Declaration of Emergency Committee on April 26th, 2022

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Similarly, we do know that there was an illegal blockade of our Ambassador Bridge at Windsor, Ontario, a border crossing through which, as you know, 400 million dollars' worth of goods travels daily. That border had been reopened only less than 24 hours prior to the invocation of the Emergencies Act, and in fact there remained a possibility of further blockades at the Ambassador Bridge.

I'd like to take you to, I guess, your ongoing concerns—I think that is a good segue to your concerns—as Minister of Public Safety. Were you concerned at the time of the invocation of the Emergencies Act about our territorial sovereignty and about the security of our international borders—

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

You have five seconds to go.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

—not only for reasons of trade and commerce, which are extremely important, but also for reasons of the passage of essential goods and services to Canadians?

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Madam Bendayan, the time is over.

I don't know if the minister wants to answer—

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

The answer is yes.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Minister, could you answer the question in 30 seconds?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Thank you for allowing me a little more time.

The answer is, yes, we were concerned at the time. My concerns are ongoing, but we invoked the act because it was the advice of non-partisan professional law enforcement that existing authorities were ineffective at the time to restore public safety at all of the ports of entry you mentioned, Ms. Bendayan. That was why we took the careful and thoughtful step of invoking the act, and it worked.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Thank you, Minister.

It's my turn to ask questions, but I feel somewhat uncomfortable doing so while chairing the meeting. I'll ask Mr. Green to chair the meeting for five minutes so I can ask my questions. Then I'll resume my duties.

[The Joint Chair, NDP, Matthew Green]

Thank you very much, Rhéal.

You have five minutes. The floor is yours.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Minister, thank you for being with us today.

I've heard you say two or three times since the meeting began that you received opinions from independent sources suggesting that the Emergencies Act should be invoked.

Were those written opinions?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

There was a lot of discussion during the illegal blockade periods.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Pardon me for interrupting, but I'm referring to the period preceding the date on which the Prime Minister invoked the Emergencies Act.

You told us you had received opinions. Were they written opinions?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Fortin, I'm giving you an answer. There were a lot of discussions and communications between the government and the police forces. There were written communications.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Were any written opinions, legal opinions, submitted to you?

[The Joint Chair, NDP, Matthew Green]

To the best of our ability, please keep all comments through the chair.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Minister, did you receive any written opinions? You can simply answer yes or no.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I believe the context of your question may involve information that's protected by privilege against disclosure.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

We have three and a half minutes left, Minister.

I just want to know whether or not you received written opinions before the Emergencies Act was invoked. That's all.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I've already answered that question. There were communications.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Were they written communications?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

There was an exchange of information. The answer is yes.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

Thank you, Minister.

You say the situation was bad everywhere. According to the declaration, there was an emergency throughout Canada. However, as you know, the report on the consultations conducted with the premiers of the provinces and territories was appended to the declaration. You also know that the act requires that the federal government consult the premiers before declaring an emergency.

However, according to the report appended to the declaration, the Premier of Quebec was opposed to the act's application, arguing that it might be divisive. The Premier of Alberta also opposed the invocation of the act. The Premier of Saskatchewan didn't support the invocation of the act. The Premier of Manitoba wasn't convinced at the time that it was a good idea. The premiers of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island said it wasn't necessary. The premiers of the three territories—Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut—provided feedback but didn't issue public statements. So that's a total of seven provinces and three territories that apparently didn't think or fear that there was an emergency in their respective jurisdictions. Only three provinces—Ontario, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador—were in favour of the act.

Minister, how could you claim that there was an emergency throughout Canada when, at the time you made that declaration, 7 of the 10 premiers had told you that everything was fine and that they didn't need it? One even told you not to do it, stating that it would be divisive.

In the circumstances, how could you claim there was an emergency throughout the country?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

That's a good question, Mr. Fortin.

It's a principle that a consultation process must be conducted before the Emergencies Act is invoked. We abided by that principle by having several conversations with our provincial and territorial counterparts. It was an ongoing process. It wasn't just conducted before the Emergencies Act was invoked; it continued through its implementation.

We acted in good faith, consistent with our relations with all the provinces and territories. The act was invoked because there was an emergency at the time. We therefore created the conditions necessary to restore public safety.

[The Joint Chair, Bloc, Rhéal Fortin]

I have 10 seconds left, Minister.

I repeat that your report, which isn't mine but rather that of the government, suggests to us that everything was fine in 7 of the 10 provinces. I'm somewhat surprised.

Thank you. My time is up.

[The Joint Chair, NDP, Matthew Green]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm happy to give you back the seat.