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Day 22 of Public Hearings, November 14, 2022 Public Inquiry for the Invocation of the Emergencies Act

Tia Riley

Day 22 of the Emergencies Act Public Inquiry, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told the federal cabinet that the Freedom Convoy did not constitute a threat to national security one day before to the invocation of the Emergencies Act.

The former deputy minister for public safety Rob Stewart confirmed that CSIS advised the federal cabinet that the Freedom Convoy did not pose a national security threat.

DM ROBERT STEWART, Affirmed
ADM DOMINIC ROCHON, Affirmed
Examination in-Chief by Ms. Shantona Chaudhury
Cross-Examination by Mr. Brendan Miller
Cross-Examination by Ms. Anne Tardif
Cross-Examination by Ms. Jessica Barrow
Cross-Examination by Mr. Tom Curry
Cross-Examination by Ms. Emilie Taman
Cross-Examination by Mr. Christopher Diana
Cross-Examination by Ms. Stephanie Bowes
Cross-Examination by Ms. Cara Zwibel
Cross-Examination by Ms. Janani Shanmuganathan
Cross-Examination by Ms. Jennifer King
Cross-Examination by Mr. Mitch McAdam
Cross-Examination by Mr. Rob Kittredge
Cross-Examination by Ms. Colleen McKeown
Cross-Examination by Ms. Cheyenne Arnold-Cunningham
Cross-Examination by Mr. Robert MacKinnon
Re-Examination by Ms. Shantona Chaudhury

The Emergencies Act relies on the CSIS Act to define security threats.

Former deputy public safety minister Rob Stewart confirms CSIS advised cabinet “there did not exist a threat to the security of Canada” as defined by the CSIS Act.

Deputy public safety minister Rob Stewart testifies that no law enforcement agencies were advised by the federal government about the Emergencies Act invocation.

Addressing the infamous honking associated with the Freedom Convoy, Deputy Public Safety Minister Rob Stewart says, “there was quite a bit of honking on the highway but we did not assume that they would do anything other than peacefully protest.”

Freedom Convoy lawyer Brendan Miller roasts Rob Stewart, a Public Safety Canada official, on the fed’s dismissal of CSIS intel recommending the gov’t not invoke the Emergencies Act.

“The lack of good intel” was “underneath the rational” for invoking the Emergencies Act, testifies Rob Stewart, the deputy minister of Public Safety Canada.

During review of comms between Rob Stewart, the federal deputy public safety minister, and multiple levels of police, Stewart states that “negotiation is the ongoing preferred option” to resolve the Freedom Convoy protest.

The Emergencies Act is “generally considered to be a tool of last resort,” says Rob Stewart, the deputy public safety minister.

Stewart describes the act as one of many tools in governments’ toolkits.

“The focus on violent extremism has shifted from coming from abroad to domestic.” DM of Public Safety Rob Stewart speaks on the subject of terrorism highlighted in a document provided by the commission.

Emergencies Act: “necessary” or just “useful”?

The act gave “useful tools” to police, says Rob Stewart, deputy public safety minister, adding when the act was invoked and enforcement begun, “the protests diminished and that goes beyond useful.”

Dominic Rochon, a public safety official, addresses the monitoring of white supremacy and how the government lists “Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism” as “the top priority at the moment.”

Public Safety Canada official Dominic Rochon details the threats CSIS took into consideration with the Freedom Convoy, noting “we’re seeing more and more that a lone wolf, a lone actor, can actually perpetrate an extremist violent event.”

ADM CYNTHIA TERMORSHUIZEN, Affirmed
MR. JOSEPH COMARTIN, Sworn
Examination in-Chief by Ms. Shantona Chaudhury
Examination in-Chief by Ms. Dahlia Shuhaibar

Global Affairs official Cindy Termorshuizen states there was growing concern caused by stories published about the Freedom Convoy protest, citing “assaults on the streets, unlawful conduct, unwillingness to comply with injunctions and so on.”

Global Affairs Canada Cindy TERMORSHUIZEN talks about how the freedom convoy was successfully manipulated by disinformation relating to COVID-19 of foreign actors seeking to destabilize our democracies.

Two officials from Global Affairs Canada tell the commission about the concerns the White House expressed over the Ambassador Bridge blockade in Windsor, Ont.

Global Affairs Canada Cindy TERMORSHUIZEN talks about how the freedom convoy was manipulated by disinformation relating to COVID-19.

“The concern was some of the activities.. were illegal.”

“Ottawa 9-1-1 number being flooded and many of the callers were actually from the United States and prevented Ottawa emergency services from appropriately doing their work”

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