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

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 Thursday on the 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 affected by the protests.

On Tuesday, the commission released a list of anticipated witnesses in their expected order of appearance. 

It includes:

• Victoria De La Ronde, a lawyer based in Ottawa.
• Zexi Li, an Ottawa resident who helped secure an injunction against Freedom Convoy protesters.
• Nathalie Carrier, executive director of the Vanier BIA.
• Kevin McHale, executive director of the Sparks Street BIA.
• Catherine McKenney, outgoing City of Ottawa councillor
• Mathieu Fleury, outgoing City of Ottawa councillor
• Steve Kanellakos, City of Ottawa manager.
• Serge Arpin, chief of staff to the mayor of Ottawa.
• Jim Watson, the outgoing mayor of Ottawa who negotiated with protesters prior to the act's invocation. 

• Diane Deans, an outgoing City of Ottawa councillor ousted by Ottawa City Council from her position as chair of the Police Services Board during the protest.
• Patricia Ferguson, acting deputy chief of Ottawa police.
• Craig Abrams, Ontario Provincial Police member.
• Carson Pardy, retired chief superintendent of the Ontario Provincial Police.
• Pat Morris, Ontario Provincial Police member.
• Steve Bell, the interim chief of the Ottawa Police who replaced Peter Sloly and oversaw local police operations which ended the protest.
• Russell Lucas, Ottawa Police inspector.
• Marcel Beaudin, Ontario Provincial Police member.
• Robert Drummond, Ottawa Police inspector.
• Robert Bernier, Ottawa Police inspector.
• Thomas Carrique, commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.
• Peter Sloly, the former Ottawa police chief who stepped down during the protest.

• Brigitte Belton, convoy protest organizer.
• James Bauder, convoy protest organizer.
• Steeve Charland, convoy protest participant.
• Patrick King, convoy protest participant.
• Benjamin Dichter, convoy protest organizer.
• Tom Marazzo, convoy protest organizer.
• Chris Barber, convoy protest organizer.
• Tamara Lich, convoy protest organizer.

• Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor.
• Dana Earley, Ontario Provincial Police superintendent.
• Jason Crowley, Windsor Police interim deputy chief.
• Jim Willett, mayor of the Village of Coutts, Alta.
• Marco Van Huigenbos, a Fort McLeod councillor who was one of the organizers of the border blockade in Coutts.
• Marlin Degrand, assistant deputy minister at the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General department.
• Mario Di Tommaso, deputy solicitor general of Ontario.
• Ian Freeman, assistant deputy minister at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
• Rob Stewart, deputy minister at Public Safety Canada.
• Dominic Rochon, senior assistant deputy minister at Public Safety Canada.
• David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
• Michelle Tessier, assistant deputy minister with Public Safety's national and cyber security branch.
• Marie-Hèlene Chayer, executive director of the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre.
• Michael Duheme, deputy RCMP commissioner responsible for federal policing.
• Brenda Lucki, RCMP commissioner.

• Curtis Zablocki, deputy RCMP commissioner and commanding officer of Alberta.
• John Ossowski, former president of the Canada Border Services Agency.
• Michael Keenan, deputy minister at Transport Canada.
• Christian Dea, chief economist at Transport Canada.
• Michael Sabia, deputy minister at the Department of Finance Canada.
• Rhys Mendes, assistant deputy minister at the Department of Finance Canada.
• Isabelle Jacques, assistant deputy minister at the Department of Finance Canada. 
• Cindy Termorhuizen, assistant deputy minister at Global Affairs Canada.
• Joe Comartin, former Canadian consul general in Detroit.
• Jody Thomas, national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister.
• Jacquie Bogden, deputy secretary to the cabinet on emergency preparedness and COVID recovery.
• Janice Charette, clerk of the Privy Council.
• Nathalie Drouin, deputy clerk of the Privy Council 
• Anita Anand, federal minister of defence.
• Marco Mendicino, federal minister of public safety.
• Bill Blair, federal minister of emergency preparedness and president of the King's Privy Council.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government invoked the Emergencies Act to address the protest.

• Omar Alghabra, federal minister of transport.
• David Lametti, federal minister of justice and attorney general of Canada.
• Dominic LeBlanc, minister of intergovernmental affairs.
• Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister and finance minister.

Former Ontario Superior Court justice Paul Rouleau, now a judge on the Ontario Court of Appeal, 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 protest 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 — or 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 media 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 following week, the commission will begin a policy stage during which it will host roundtables with policy experts.

Rouleau's final report is due Feb. 6.