Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will testify Friday at a public inquest to defend his use of a law rarely enforced in peacetime to evacuate truck drivers who paralyzed the Canadian capital earlier this year.
The occupation of central Ottawa by truck drivers protesting health restrictions for weeks last winter had a major impact on a country unaccustomed to such social movements.
Other rallies were held across the country closing trade corridors, including the busiest international border crossing in North America.
Their eviction in February under the Emergency Procedures Act sparked a heated debate about public liberties.
For greater clarity, the independent commission met for six weeks in Ottawa. I listened to government officials, demonstrators and other Ottawa residents affected by the constant honking and smoky diesel engines.
“It was a powder keg about to explode. It wasn’t a family gathering,” said Peter Sloley, a former Ottawa police chief who was forced to resign during the crisis. “It wasn’t a family gathering.”
During the course of hearing evidence, the Commission learned that a flaw in the intelligence services and a leak of information – two stories currently being investigated – destabilized the police force.
“It was very cold and harsh… but they did their best,” Saluli said emotionally.
The organizers of the Freedom Caravan see the picture differently.
They made it clear that the Ottawa rally was a legitimate protest against the government’s “evil” policies, and spoke of a festive atmosphere with hot tubs and barbeques in front of Parliament.
“We were not there to disturb the townspeople,” truck driver Bridget Belton said during the hearing. “We were there to make our voice heard.”
However, evidence presented to the commission showed that some of the organizers reportedly wanted to censor extremist members who called for a coup or spread conspiracy theories.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday reiterated the risks to Canada’s economy from the move, including “irreparable damage” to trade relations with the United States.
Letters between Canadian officials and reports of calls to the White House, as well as bankers, testified to growing frustration on all sides with Ottawa and the provinces’ inaction.
“One investor told me, ‘I’m not going to invest a dime in Banana Republic Canada anymore,'” said Freeland, who also owns a financial portfolio in the Trudeau government.
The committee also learned that a number of ministers, including Freeland, received death threats saying she would receive a “bullet in the head” for “lying about Covid-19”.
In Coates, a customs post on the US border was closed during demonstrations, and there was a group of “heavily armed individuals ready to sacrifice themselves for the common cause,” Federal Police Chief Brenda Loki said.
Justin Trudeau’s appearance before the committee today, Friday, will be the conclusion of this testimony, which numbered about sixty.
