Public Inquiries into Emergencies Act begin September 19

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Jezuz christ!! What the hell is wrong with these people? Tanks?!?! Can you believe that the declaration of the Emergency Act was actually the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD response for these people?!?!
“Holy Tiananmen Square BatPeoples!”

Only days after Freedom Convoy first set up shop in the Ottawa core, federal ministers were casually discussing whether they should order the demonstration to be crushed with tanks.

The exchange was revealed in text messages tabled before the Emergencies Act inquiry. On Feb. 2 – just five days after anti-mandate protesters set up blockades in the national capital — Justice Minister David Lametti sent a text to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino urging him to call in the Canadian Armed Forces.

“You need to get the police to move. And the CAF if necessary. Too many people are being seriously adversely impacted by what is an occupation,” Lametti texted to Mendicino.

“How many tanks are you asking for. I just wanna ask (Defence Minister) Anita (Anand) how many we’ve got on hand,” was the reply.

To which Lametti wrote back “I reckon one will do!!”
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Anyway, today is Thursday & the second to last day of Testimony at the Emergencies Act Inquiry. Canada’s deputy prime minister and finance minister will appear at the Emergencies Act inquiry today, the latest senior official to speak about why the federal government triggered the never-before-used law to deal with last winter’s “Freedom Convoy” protests.

Chrystia Freeland is slated to testify Thursday, along with top officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The latter group includes Katie Telford, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s long-serving chief of staff, and senior PMO staffers Brian Clow and John Brodhead.

As finance minister, Freeland will be called to explain the special powers created under the Emergencies Act that compelled financial institutions to freeze the assets and bank accounts of protest participants.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
23,125
7,989
113
Regina, Saskatchewan

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
23,125
7,989
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
There isnt a shortage of Canadian Ukrs.
Especially out here in the prairies….

Since the Emergencies Act requires there be a threat to the security of Canada as defined by section two of the CSIS Act, this should have been a slam dunk. The convoy simply did not constitute a threat sufficient to invoke the Emergencies Act, suspend civil liberties and seize bank accounts.

Now here is where the we-know-better, we-are-above-the-law smugness of our “progressive” governors comes in. In his testimony on Monday, Vigneault said that despite the fact that no national security threat existed, he nonetheless recommended the Trudeau government use the Emergencies Act.

If the truckers weren’t allowed to ignore the law by continuing their protests in Ottawa, how did the government think it was okay for them to ignore the law when clearing out the protestors?

Vigneault added Monday that the definitions in the Emergencies Act are outdated because they don’t include “economic harm or environmental harm, even public health harm, and the pandemic.”

Maybe that’s true. Yet even if it is, the solution would be to change the law, not expand the law at the whim of the government or apply it however and whenever the government sees fit.
 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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It was personal and not for the benefit of Canadians as a whole. The line was crossed.

It also refers to the powers possessed by the House to protect itself, its members and its procedures from undue interference so that they can carry out effectively their principal functions which are to legislate, deliberate and hold the government to account.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Thursday…(11/24/22) second last day of testimony in the Emergencies Act Inquiry:

It’s Freeland’s turn to spin the wheel of truth. Very curious how that’ll pan out…

I’m assuming due to her multiple Hats (Deputy PM & Finance Minister & whatever else she is in & out of cabinet), she’s going to point at the blockades at Windsor and Coutts (that where both dissolved without the use of the Emergencies Act by the OPP & RCMP respectively)….& somehow tie that to freezing bank accounts for those involved, suspected of being involved, or donating to (even before the Emergencies Act was enacted on Feb 14th) this protest with its “unacceptable views” and such…?

Survey Says?!:

Bing! Freeland testified on the second last day of Emergencies Act inquiry public hearings that a Feb. 10 call with Brian Deese, director of U.S. President Joe Biden’s national economic council, was a “seminal” moment.

She said Deese told her the U.S. was deeply worried that the Ambassador Bridge closure would lead to more auto plant closures. Freeland said getting Deese on the phone often takes weeks, but he called her back immediately during the blockades, which spoke to the American level of concern.

“That one conversation was a seminal one for me. And it was the moment when I realized as a country, somehow, we had to find a way to bring this to an end,” Freeland said.

She said a call between Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set up within 24 hours of the call with Deese, which is something that usually takes weeks.

So…the USA decided to impose the Emergencies Act on Canadians that were protesting in Canada against the Canadian Government then?

She said the government had already been pushing back against U.S. measures to bring in tax incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) that would have destroyed the Canadian auto industry. Oh…so this was about the Ontario Auto Industry and the USA…for Justin-ification then…even though the borders were opened without the Emergencies Act then?
 

pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
26,634
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Thursday…(11/24/22) second last day of testimony in the Emergencies Act Inquiry:

It’s Freeland’s turn to spin the wheel of truth. Very curious how that’ll pan out…

I’m assuming due to her multiple Hats (Deputy PM & Finance Minister & whatever else she is in & out of cabinet), she’s going to point at the blockades at Windsor and Coutts (that where both dissolved without the use of the Emergencies Act by the OPP & RCMP respectively)….& somehow tie that to freezing bank accounts for those involved, suspected of being involved, or donating to (even before the Emergencies Act was enacted on Feb 14th) this protest with its “unacceptable views” and such…?

Survey Says?!:

Bing! Freeland testified on the second last day of Emergencies Act inquiry public hearings that a Feb. 10 call with Brian Deese, director of U.S. President Joe Biden’s national economic council, was a “seminal” moment.

She said Deese told her the U.S. was deeply worried that the Ambassador Bridge closure would lead to more auto plant closures. Freeland said getting Deese on the phone often takes weeks, but he called her back immediately during the blockades, which spoke to the American level of concern.

“That one conversation was a seminal one for me. And it was the moment when I realized as a country, somehow, we had to find a way to bring this to an end,” Freeland said.

She said a call between Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set up within 24 hours of the call with Deese, which is something that usually takes weeks.

So…the USA decided to impose the Emergencies Act on Canadians that were protesting in Canada against the Canadian Government then?

She said the government had already been pushing back against U.S. measures to bring in tax incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) that would have destroyed the Canadian auto industry. Oh…so this was about the Ontario Auto Industry and the USA…for Justin-ification then…even though the borders were opened without the Emergencies Act then?
Says lots about Canada being ( at the ) back . Takes weeks for the deputy PM and finance minister to organize a call with one of President Biden‘s deputies or to set up a call between President and PM . Canada is back to being irrelevant.
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
23,125
7,989
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Says lots about Canada being ( at the ) back . Takes weeks for the deputy PM and finance minister to organize a call with one of President Biden‘s deputies or to set up a call between President and PM . Canada is back to being irrelevant.
It reads like justification for the Emergencies Act was due to phone calls being accepted in a day instead of the normal weeks from US Politicians? It’s bizarre at best….
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
23,125
7,989
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Says lots about Canada being ( at the ) back . Takes weeks for the deputy PM and finance minister to organize a call with one of President Biden‘s deputies or to set up a call between President and PM . Canada is back to being irrelevant.
It reads like justification for the Emergencies Act was due to phone calls being accepted in a day instead of the normal weeks from US Politicians? It’s bizarre at best….

So…the Canadian Federal Government ruling Liberal/NDP party, enacted the Emergencies Act suspending the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms, Froze personal bank accounts, etc…because Joe Biden told them to? Somehow I don’t think this is what the Legislators & Authors of the Emergencies Act had in mind back in 1988.

Under the Emergencies Act, the Governor in Council (i.e., the federal cabinet) may declare that an emergency exists. The emergency must be a "national emergency", which means an "urgent and critical situation of a temporary nature" that either "(a) seriously endangers the lives, health or safety of Canadians and is of such proportions or nature as to exceed the capacity or authority of a province to deal with it, or (b) seriously threatens the ability of the Government of Canada to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Canada and that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada".

Part II of the Emergencies Act describes "public order emergency" results from serious threats to the security of Canada. When defining "threats to the security of Canada", the act references the definition provided in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, which includes espionage, sabotage, detrimental foreign influences, activities which support the threat or use of violence for a political, religious or ideological objective; or those activities which threaten to undermine or otherwise destroy, or overthrow the Government of Canada.The Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act notes that "lawful advocacy, protest or dissent" do not constitute "threats to the security of Canada".

I’m seeing nothing about phone calls from the American President…but the link is above in case I’m missing it somewhere…

The inquiry is required by law as a result of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the never-before-used Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 to end the protests.

Powers under the act were used to freeze the bank accounts, ban travel to protest sites and compel trucks to tow vehicles blocking streets. The commission must determine whether the Liberal government was justified in using those measures.

During her testimony Thursday, Freeland told the commission the pace of the cross-border interactions during the crisis was uncharacteristically swift. Meetings that typically required advance notice and effort to arrange took place within 24 hours.

In an email to staff, Freeland noted Deese had requested daily updates — a stark signal that a “hard to get hold of” White House adviser was following closely.

Those check-ins never transpired. Four days after the Deese call and three days after Trudeau touched base with Biden, the government invoked the Emergencies Act.
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The impact of the emergency powers on border blockades remains unclear (?) Documents tabled at the inquiry show that law enforcement agencies didn't require the Emergencies Act to open up the border.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki told reporters after her testimony that the force used "existing tools" to carry out arrests near an Alberta crossing on Feb. 14 — the same day as the invocation. The protesters in Coutts, Alta., departed the area the next day.

Emails from government officials in Manitoba claimed a border blockade in that province was cleared without the need for emergency powers.

And a six-day blockade at the busiest Canada-U.S. border crossing between Detroit and Windsor was cleared on Feb. 13, a day before invocation. So someone didn’t send America a memo or something …& thus the Emergencies Act was still imposed on the 14th anyway? Or was Biden et al concerned about the parking situation in Ottawa in the general vicinity of Canadian Parliament? I mean, it could happen, right?
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Then…tomorrow is Friday & the LAST day of the Emergencies Act Inquiry…where PM Trudeau testifies…leaving little to no time for cross examination…

The culmination of the testimony to date comes as the prime minister, who announced the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, will face questions about his decision on Friday.

Once protesters arrived in large numbers, Trudeau and his family were ultimately moved to an undisclosed location (Bat-Cave…Shhhh…just quietly imagine his costume) for security reasons.

In a display of arrogance surprising even for the arrogant Trudeau government, it has refused to provide the public inquiry into its use of the Emergencies Act with the legal opinion it relied upon to invoke the legislation in order to break up the Freedom Convoy protest.

That was a brief prepared by the federal justice department — referred to by CSIS director David Vigneault in his testimony — which Prime Minster Justin Trudeau and his cabinet used to justify invoking the EA.

This even though the convoy protest wasn’t a threat to national security, according to the EA’s wording.

Without that threat, the government wasn’t supposed to invoke the EA, as it did for the first time since the law was passed in 1988.

Justice Paul Rouleau, presiding over the inquiry, asked Attorney General David Lametti, who refused to answer questions about the legal brief, how the inquiry could determine the reasonableness of what the government did without knowing the information it acted on?

Rouleau said he still doesn’t know what Trudeau and his cabinet members were thinking when they invoked the EA, “and I guess the answer is, we just assume they acted in good faith in application of whatever they were told. Is that sort of what you’re saying,” Rouleau asked Lametti, who responded, “I think that’s fair.” (?)
“Yeah, that’s the ticket!! Just(-in) trust us ‘cuz Daddy knows best!!” (???)

Commission counsel asked if they were correct in understanding Vigneault’s line of thinking at the time, that “if you take a broader definition and then look more broadly, you come up with the advice you gave to the prime minister of your belief that it was required to invoke the act.”

Vigneault added, “Yes, that’s exactly it.”

Indeed, the government’s use of solicitor-client privilege in this context — as if it was on trial and needed to be able to speak to its lawyer in confidence and vice-versa — is absurd.

The inquiry isn’t a trial. No one is going to be charged or convicted of anything and the Trudeau government was essentially giving legal advice to itself.

Which raises the question of what’s in that advice it doesn’t want Canadians to see?

Trudeau will likely be pressed about this recommendation, as well as any others he might have received, such as from his national security advisor Jody Thomas, that led him to invoke the act.

There are FOUR possible scenarios that meet the definition of “threats to the security of Canada” under the act.

“Lawful” protests don’t qualify, and neither do phone calls (regardless how timely) from Joe Biden.

1) Espionage or sabotage against Canada or detrimental to the country’s interests

2) Foreign influenced activities, in or related to Canada, that are detrimental to the country’s interest, are clandestine or deceptive, or threaten people

3) Activities in or related to Canada that threaten, direct or use acts of serious violence against people or property to achieve a political, ideological or religious objective in Canada or a foreign state

4) Activities directed toward undermining by covert unlawful acts, or directed toward or intended ultimately to lead to the destruction or overthrow by violence of, the constitutionally established system of government in Canada.
 

The_Foxer

House Member
Aug 9, 2022
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Fuck this shit. Im getting the hell out of this country.
And go where? The US under biden and the likes of AOC? Europe perhaps, which is SO much better and where there's no left wing influence? China?

The only option is to stand up where you are and do what you can to get a CPC gov't elected and hold them to it. Donations, get others to volunteer, do what you can. That's how democracy works.