65 witnesses set to testify at inquiry into use of Emergencies Act | CBC News

The history-making inquiry into the federal government’s use of emergency powers to quell the convoy protest last winter is beginning to take shape ahead of its start later this week. 

The Public Order Emergency Commission will begin public hearings on Thursday into the circumstances around the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. It is expected to hear from 65 witnesses during its factual stage, including protest participants, law enforcement representatives, cabinet ministers, and officials with provincial and municipal governments, as well as businesses and organizations impacted by the protests.

On Tuesday, the commission released a list of anticipated witnesses. It includes:

1. Victoria De La Ronde

2. Zexi Li

3. Nathalie Carrier

4. Kevin McHale

5. Catherine McKenney (City of Ottawa)

6. Mathieu Fleury (City of Ottawa)

7. Steve Kanellakos (City of Ottawa)

8. Serge Arpin (City of Ottawa)

9. Jim Watson (City of Ottawa)

10. Diane Deans (City of Ottawa)

11. Patricia Ferguson (Ottawa Police Service)

12. Craig Abrams (Ontario Provincial Police)

13. Carson Pardy (Ontario Provincial Police

14. Pat Morris (Ontario Provincial Police)

15. Steve Bell (Ottawa Police Service)

16. Russell Lucas (Ottawa Police Service)

17. Marcel Beaudin (Ontario Provincial Police)

18. Robert Drummond (Ottawa Police Service)

19. Robert Bernier (Ottawa Police Service)

20. Thomas Carrique (Ontario Provincial Police)

21. Peter Sloly (former Ottawa police chief)

22. Brigitte Belton

23. James Bauder

24. Steeve Charland

25. Patrick King

26. Benjamin Dichter

27. Tom Marazzo

28. Chris Barber

29. Tamara Lich

30. Drew Dilkens (City of Windsor)

31. Dana Earley (Ontario Provincial Police)

32. Jason Crowley (Windsor Police Service)

33. Jim Willett (Village of Coutts)

34. Marco Van Huigenbos

35. Marlin Degrand (Alberta)

36. Mario Di Tommaso (Ontario)

37. Ian Freeman (Ontario)

38. Rob Stewart (Public Safety Canada)

39. Dominic Rochon (Public Safety Canada)

40. David Vigneault (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)

41. Michelle Tessier (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)

42. Marie-Hèlene Chayer (Integrated Threat Assessment Centre)

43. Deputy Commissioner Michael Duheme (RCMP)

44. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki

45. Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki (RCMP)

46. John Ossowski (former president of Canada Border Services Agency)

47. Michael Keenan (Transport Canada)

48. Christian Dea (Transport Canada)

49. Michael Sabia (Department of Finance)

50. Rhys Mendes (Department of Finance)

51. Isabelle Jacques (Department of Finance)

52. Cindy Termorhuizen (Global Affairs Canada)

53. Joe Comartin (Global Affairs Canada)

54. Jody Thomas (Privy Council Office)

55. Jacquie Bogden (Privy Council Office)

56. Janice Charette (Privy Council Office)

57. Nathalie Drouin (Privy Council Office)

58. Defence Minister Anita Anand

59. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino

60. Minister of Emergency Preparedness and President of the King’s Privy Council Bill Blair

61. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

62. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra

63. Justice Minister David Lametti

64. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc

65. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland

Former Ontario Superior Court justice Paul Rouleau has been chosen to lead the inquiry. He has been tasked with examining the circumstances leading up to the invocation of the Emergencies Act — a decision that continues to be politically divisive eight months later.

The act gave the government new powers to address the anti-vaccine mandate protesters that blocked main arteries around Parliament Hill with parked trucks and other vehicles for nearly a month.

Rouleau also has been directed through an order-in-council to offer “lessons learned” about the use of the act and to comment on the “appropriateness and effectiveness of the measures taken.”

Commission to kick off with document dump

According to a statement from the commission, Rouleau will begin the public hearings with an opening statement on Oct. 13, followed by presentations and overview reports by the commission’s lawyers.

The commission said the overview reports will include summaries of preliminary facts, which will be placed into evidence.

At Rouleau’s request, the Liberal government has waived cabinet confidence on documents related to its invocation of the act. It’s only the fourth time in Canada’s history that a public inquiry has been given access to such high-level documents.

It is not clear yet how —  and if — those sensitive documents will be made public.

“The commission is about to embark on the public phase of the process of finding answers to the questions assigned to it by Parliament under the Emergencies Act. This critical phase will shed light on the events that led to the declaration of the public order emergency and fully explore the reasons advanced for the declaration,” Rouleau said in a statement Tuesday.

“I am confident that, with the co-operation of all of the parties, the hearings will provide a fair and thorough process for the presentation of the evidence required for the commission to be able to give the public the answers to which it is entitled.”

Hearings will take place at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa on Wellington Street, not far from the heart of the protests.

The first phase of the commission will meet for six weeks and is scheduled to wrap on Nov. 25. The next week the commission will begin a policy stage where it hosts roundtables with policy experts.

Rouleau’s final report is due Feb. 6.