.
The public commissions isn’t here to decide if individuals committed crimes
“do not make findings of legal liability, they do not determine whether individuals have committed crimes. While inquiries seek to uncover the truth, they are not trials,” Rouleau said.
“Uncovering the truth is an important goal. When difficult events occur that affect the lives of Canadians, the public has a right to know what has happened,” Rouleau said.
Public commissions “do not make findings of legal liability, they do not determine whether individuals have committed crimes. While inquiries seek to uncover the truth, they are not trials,” Rouleau said.
There has been two mandates for the inquiry, one is handed down by parliament which is written into the Emergencies Act, for public accountability, holding the government accountable to the people to find out the truth about the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
“the public’s legitimate right to know why the government proclaimed an emergency and whether the actions it took were appropriate.”
Trudeau’s cabinet then created their own mandate to shoehorn into the inquiry to hold the public accountable to government, this is not a mandate written in to law, just something Trudeau and his cabinet asked for.
The mandate Trudeau’s cabinet created, then told the commission to examine the following issues “To the extent relevant to the circumstances of the declaration and measures taken” said Rouleau
- the evolution and goals of the convoy movement and border protests and their leadership organization and participants.
- The impact of foreign and domestic funding.
- The impact, role and sources of misinformation and disinformation.
- The impact of the blockades, including their economic impact
- The efforts of police and other responders prior to and after the declaration.
Rouleau appears to be pushing back at the Trudeau government mandate and said the commissions work will be driven by the mandate handed down by parliament, which is written in the Emergencies Act.
Rouleau said the commissions focus will fall squarely on the federal government. Why did the government declare an Emergency. How did it use its powers, and were those actions appropriate.
The commission has face many challenges so far including accessing documents with relevant information. Documents have continued to be submitted from a dozen agencies all the way up until today. Most of the documents handed to the commission were redacted, marked as classified or under other “privilege” claims.
