Public Order Emergency Commission – November 29, 2022 (Panel 2 of 2)

The Public Order Emergency Commission holds a panel discussion in Ottawa as it continues the policy phase of its work. Experts from various fields will assist the commission in developing recommendations related to its mandate. Vanessa MacDonnell (associate professor in the faculty of law at the University of Ottawa and co-director, uOttawa Public Law Centre) moderates this panel on the protection of essential goods and services, critical infrastructure and trade corridors. Ambarish Chandra (University of Toronto), Kevin Quigley (Dalhousie University), François Delorme (Université de Sherbrooke), Philip Boyle (University of Waterloo), and Florence Ouellet (Université de Sherbrooke) 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 60 witnesses including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several key federal ministers during its six weeks of public hearings.


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