Over the next six weeks, Canadians will hear from all the key players in the convoy protests and the federal government's decision to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time last winter.
Opening statements were heard Thursday morning at the Library and Archives Canada in downtown Ottawa. Commissioner Paul Rouleau gave each delegate up to five minutes to speak but made it clear he would not tolerate delays.
Lawyers representing the federal government, residents and business owners in downtown Ottawa, the organizers of the protests, police, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the City of Windsor laid out their case and expectations for the Public Order Emergency Commission inquiry.
"Windsor is interested in the commission's work because the Ambassador Bridge blockade happened in Windsor, on municipal roads, with profound negative impacts not only on trade and the automotive sector but also on the city, its residents and its businesses, " said City of Windsor Lawyer Jennifer King.
(Photo by Adelle Loiselle)
The protest in Windsor began in late January with a so-called slow roll of vehicles starting on Hwy. 401. It progressed along Huron Church Road to the Ambassador Bridge and back.
On January 26, a convoy of vehicles left the city to join a protest planned in downtown Ottawa.
A lawyer for the Ottawa Police Service said the longest convoy to the capital was 40-kilometres long and involved thousands of vehicles.
While many protesters stayed in Ottawa for the next three weeks, some returned to Windsor with intentions of blocking the Ambassador Bridge. They succeeded.
Cross-border traffic ceased at the Ambassador Bridge.
For a week, truckers headed to Canada were stranded in Detroit or decided to make the hours-long trek to the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia.
Meetings between the protesters, police and city officials failed to resolve the tension.
On February 8, Mayor Drew Dilkens expressed stark concerns the situation would get out of hand.
“There are some people saying this is a fight that they’re willing to die over,” he said. “We’re trying to deal with this in a sensible way.”
The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest border crossing in Canada, with over $300-million in trade passing over it daily.
"Windsor is interested in recommendations in planning that recognizes the municipal role in an emergency response and protects the international crossings in Windsor in a way that prioritizes and supports the needs of the city, and its residents," King told the commission.
(Photo by Adelle Loiselle)
The City of Windsor is still waiting to hear if senior governments will reimburse it for the $5.7-million it spend on policing and other costs related to the blockade.
Brendan Miller, representing the organizers of the protest, told the commission it would hear no evidence the Emergencies Act was warranted, despite testimony from others of the hardship the blockades and occupation caused.
"There were no reasonable and probable grounds to invoke the Emergencies Act," said Miller. "The government exceeded its jurisdiction, both constitutionally and legislatively."
Federal government lawyer Robert MacKinnon said his client will provide cabinet confidences so Canadians understand the "unprecedented, critical situation the country was facing."
The factual phase of the hearings will shed light on the events that led up to the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. On November 28, the commission will begin the policy phase, holding a series of roundtable panel discussions with experts.
"I am confident that, with the cooperation of all of the parties, the hearings will provide a fair and thorough process for the presentation of evidence required for the commission to be able to give the public the answers to which it is entitled," said Rouleau.
The inquiry must submit its final report to the government by February 6, 2023.
