Parliamentary Committee Notes: Opening Remarks for the Minister
Speaking Notes for The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc Minister of Public Safety, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Democratic Institutions
Appearance Before the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency (DEDC)
February 27, 2024
Check Against Delivery
731 Words (Approx. 5 minutes)
Honourable Joint Chairs and Committee Members,
I appreciate this invitation today to discuss the Federal Court's ruling on the invocation of the Emergencies Act in 2022.
As Honourable Members are aware, the Government disagrees with the Federal Court's decision that it issued on January 23, 2024, and will file an appeal.
Given that the matter will be under consideration by the Court, I am not at liberty to comment on the specifics of that decision.
That being said, today I wish to take this opportunity to remind Honourable members of the exceptional circumstances which led the Government to invoke the Emergencies Act in February 2022.
These circumstances included unlawful, countrywide protests that presented a threat to the safety of Canadians, as well disruptions to critical infrastructure.
Our country was confronted with illegal blockades at border crossings and vital trade corridors. This impacted our economy, industry, and the jobs and livelihoods of many hardworking Canadians.
As a result of the illegal blockades, our country suffered great damage to our economy.
Indeed, the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge alone affected about $390 million in trade each day. This bridge supports 30 percent of all trade by road between Canada and its most important trading partner, the United States.
Coupled with the blockades, the illegal occupation of our city streets also presented very real threats to Canadian businesses, both big and small.
Participants in these activities used a number of tactics to threaten and intimidate local residents and businesses. Their activities disrupted the peace and contributed to a general sense of public insecurity.
Prior to the invocation of the Emergencies Act, regular citizens, municipalities and the province of Ontario all participated in court proceedings seeking injunctive relief to help manage these threats, and a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of residents of Ottawa.
Honourable colleagues, given these exceptional circumstances, the Government maintains its position that this unprecedented situation constituted a public order emergency. The Government therefore also maintains that its use of the Emergencies Act was both necessary and lawful.
As Members are aware, this decision was supported by the Public Order Emergency Commission in its final report.
After reviewing more than 85,000 documents, interviewing 139 individuals, receiving testimony from 76 witnesses and hearing from 50 experts, the POEC concluded that the very high threshold required for the invocation of the Act was met.
As stated by the POEC's Commissioner, Justice Paul Rouleau, “when the decision was made to invoke the Act on February 14, 2022, Cabinet had reasonable grounds to believe that there existed a national emergency arising from threats to the security of Canada that necessitated the taking of special temporary measures.”
While the POEC found that the high threshold to invoke the Act was met, the Commission's report also provided recommendations that the Government is carefully considering. In particular, we're closely examining the recommendations to improve collaboration between jurisdictions, support community safety, and help strengthen our capacity to respond to similar events of national significance in the future.
Today, I wish to also take this opportunity to remind Honourable Members that our decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was not taken lightly. Indeed, it was a measure of last resort that was needed to retore public safety and protect Canadians.
The decision was also taken after the results of other efforts to stop the illegal blockades had already proven ineffective.
Before we invoked the Emergencies Act, we worked closely with provinces and territories to help get the situation under control. But as time passed, it became clear that authorities needed more tools to uphold and enforce the law and protect Canadians.
Honourable joint Chairs and Members, it is the Government's job to act in times of crisis and that is what we did, to ensure we did not abandon Canadians – or our law enforcement – in a time of great need.
Indeed, the Government will not yield in our responsibilities to Canadians– we must inspire their confidence that their safety is protected.
It was an absolute necessity that we enacted these emergency measures to keep Canadians safe, albeit reluctantly, in a way that allowed immediate and time-limited action for as short a time as possible. These measures were targeted, temporary and proportionate.
In closing, the Government's priority will always be first and foremost to keep Canadians and communities safe, while we protect our democracy, jobs, trade and the economy.
Thank you.
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