Canada unlikely to use of Emergencies Act in future – Former security official

The person in charge of national security says it’s less likely the government will have to use the Emergencies Act again to stop a protest like the trucker convoy.

Jody Thomas, the person in charge of national security and intelligence, says there is always a risk of another convoy or occupation attempt. She started her job just before the “Freedom Convoy” came to Ottawa in January 2022.

However, when she spoke to CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, she said that the way to react is now completely changed.

“And nobody is going to underestimate them anymore,” said Thomas.

When she was asked if this means it’s less likely to use the Emergencies Act again, Thomas said yes.

“Yes, definitely for this event,” she said, talking about the trucker convoy that caused traffic jams in downtown Ottawa for three weeks and blocked some important Canada-U. SroutesBorder crossings in the beginning of 2022.

Thomas stopped working at the end of this week after working for over 35 years as a public servant, with his last job being at NSIA for the last two years. She made these comments after the Federal Court said this week that using the Emergencies Act to stop the protests was not right.

On FebruaryOn February 14, 2022, the government used the Emergencies Act for the first time. They said the protests were a threat to national security.

Federal Court Judge Richard Mosley said that the decision to move doesn’t seem to be fair or make sense.

He also said that the protests could have been handled by different government agencies and police.

“Personally, I had only been working for two or three weeks,” Thomas said. “I should have talked to different levels of government and police in a better way, maybe in a different situation. ”

“But at that time, based on what we knew and where we were, I feel sure about the decision I made and the advice I gave,” she said.

Chrystia Freeland, who is the Deputy Prime Minister, said the government will challenge the decision of the Federal Court.

Headed by Justice Paul Rouleau, the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) listened to over 70 people and looked at over 7,000 documents over six weeks. They found last year that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had enough reason to use the Act.

Thomas also gave evidence to the POEC.

“She said to Kapelos that we could clearly see what was happening and had good information. ” ““There were many, many people occupying Ottawa. It was getting more and more violent.

The person who was in charge of the NSIA said that there might be weapons in some of the trucks. Some of the protestors are using more extreme language. People have been arrested and charged at the Canada-U. SPeople are trying to get across the border in Coutts, Alberta, and there are also threats to other important buildings and systems.

“She said it was widespread across the country. ” “It was getting bigger, so we had to do something about it. ” To sum up, Canada was facing problems with its economy, security, and reputation.

“But what we didn’t know was just as worrying as what we did know. ” “We knew a lot,” she said.

Thomas also talked about the danger of other countries trying to interfere in Canada. There will be a public inquiry to look into this issue, starting on Monday.

She also talked about how the Canadian government deals with keeping the country safe, the danger that China poses to Canadian security, and the continuing investigation into the murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last year that the Indian government might have been involved in the killing.