The report of Justice Paul Rouleau’s inquiry into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act a year ago has resulted in vindication for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals, but provides a scathing assessment of the actions, or rather inactions, of Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative government.
Premier Ford managed to bypass much of the angst aimed at the prime minister and his government over mandates resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, even while many of those mandates being protested originated at the provincial level—but did not manage to bypass Justice Rouleau’s assessment.
The five-volume, 2,000 page report’s penultimate finding was that the invocation of the Emergencies Act was justified, this after six weeks of testimony that included an almost unprecedented appearance of the prime minister, numerous ministers and the release of cabinet documents—but not Premier Ford or his solicitor general Sylvia Jones, who both dodged the questions on their responses to the Freedom Convoy by citing parliamentary privilege.
That is not to say that the federal government completely dodged any flak from the situation, Prime Minister Trudeau’s “fringe minority” comment “served to energize the protesters, hardening their resolve and further embittering them toward government authorities,” noted the report.
Justice Rouleau cited a “failure of federalism” in his report that placed much of the blame at the provincial level. Justice Rouleau said Canada’s system demands that “governments at all levels, and those who lead them … rise above politics and collaborate for the common good. This did not always happen.” The justice went on to assert that “more should have been done on all sides” to work together to resolve the issues.
Justice Rouleau provided 56 recommendations in his report, but if there is one thing that is clear from the debacle that was all governments’ responses to the Freedom Convoy occupation of downtown Ottawa and blockages of busy border crossings, it is that our leaders must stop playing politics with crises such as these and start governing as they were elected to do. Egos, so essential to running and winning elections, need to be checked at the door.
There is a clear need for reform of the way security is provided at our nation’s capital—getting the ball rolling on that might just be a good place to start.
