Declaration of Emergency Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2022

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

Yes, sir, I do.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Minister Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, on 13 occasions in the House of Commons, at various committees and during media reports to the press and television indicated that law enforcement, including the OPP, specifically asked for the invocation of the Emergencies Act.

Now, both statements can't be true. Would you agree with me that someone is lying? You're not lying, sir, so would you agree with me that Minister Mendicino is lying to Canadians?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I can tell you that I am telling you the absolute truth, sir. At no point did I provide or request that the Emergencies Act be invoked.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

He perpetuated this lie by indicating not only that you did request it, but that he received advice either from you or from a member of your legal team that the Government of Canada had met the threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act.

You disagree with that as well. Is that correct?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I did not provide any advice of that nature, nor am I aware of anyone from my legal team providing such advice.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Right.

Again, Minister Mendicino deliberately misled and lied to Canadians when he indicated at committee and in the House of Commons that people in Ottawa in and around the area of the protest were subjected to threats of rape and those were supported by charges.

To your knowledge, no one was ever charged with rape or sexual assault or any threats of that nature. Is that correct?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I am not aware of anyone being charged with sexual assault, but that level of detail I would not necessarily be aware of. It would have to come rightfully from the Ottawa Police Service.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Thank you.

Now, on the issue of the invocation of the act, were you at any point in time consulted by the government regarding the mechanics and the tools available in the act?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

No, I was not, sir.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Did the OPP undertake any analysis of whether the legal criteria for invoking the act had been met?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I wouldn't say that the OPP undertook any legal analysis. When the tools were afforded to us, we had our legal department review it and provide us advice as to how we could use those tools, and how they would work in concert with the tools available to us through the EMCPA and the other authorities that were also available to us.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Thank you.

How many charges did the OPP actually lay under the emergency measures regulations or the order itself?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I'm not aware of the OPP laying any such charges.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Thank you.

Now, I understand that prior to the invocation of the act, you weren't paying attention to the act itself. You weren't seeking out information regarding the act. You had no pre-warnings, no heads-up, no consultation. You learned of it as it was happening.

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

That's except for the conversation I had with Commissioner Lucki, in which she advised me that the federal government was considering it. That was many days prior to that happening. There was no advance notice, no heads-up, no opportunity to review it. That's correct.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Yes, and that conversation with Commissioner Lucki took place on February 5. Is that correct?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

That is correct. Yes, sir.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

You would agree with Commissioner Lucki when, in an email she sent to Mike Jones, a staffer for the government, late on the evening of February 13, she indicated, “I am of the view that [the RCMP has] not yet exhausted all available tools that are already available through the existing legislation. There are instances where charges could be laid under existing authorities for various Criminal Code offences.... The Ontario Provincial Emergencies Act just enacted will also help in providing additional deterrent tools to our existing toolbox”.

You agree with that sentiment as well. Is that correct?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I do, yes.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

On the issue of—

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Mr. Brock, I apologize, but you will have five more minutes coming in the next round.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Thank you.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Gwen Boniface]

Thank you.

We'll move to Mr. Virani for five minutes.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Thank you. I'm going to proceed at somewhat of a brisk pace.

Thank you, Mr. Carrique, for being here. I really appreciate your time.

I wanted to talk to you first about the risk assessment. I'm looking at a document that's an OPP operational intelligence report, dated February 14. It's the type of report that you said in your opening was being generated on a daily basis. It talks about things such as threats that arose. I'm going to put to you some of the statements here and ask you for your comment.

From notes on February 5, there was a report that there was a plan “to bomb Parliament via the tunnel system. RCMP INSET is investigating”. Do you recollect that kind of threat and seeing that kind of threat inserted in these reports?

[Commr Thomas Carrique]

I do recollect seeing those types of threats referred to in various Hendon reports. In fairness, I can't say if that is word-for-word correct, but I have no reason to dispute it with you, having the Hendon report in front of you.