Thank you, Mr. Minister.
I understand that, but Quebec had expressed its view that it was not necessary to go that far. Furthermore, everything leads us to believe that the siege of Ottawa could also have been dismantled with normal legal and legislative tools.
You invoked the act on day 18, yet you have basically nothing to show that you tried anything else in the first 17 days before you came to this measure of last resort. The evidence is that, when people were begging you to act on behalf of the residents and business people in downtown Ottawa, you were telling us over and over again in the House that it was not in your jurisdiction.
So when did you learn that a large convoy was heading for downtown Ottawa and, as of that moment, what steps did you take?
Did you receive any internal briefings or legal opinions that gave you options other than invoking the Emergencies Act?
If so, could you provide them to the committee?