Thank you.
Evidence of meeting #20 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was funds.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #20 for Declaration of Emergency in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was funds.
A video is available from Parliament.
7:15 p.m.
The Joint Chair Hon. Gwen Boniface
Colleagues, we will move to the second round of four minutes.
We'll start with Mr. Brock.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Good evening, witnesses. Thank you for your attendance.
I'm primarily going to start with you, Ms. Thomas. I'm going to be delivering a series of rapid-fire questions to you. I'll be asking whether you agree with the statement or not. It will elicit a yes or a no. I'm not seeking an explanation.
Would you agree with me that this country is bound by the rule of law?
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
You'd agree that every Canadian—including the Prime Minister, his cabinet, senior public servants and, most importantly, the Department of Justice—is also bound by the rule of law.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
No one, including the Prime Minister, is above that law.
Is that correct?
7:15 p.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
That is correct.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Now I'm going to be delivering a series of statements from former cabinet minister Perrin Beatty, who was the chief architect of the Emergencies Act.
He said, “the committee should press for any information to help Canadians understand the rationale for invocation, and test against both the facts of the situation and the deliberately high threshold that is required.” Do you believe that?
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
He said that the Emergencies Act “is a blunt instrument” because it is used where contingencies “can't be managed effectively in any other way.” Do you agree?
7:15 p.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
The Emergencies Act is a charter-compliant—
7:15 p.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
It's more complex than a yes-or-no answer.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Thank you.
He said that invoking the act made “law enforcement easier”, but “the issue is whether the deliberately high threshold was met, not whether the powers given were useful.” In other words, it is whether the powers they already had could have resolved the problem. Do you agree with that?
7:15 p.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
That's how it was used.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
In relation to freezing the bank accounts of people associated with the protest, he said that new government powers should be “conferred in a time of calm, not by a regulation drawn up in a crisis.” Do you agree with that?
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
He said, “The police were called upon to deal with a breakdown in our political system.” Do you agree?
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
He said that if government were “to avoid much more serious emergencies in the future, we must restore a civility to our politics that allows us once again to disagree strongly on issues without seeing one another as enemies.” Do you agree?
7:15 p.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
I'm not a politician.
7:15 p.m.
National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Privy Council Office
I would agree, but I'm not a politician.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Larry Brock Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Thank you.
He said, “Our body politic is wounded at the present time. We need to heal those wounds. We need to do it by treating each other, as Canadians, with respect. We need to do so in a way that sets aside partisan differences and puts the national interest first.”
Do you agree with that statement?