'Irreparable harm will occur' if Doug Ford testifies at inquiry, Ford's lawyers say

Ontario has filed an application for judicial review seeking to quash a summons for Premier Doug Ford to testify at the Emergencies Act inquiry in Ottawa.

The Attorney General says in documents filed in Federal Court that "irreparable harm will occur" if Ford testifies.

The province cites parliamentary privilege that provides immunity for sitting members of government from testifying in court and at inquiries.

The Public Order Emergency Commission is examining the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to end the so-called Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa and Windsor last winter.

On Monday, the commission summoned Ford and Sylvia Jones, the current health minister who was solicitor general at the time of the protests, to testify at the inquiry.

The province has asked the court to hear its urgent application next Tuesday.