More On the Pantomime

Perhaps Justin took another holiday while everyone dithers about his over-reach:

Degrand said the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act may have hindered protesters near the Coutts border crossing but he doesn't think it was necessary.

"While Mr. Degrand acknowledges that the Emergencies Act may have had a deterrent effect on protesters, the Alberta government's position was that the Emergencies Act was not necessary as the Coutts border blockade was resolving prior to its invocation," said Degrand's interview summary.

"Alberta objected to its invocation on this basis."

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The deputy solicitor general for Ontario told the Emergencies Act inquiry on Thursday that the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa last winter did not pose a significant public safety risk.

“I was getting consistent messaging from Commissioner Carrique and from Deputy Minister Stewart that there were not any overriding public safety concerns,” said Mario Di Tomasso.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner Thomas Carrique reports to Di Tomasso, and Rob Stewart was his counterpart at the federal level as deputy minister of public safety.

“From my perspective, what we did not see is any serious violence taking place at that point in time. So no murders, shootings, robbery, stabbings, aggravated assaults, nothing of that sort. So from my perspective, no overriding public safety concerns at that point in time,” said Di Tomasso, who was addressing his Feb. 3 handwritten notes relating to a call with Stewart.

Rather, he was a coward who freaked out and wanted someone to clear Ottawa for him:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said early during the trucker-led Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa that talking would not resolve it and he feared an “armed insurrection,” according to handwritten notes from his deputy chief of staff.