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
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'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.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
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.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Montreal doctors' breakthrough discovery about causes of cerebral palsy giving hope
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Why Kim Kardashian is being sued for 'knockoff' furniture
The estate of minimalist contemporary artist Donald Judd filed a lawsuit against Kardashian this week, claiming the fashion and beauty mogul promoted 'cheap knockoffs' of his furniture designs.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Local Spotlight
Conservation officers seize 9-foot python from Chilliwack home
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Ontario auto-insurance changes could leave some vulnerable, says expert
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.