Don Martin: After a long final day on the Emergencies Act inquiry stand, it's convoy zero, Trudeau won
He gambled just by showing up. And he appears to have won in the court of reasonable public opinion.
Voluntarily hot-seated for 5.5 gruelling hours as the grand finale of a nationally televised inquisition, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left the Emergencies Act Inquiry Friday without serious damage to his rationale for invoking unprecedented police powers against a perceived security threat from February’s convoy occupation and border blockades.
For those of us paid to watch this prime minister, there was ample reason to be skeptical that he could survive the glare of a legal battering under oath for long without resorting to his usual fixation on reciting scripted lines instead of coherently answering significant questions.
But confronted by a lineup of lawyers representing very divergent clients, Trudeau threw away his internal Teleprompter and delivered a surprisingly relaxed, reflective and confident performance.
That’s just the optics, of course. The substance of his appearance is obviously more important. And on that score, Trudeau did well despite some nagging gaps in his answers.
True, Trudeau allowed, some of his justification for acting was in anticipation of violence, which ultimately never developed, instead of an actual threat.
The prime minister also admitted the occupation fell short of the security threat definition that Canada’s spy agency needs to unleash extraordinary powers. But, Trudeau insisted, it still met the government threshold for the move.
And Trudeau did concede that border blockades were removed even before the Emergencies Act came into force.
But under cross-examination, intervening lawyers failed to poke any major holes in the prime minister’s emergency action narrative.
The highly anticipated Trudeau showdown with the "Freedom Convoy" legal team fizzled when its lawyer squandered her precious time by reading messages from anti-vaxxers into the record, which set up Trudeau for an eloquent defence of vaccine mandates.
And the sleepy set of lawyers representing police, cities, constitutional authorities and provincial governments flat-lined the proceedings with tedious questions instead of breathing new life from the big guy’s testimony into the inquiry’s final hours.
Ultimately, Trudeau emerged as a prime minister who appeared to have done due diligence in gathering security input before being provoked to protect public safety.
Trudeau’s testimony paints the picture of a prime minister bombarded with alarms and warnings of potential security concerns to the soundtrack of airhorns blanketing downtown Ottawa and editorials thundering against federal footdragging.
Bringing in the Act does not, as some (including me) suspected, seem to have been a kneejerk do-something reaction by a cabinet that hadn’t contemplated the serious consequences of its introduction.
Trudeau noted he was acutely aware that by introducing the Act, he would end up in front of an inquiry to justify his decision as mandated by the enabling legislation.
Far from precipitating frequent uses of the Act against lesser protests, he argued, the spectacle of facing an inquiry and the risky exposure it brings to a sitting prime minister is fear factor enough to discourage its use without an airtight defence.
So now it’s over to Justice Paul Rouleau to spend a headache-filled holiday deciding if the Trudeau Government met the legislative criteria for invoking the Emergencies Act.
Armed with evidence that the RCMP wanted to keep the Act around for longer than the eight days it was in force, and with a CSIS director who enthusiastically endorsed its implementation, Trudeau had protection against any allegations he went rogue in introducing the Act before taking the stand.
But his strong performance at the inquiry is another buffer against being found personally and politically reckless in making the move.
To the largely-disinterested public, who watching the February protests dissolve in tandem with the Emergencies Act’s introduction, the ends will likely have justified the means even if Rouleau decides the federal government lacked sufficient legislative authority to invoke the Act.
In the court of public opinion, it seems, Trudeau taking the stand was a winning strategy.
That’s the bottom line.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservatives call on Elon Musk to step in after Liberals provide loan to Ottawa-based satellite operator
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
Trump appeals to women in return to North Carolina without Mark Robinson, a top in-state supporter
Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
Housing support for adult children with severe autism is 'absolutely absurd,' say parents
Looking after an adult with severe autism can be a full-time job. Ask any parent who has a child severely affected by autism spectrum disorder – it’s a job that can get more difficult as the child becomes an adult.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Kids are inhaling 'Galaxy Gas' to get high. Here’s what parents should know
For some young people, a popular method for getting a quick high is by misusing laughing gas — and lately, that’s in the form of nitrous oxide from products sold by the company Galaxy Gas.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.