Emergencies Act

Justice Paul Rouleau concluded a series of policing failures and a "failure of federalism" led to protest that spun out of control and had a striking impact on Ottawa residents. 

A federal commission is to report today on the Liberal government's use of the Emergencies Act against protests that paralyzed the streets around Parliament Hill and jammed several Canadian border points early last year.

Canada's premiers are waiting to see if the federal cabinet can make headway towards a new deal on health-care funding as the ministers meet for a retreat in Hamilton this week.

Freedom Convoy 2.0 appears to be a bust.

The federal government has set aside $6.9 million to cover the cost of dealing with last winter's "Freedom Convoy" protests at Canada's busiest border crossing, according to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

They came to Ottawa by the thousands with different goals and grievances, but united in their disenfranchisement with the federal Liberal government and COVID-19 health restrictions. 

Claims the 'Freedom Convoy' was a bunch of peaceful protesters exercising their right to free speech was hammered to dust by the Public Order Emergency Commission, writes Arno Kopecky.

The Defence Department's top official says he directed the military to prepare to intervene in the "Freedom Convoy" protests earlier this year, but the resulting plans were never seriously considered — in part due to concerns about another Oka Crisis.

The national security adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that senior officials are planning ahead for the possibility of another "Freedom Convoy" protest in early 2023. 

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service's interpretation of what constitutes a national security threat is not relevant when it comes to a government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, two of the spy agency's former directors testified at a national inquiry on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.

Emails released through a public inquiry suggest federal Liberal political aides were scrambling earlier this year to figure out the extent to which members of the Canadian Armed Forces were supporting "Freedom Convoy" protests that had gridlocked downtown Ottawa.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says everyone in China should be allowed to express themselves amid Beijing's crackdown on COVID-19. He also says an Ottawa university should not have barred reporters from filming China's ambassador this week.

Social media acted as the "central nervous system" of the "Freedom Convoy" protest in Ottawa last winter, the Public Order Emergency Commission heard on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, as it considered the role of misinformation in the lead up to the invocation of the Emergencies Act. 

Anything short of a summary conviction of the Prime Minister and his closest advisers will be spun by the convoy’s leaders and their various enablers as a betrayal of democracy, writes columnist Max Fawcett.

The Public Order Emergency Commission has spent six weeks hearing from residents, police, politicians and protesters about what happened last winter, when thousands of people opposed to COVID-19 public health measures took over a portion of the downtown.