Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good evening, Mr. Blair.
Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Blair. You may be one of the clearest witnesses we've had so far, for which I'm delighted.
We agree that the convoy that blocked Wellington Street in Ottawa had been expected for some time. An article published in Le Nouvelliste on Friday, January 20 of this year, one week before the convoy arrived, stated:
…next Friday, the truckers will meet before dawn at the border crossings at Saint-Théophile in Chaudière-Appalaches, Stanstead in the Eastern Townships and Saint-Bernard‑de‑Lacolle in Montérégie, then join up on Autoroute 40 in Vaudreuil, west of Montreal, and head for Ottawa.
Angry truckers will also be coming from other Canadian provinces that same day. If all goes to plan, the protest in Ottawa should peak around noon.
The newspapers predicted at least a week in advance that a large convoy of trucks from across Canada and even the United States would be arriving in Ottawa.
You were a minister at the time. What happened in cabinet? Did someone say that something should be done or that what was coming should be prevented?