Declaration of Emergency committee  That's the sequence in the process.

Declaration of Emergency committee  The intention of Parliament is an element that's looked at in statutory interpretation, and courts, from time to time, will rely on Hansard debates and so on. They do so with caution, because it's not always easy to identify in one statement of one parliamentarian what the intent

Declaration of Emergency committee  What we've been discussing is that the inquiry has a twofold element to its mandate in terms of the act: the circumstances that led to the declaration being issued, and the measures taken for dealing with it. In terms of this committee, it is talking about exercise of powers, pe

Declaration of Emergency committee  You would have to fit yourself into the language of the orders of the Houses, which talk about “exercise of powers” and “performance of duties and functions” pursuant to the declaration.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Yes.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I would say that the committee doesn't have the same role as a court of law would have dealing with these types of issues.

Declaration of Emergency committee  That will definitely be part of how you interpret your mandate. You will be able to ponder these questions, that is, try to determine whether the powers were exercised appropriately, the situation in which the powers were taken on and whether it had been anticipated, while also k

Declaration of Emergency committee  I think that's part of what led to this regulation being adopted, actually.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I think you mean to say “whether the government was correct”.

Declaration of Emergency committee  If we look at the inquiry's role, the circumstances and so on, if we look at this committee, we are focusing on the powers and the performance of duties and functions that took place. In the House's order, we're talking about during the declaration, when it was in effect.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Are we talking about the exercise of powers and the performance of duties and functions? We mention the regulation. We mention the order. Then, to what extent will this committee feel that it needs to understand the broader scope of the circumstances in which those powers were ex

Declaration of Emergency committee  When we review the exercise of powers in the performance of duties, some of the questions will be what those powers were, what they were for, what the situation in which they were utilized was, and what the outcome was.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I'd hesitate to go too far in that direction, because this is really for the executive to assess, and for counsel from the Department of Justice. There's no prescription in this act, other than talking about causing a review, so is it going to be one under the Inquiries Act? If s

Declaration of Emergency committee  It would provide the inquiry with some powers for subpoena and so on that it would be able to use.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I think both of us have said here today that the focus on the regulation, on the order that was adopted, and how it was exercised and used, seems to be squarely within the language of the order and the language of section 62. Then, going beyond that, looking at the circumstances