Hello,
Canada’s capital city descended into lawlessness last winter as convoy protesters flouted laws and bylaws and police failed to enforce them during the blockades that jammed downtown Ottawa, witnesses at the public inquiry studying the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act said Friday.
At the inquiry’s first day of witness testimony, the focus was on the impact of the massive protests on Ottawa’s residents and businesses.
“What I witnessed on the streets day to day was very reminiscent of that kind of lawless world,” Ottawa resident Zexi Li told the commission, referring to the dystopian Purge movie series. “Laws were being broken in front of police officers, who were not doing anything to combat them.”
Ms. Li was the named plaintiff in a lawsuit that won an injunction against the incessant blowing of vehicle and air horns. She told the commission that despite the court injunction, the sense of lawlessness continued throughout the protest, which stretched from Jan. 28 to Feb. 20.
Her comments were echoed by Nathalie Carrier, the executive director of the Vanier BIA, the area covering the convoy encampment that served as a refuelling and supply site for the convoy protesters.
Over the course of the more than three-week protest in Ottawa, the Canadian Tire store near a convoy protest satellite camp in the city’s east end sold out of Canadian flags, gas cans and hand-held horns, Ms. Carrier said. Near the end of the protest, the store told her they sold out of knives and bear spray.
That was “the most terrifying call” she said, adding she immediately reported it to police.
The disruption for residents in the downtown was widespread, hampering people’s abilities to access basic services, get groceries, and travel freely. People with disabilities who lived in the downtown core were not able to access Para Transpo services, Ottawa city councillor Mathieu Fleury told the commission. In the case of one resident, the cancelled transit services meant they couldn’t go to their cancer treatment.
The inquiry was struck to assess whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government acted appropriately when it declared a public order emergency and invoked the Emergencies Act. According to the Emergencies Act, a public order emergency can be declared only when threats to the security of Canada are so serious that they constitute a national emergency that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other existing law.
On Thursday, Christopher Diana, the lawyer for the Ontario Provincial Police told the commission the sweeping powers that the government invoked were not necessary to bring an end to the protests.
“While the emergencies legislation, in particular the provincial legislation, provided useful tools, there was sufficient legal authority in their absence to deal with the protest activities that took place over this period of time,” Mr. Diana said. Catch the full recap from the first day of hearings, here.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
ALBERTA EMBARRASSED BY SMITH COMMENTS: NOTLEY – Alberta’s Opposition NDP leader says Premier Danielle Smith has made the province an international embarrassment by proclaiming those who didn’t get vaccinated during COVID-19 endured the worst discrimination she’s seen in her lifetime. Story here.
ARMED FORCES STILL EXPELLING UNVACCINATED TROOPS – The Canadian Armed Forces plans to press ahead with the forced expulsion of dozens of unvaccinated troops despite a new order from defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre on Friday ending the military’s blanket COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Story here.
FEDS TO REVIEW INDECENCY LAWS – Indecency laws, including a ban on “immoral theatrical performances,” are set to be reviewed by the federal government in an update of sections of the Criminal Code designed to protect the country’s morals. Story here.
REGULAR NATURAL DISASTERS MAY FORCE PEOPLE TO MOVE: GUILBEAULT – Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says people in communities prone to natural disasters driven by a warming climate might have to consider moving. Story here from CBC.
TELECOM REGULATOR REVIEWS HEARING PAYMENT PLAN – Canada’s telecom regulator has launched a review of who is eligible to receive payments for taking part in its hearings, after an outcry over its decision not to impose a ban on a group that employs an anti-racism consultant who sent a series of derogatory tweets about “Jewish white supremacists” and francophones. Story here.
I DID SAY `DATA MY ASS’: NB PREMIER – New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he is “disappointed” with a critical resignation letter from his former education minister, but confirmed this week that he did say “data my ass” when Dominic Cardy and his department presented him with what he considered “irrelevant” numbers on French second-language education. Story here from CBC.
FORD SELLS PART OF FAMILY BUSINESS – Ontario Premier Doug Ford has sold the Chicago-area branch of his family’s label and packaging business, marking the end of an expansion into the U.S. spearheaded by Mr. Ford himself more than 20 years ago. Story here.
OIL SANDS COMPANIES BUDGET $24B FOR EMISSIONS REDUCTION – Canadian oil sands companies plan to spend more than $24-billion on emissions-reduction projects by 2030, as they accelerate their bid to get production to net zero by 2050. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – The House of Commons is on a break this week, with business resuming on Oct. 17.
DAYS SINCE CONSERVATIVE LEADER PIERRE POILIEVRE TOOK MEDIA QUESTIONS IN OTTAWA: 31
DIPLOMATIC ANNOUNCEMENTS – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has announced several new diplomatic appointments. François Lafrenière is Canada’s new ambassador to Mali, Jeanette Stovel is the new ambassador to Finland and David Sproule, a former ambassador to Afghanistan, is the new Special Representative for Afghanistan. There are bios of the new representatives here.
FREELAND IN WASHINGTON – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, also the Finance Minister, is in Washington to attend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group, and was scheduled to hold a media availability to be livestreamed here.
GOVERNOR-GENERAL IN ICELAND – Governor-General Mary Simon, in Reykjavik, Iceland to attend the Arctic Circle Assembly, participates in plenary panels on Gender Equality and Diversity in Arctic Leadership and Canada’s North and the future of the Arctic and attends a reception marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between Canada and Iceland.
ALGHABRA IN VANCOUVER – Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, in Vancouver, made an announcement with Robyn Sylvester, the president and CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
ANAND IN BRUSSELS – Defence Minister Anita Anand is in Brussels at the end of a NATO defence ministers’ meeting.
BOISSONNAULT IN VANCOUVER – Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, in Vancouver, was scheduled to speak to a breakfast meeting of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on a vision for the Canadian tourism economy. Mr. Boissonnault has been in Vancouver this week attending a meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for tourism.
JOLY IN SOUTH KOREA – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, in South Korea, continued a tour of that country and Japan that ends on Saturday. She was scheduled to make stops in South Korea’s two biggest cities, Busan and Seoul.
LAMETTI AND MENDICINO IN DARTMOUTH – At the conclusion of a meeting of provincial and territorial justice ministers in Dartmouth, N.S., federal Justice Minister David Lametti and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino hold a news conference with Nova Scotia Justice Minister Brad Johns along with their provincial and territorial counterparts.
RODRIGUEZ IN MONTREAL – Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, in Montreal, announces funding support for the second stream of the Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund.
SIMPSON TO DISCUSS `THE DECLINE OF THE LIBERAL PARTY’ – Former Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson will deliver a lecture entitled “The Decline of the Liberal Party and the Reshaping of Canadian Politics” next Thursday St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. The talk will be delivered from 7 to 9 p.m. at Mulroney Hall as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government. There are details here on the talk, including zoom access.
THE DECIBEL
On Friday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Asia correspondent James Griffiths talks about the vision of China’s leader, Xi Jinping, and what his grip on the country means for the future of their economy. Next week, China’s ruling Communist Party is expected to announce an unprecedented third term for Mr. Xi, who has consolidated his power over the last decade, cracking down on billionaires, movie stars and businesses seen as going against party ideology. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Ontario’s Waterloo Region, spoke to Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi. Mr. Trudeau was also scheduled to visit a local environmental organization to highlight the Canada Greener Homes initiative, and meet with local farmers to discuss the quarterly Climate Action Incentive payment.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail) on how the Emergencies Act Inquiry should ask tough questions of Doug Ford’s Ontario: “When lawyers for the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan told a public inquiry that Ottawa never needed to invoke the Emergencies Act, one might have wondered when Ontario was going to show up. That province, after all, saw the biggest, thorniest, most expensive blockades, or protests, or occupations, in Ottawa and at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. Ontario’s government, and Premier Doug Ford, backed the use of Emergencies Act. And that’s no small thing because the province has jurisdiction over policing the streets. But as it turns out, Ontario didn’t send a lawyer to the inquiry. It didn’t ask for standing. Alberta and Saskatchewan did, and Manitoba, too. So did the cities of Ottawa and Windsor. But Ontario’s provincial government didn’t bother. Mr. Ford’s government would rather not talk about the whole business. Yet there is no way to investigate what happened without posing some tough questions to the Ontario government.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail) on how the Emergencies Act inquiry will judge whether its use was strictly necessary. Public opinion will judge the rest: “Whatever else the public inquiry into the Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to end the chaos in downtown Ottawa earlier this year may or may not determine, it has already triumphantly vindicated one thing: the Emergencies Act itself. The inquiry, formally known as the Public Order Emergency Commission, was not struck at the government’s discretion, but was explicitly mandated by the act, as was the joint parliamentary committee that is already holding hearings. The government will not be able to avail itself of the “if you knew what we knew” defence, beloved of tyrants everywhere: After the commission has finished its work, we will know what they knew.”
Marsha Lederman (The Globe and Mail) on a few people she would like Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to meet: “I’m concerned about Danielle Smith. Perhaps she’s been too busy campaigning to get out much, or talk to people, or read, um, anything. What other explanation could there be for the brand new Alberta Premier’s comment this week that unvaccinated Canadians were the most discriminated group she has witnessed in her lifetime? She did issue a statement the next day to clarify that she did not intend to trivialize in any way the discrimination faced by persecuted groups in Canada or around the world. While she did not actually apologize, she said she’s committed to “listening, learning and addressing the issues affecting minority communities.” I want to help! There a few people I would like to introduce to Ms. Smith.”
Elizabeth Denham (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on how, as lawmakers consider how to keep children safe online, they should look to Britain and California: “Establishing coherent global regulation will close loopholes and make compliance easy for an industry that will never be constrained by national borders. Any future made-in-Canada regulations should codify children’s existing rights. Then, we must let tech companies do what they do best: innovate to the desired outcome. We must act urgently and thoughtfully. Lawmakers from around the world should work together to keep children safe in the digital world they have inherited. The internet must become a safe place for them to learn, play and connect with peers.”
Rick Bell (The Calgary Sun) on how Danielle Smith thinks she will win the next election: “Danielle Smith, the new Premier, has a blueprint to win next year’s election. She talked to your scribbler about her plan just before the vote of UCP members where she became party leader and Premier. Hold the seats in the province’s heartland, win a few in the cities, hit the magic number and score a majority government. Presto! Smith admits she is not targeting every voter in the next ballot battle. That’s why it should come as no surprise, on Day 1 of being premier, Smith says the unvaccinated have been the most discriminated-against group she ever witnessed in her lifetime. She got pushback from groups who have been treated like crap and worse but she no doubt scored a lot of UCP leadership votes from the unvaccinated and so she’ll fight their fight.”
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Ian Bailey
Marieke Walsh