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.
Tag: Emergencies Act
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Canada unlikely to use of Emergencies Act in future – Former security official
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Emergencies Act: Trudeau justify the use of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests to end
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that invoking never-before-used emergency powers to end last winter’s truck protests, he “absolutely made the right choice.”
Mr Trudeau made the remarks during a Friday appearance before an inquiry into Canada’s use of the Emergencies Act.
He stated that he did not believe police had a proper plan in place to put an end to the anti-vaccine mandate protests.
For weeks, protests had paralysed Ottawa and shut down key border crossings.
The Act, in place between 14 February and 23 February, helped bring an end to three weeks of “Freedom Convoy” protests in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada.
It allowed the government to impose bans on public assembly, to prohibit travel to protest zones, and gave it the ability to freeze bank accounts, among other measures.
Critics say Mr Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act was an overreach of government power and could set a precedent for its use to quell future protests.
The Public Order Emergency Commission, which is examining whether the Trudeau government was justified in invoking those powers, has been hearing from a series of witnesses, including police, intelligence officials and protesters, for the last six weeks.
Mr Trudeau is the final person to testify.
He told the inquiry he was concerned the protests posed a threat of violence, and his goal was to keep both protesters and the public safe.
As the Ottawa protests continued into February, and grew to include blockades at the Ambassador Bridge and Coutts border crossings, he said it became clear events were not “dissipating”.
In a mid-February raid, police found a cache of weapons among a small organised group within the larger Coutts protest, among the things Mr Trudeau cited as a specific concern.
“We were seeing things escalate, not things get under control,” he said.The inquiry also heard that Mr Trudeau spoke with President Joe Biden during the protests, seeking to reassure his US counterpart that Canada remained a “reliable partner” and a “safe neighbour” in spite of the blockades.
On Thursday, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told the inquiry that the White House had expressed alarm when protesters blocked the Ambassador Bridge, a border point vital to North America automakers.
An independent inquiry after the Act’s use is required under the law, and a final report on the findings will be tabled next February.
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Freedom Convoy: The police dealt with ‘inhuman situations’, inquiry hears
When protesters descended on the city last winter, Ottawa police did their best under “inhuman circumstances,” according to the force’s former chief.
On Friday, Peter Sloly testified at an inquiry into Canada’s use of the Emergencies Act to end the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests, saying that police were under enormous pressure at the time.
The protests began on January 29 and lasted three weeks.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on 14 February.
Mr Sloly resigned as chief of Ottawa police on 15 February amid criticism of his force’s response to the protests.
Testimony presented before the Public Order Emergency Commission so far has suggested the force was dealing with power struggles, communication gaps and infighting as it scrambled to control the anti-vaccine mandate and anti-government protests.
In an emotional defence of police actions on Friday, Mr Sloly said his force tried to deal with the protests while facing a lack of resources and staffing issues.
“It was too cold and it was too much. But they did their very best. And I am grateful to them,” he said.
The Public Order Emergency Commission began six weeks of hearings on 13 October, and in other recent developments:
- Some police forces were weighing bringing in military assistance in early February to help with the protests, according to tabled documents, though Mr Trudeau was saying publicly at the time he was wary of such a move.
- Canadian intelligence services believed the protests to be driven largely by domestic concerns and did not see signs of funding from “foreign actors” despite money flowing in from Canada and elsewhere to online fundraising platforms in support of the protesters.
- The inquiry has summoned Ontario Premier Doug Ford to testify, believing he has relevant evidence to share as his provincial government worked to end the protests with Mr Trudeau and Ottawa. Mr Ford has challenged the summons in court.
The winter protests paralysed much of Ottawa’s city centre with hundreds of heavy trucks, while smaller, shorter-lived protests elsewhere blocked two key US-Canada border crossings.
The protests in Ottawa – deemed an illegal blockade by police and the federal government – were eventually cleared by police on the weekend of 18 February.
The public inquiry, which is required under law when the Emergencies Act is invoked, will hear from more witnesses over the coming weeks, including Mr Trudeau.
His government has said that the use of the Emergencies Act – for the first time since it became law in 1988 – was a necessary “last resort” to deal with unprecedented protests.
A final report on the inquiry’s findings will be released early next year.
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Canada removes vaccination entry requirements and makes the Arrive Can optional
All remaining Covid border restrictions, including the requirement for traveller vaccinations, have been lifted, Canada reports.
As of 1 October, travellers will also no longer need to provide proof of Covid vaccination, undergo any testing, or isolate and quarantine.
The mask mandate on planes and trains will also be lifted.
The ArriveCan app – used to upload health documents when entering Canada – will become optional.
Federal health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in an announcement on Monday that Canada is “in a much better position” than it was earlier in the pandemic, in part due to the availability of Covid-19 vaccines and treatment options.
The country’s high vaccination rate – with around 82% of the population having received two doses – and a falling death rate are also factors.
Around 32 Canadians are currently dying each day from the virus.
Covid-19 cases are slowly rising in Canada and signs point to a resurgence ahead of autumn, Mr Duclos said, but he added this is “largely explained by the domestic transmission of the virus”.
He said Ottawa is open to reintroducing measures, especially if a new, highly-transmissible variant emerges.
Vaccine mandates for travellers entering the US remain in place, and some American lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to drop the remaining restrictions.
Other countries, including the United Kingdom, dropped Covid entry requirements earlier this year.
Covid-19 mandates were opposed by some in Canada and were the subject of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests in Ottawa, which were held in support of truckers who refused to get vaccinated to cross the US-Canada border.
The February protests gridlocked Canada’s capital for two weeks.
Supporters of the convoy also staged blockades at key border crossings between the US and Canada, disrupting the flow of goods between the two countries.
The protests were eventually cleared after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the never before used Emergencies Act, which gives the government additional powers in times of national crisis.
The World Health Organisation declared in early September that Covid-19 deaths have hit their lowest point but experts have warned about the ongoing threat of the virus, especially if new variants emerge.
Despite the end of the restrictions, Mr Duclos urged people to get their booster shots and encouraged people to continue wearing masks in public.