In his testimony before the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to justify his use of the Emergencies Act to stop the Freedom Convoy protest by blacklisting and freezing the bank accounts of protesters supporting civil liberties.
Trudeau admitted that the protests were not violent but still insisted that he is “confident” with his decision to use a law that has never been used before to stop the protests.
“There was no loss of life. There was no serious violence. There hasn’t been a recurrence of these kinds of illegal occupations since then. I am absolutely serene and confident that I made the right choice in agreeing with the invocation,” Trudeau told the commission that is investigating whether the government’s decision to use the Emergencies Act was justifiable.
Trudeau said that the “responsibility of a prime minister is to make the tough calls and keep people safe.”
Before the Emergencies Act was invoked, Trudeau said that those opposing Covid measures and restrictions were of a “small, fringe minority” who had “unacceptable views.”
