Declaration of Emergency committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My question is about section 3 of the Emergencies Act, which states the following: For the purposes of this act, a national emergency is an urgent and critical situation...that cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada. Does “law of Canada” refer to federal laws, but also provincial laws, as well as orders or regulations adopted under the auspices of provincial or federal law, therefore the entire legal framework?

Declaration of Emergency committee  I see. Under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act, for instance, a towing company cannot be forced to tow a vehicle on Wellington Street.

Declaration of Emergency committee  That brings me back to Mr. Fortin's question about the Governor in Council's inquiry. In order to comply with public law, or administrative law, what features should the body, organization or individual conducting the inquiry have? Independence and impartiality come to mind, in terms of both the organization and the individual.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Generally speaking, then, the person or group conducting the inquiry should come from outside the government, for example, a retired Supreme Court judge or someone who has previously led an inquiry.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Excuse me, Mr. Chair. Could I have the motion emailed to me, please?

Declaration of Emergency committee  You can continue. I imagine that we'll receive the motion by email in the next few seconds.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I agree with my colleague. The committee's mandate is to review the exercise of powers and performance of duties and functions pursuant to the declaration. We must assess whether this exercise was reasonable. For example, we must look at what was seized and at how and why it was seized.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Yes.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Yes, I so propose.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I'll move the amendment then.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Yes, I'll move the amendment.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I just want us to make a distinction. Hybrid meetings have their place. I'm participating in today's meeting virtually. However, participating in a meeting virtually doesn't have the same significance for a committee member as it does for a witness. We must assess the credibility of a witness.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I agree with my colleagues. We can't force people to appear in person, but we can strongly recommend that they do so. We should adopt this type of wording. It would be appropriate, given that we must see witnesses' body language.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I want to point out that we must be careful not to give political labels to senators. There aren't any senators from the Bloc Québécois, either. We can't start making these types of arguments in terms of the Senate. We won't have the committee members take a blood test to find out whether they're red or blue.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I agree with Mr. Fortin. If the committee is working as a whole, it should address public matters in public. The committee can still meet in camera to discuss the more sensitive security issues. Not everything should be done in camera, however.