Public Order Emergency Commission – December 2, 2022

The Public Order Emergency Commission holds its final panel discussion in Ottawa as part of the policy phase of its work. Nomi Claire Lazar (a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs) moderates this expert panel on the thresholds, powers and accountability under the Emergencies Act. Ward Elcock (former director of CSIS), Victor Ramraj (University of Victoria), Hoi Kong (Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia), Karin Loevy (New York University School of Law), Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton University), and Morris Rosenberg (former deputy minister in various federal departments) take part in the panel.

Led by Paul Rouleau, the commission is studying the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act in February 2022 to declare a public order emergency. The declaration of emergency came in response to protests, at a number of Canada–U.S. border crossings and in downtown Ottawa, opposing the government’s COVID-19 public-health measures. The Emergencies Act requires an inquiry to be held following any declaration of emergency, with the mandate of examining both the circumstances of the declaration and the measures taken under it. The inquiry heard from over 70 witnesses including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several key federal ministers during its six weeks of public hearings. Justice Rouleau must submit a final report to Parliament no later than February 20, 2023.

Please note: Video with ASL sign language interpretation is available at https://publicorderemergencycommission.ca/