Canada’s Trudeau Announces Commission to Investigate Freedom Convoy Crackdown

Leftist Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday he will establish a “Public Order Emergency Commission” to investigate his own assertion of authoritarian emergency powers to suppress the Freedom Convoy protests in February.

Trudeau invoked unprecedented powers under Canada’s Emergencies Act to crack down on the Freedom Convoy movement. 

Opposition lawmakers, and even some Canadian media that previously opposed the protests, criticized Trudeau’s move as legally dubious and heavy-handed – especially since most of whatever “emergency” the protests represented had already abated by the time the Emergencies Act was activated.

Observers more sympathetic to the Freedom Convoy denounced Trudeau for authoritarian overreach – comparing his actions to the “social credit system” created by the Chinese Communist Party and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s violent suppression of dissent.

“The Commission will examine the circumstances that led to the declaration being issued and the measures taken in response to the emergency. This includes the evolution of the convoy, the impact of funding and disinformation, the economic impact, and efforts of police and other responders prior to and after the declaration,” Trudeau’s office said on Monday.

The statement from the Prime Minister’s office noted the Emergencies Act “requires that a commission be convened within 60 days and its report tabled in Parliament within 360 days of the revocation of the declaration of a public order emergency.”

Former Ontario Superior Court judge Paul Rouleau was named as head of the Public Order Emergency Commission. The commission’s final report is due no later than February 20, 2023, as stipulated by the Emergencies Act.

Conservative politicians and civil libertarians feared the report will be a whitewash, as quoted by CBC on Monday:

“The Liberal government is doing everything in their power to ensure this inquiry is unsubstantial and fails to hold them accountable,” said a joint statement from Conservative MPs Raquel Dancho, Dane Lloyd and Gérard Deltell.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association — which is suing the federal government over its decision to invoke the act — said the inquiry does not appear to be focused on government accountability.

“The broader context is important, but the government’s attempts to divert attention from their own actions is concerning,” said the CCLA on Twitter.

Conservative lawmakers said the commission should have the power to examine documents covered by Cabinet confidence rules to gain a complete picture of what Trudeau’s government did during the nine-day state of “emergency.” Trudeau officials would not say whether Cabinet confidence would be waived during the inquiry.

“The fact that the Trudeau cabinet alone chose the inquiry commissioner means the inquiry is not independent from the cabinet, and taints the inquiry as partisan,” charged Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher.