Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
For a committee struck to review an emergency, the approach to reporting back to Canadians has been less than urgent.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December.
December of 2022, that is.
A massive pile of documents that had to be translated into both official languages before they could be considered held up their work, and as one senator remarked this week, waiting for that bottleneck to ease could take a very long time.
"I don't think people are waiting with bated breath for our work," Sen. Peter Harder said.
"But they will be long asleep by the time we work in that sequence."
Now that an index of the documents has been compiled in both official languages — which itself is hundreds of pages long — the committee members have agreed that the arduous journey towards putting pen to paper will finally continue on May 21.
The committee has had more than its share of starts and stops.
It first extended its original report deadline to receive more written submissions.
Then came the fateful June 2023 decision that all documents produced for the Public Order Emergency Commission, which had months earlier released its own final report, should be available in both English and French.
For expediency's sake, the commission itself had opted against that approach, with some documents only available in one language. It had ultimately concluded that the government's use of the act was justified.
Translating the thousands of documents was expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take several years.
The CEO of the Translation Bureau told the committee at a meeting in February of this year that translating even only a requested portion of the documents would have involved about 124,000 pages, costing about $16 million.
Now that the committee has an index, it will be choosier about which documents need to be translated.
At the meeting this week, 18 months after their first report deadline, members reached the point of debating whether to keep waiting for more translations at all.
At minimum, NDP MP Matthew Green suggested, the committee should get back to working on a report while it waits for everything to come in.
Otherwise the work could stretch into 2025 and closer to the dissolution of Parliament before a federal election that must happen by October of that year.
"I think it’s irresponsible for us to continue to pursue this committee in perpetuity," he said.
Conservative MP Larry Brock said the committee could "walk and chew gum at the same time," but he didn’t feel comfortable producing a report without the "full participation of my francophone colleagues."
Sen. Claude Carignan, speaking in French, said he had no problem with aiming to finish the report by early this fall, but the committee needs access to the evidence.
He said he's identified a number of documents he wants to see.
"We have to have access to the documents in order to have firm proof of our report and have a complete and thorough report," he said.
Green argued the committee had heard testimony from its own witnesses and has its own mandate — and it's not meant to be "a book report club on the Rouleau commission."
Bloc MP Rhéal Fortin said in French it makes sense to use testimony from the commission, "but we have to have it available in both official languages."
He asked whether his anglophone colleagues would be "saying we don’t need all of this" if all the information was in French.
In the end, the committee reached a compromise and agreed to resume work.
But it's not bothering to set a new deadline.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2024.
IN DEPTH
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.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
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.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
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
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
Oilers dominate Canucks, win to force deciding Game 7
The Edmonton Oilers avoided elimination from the NHL playoffs Saturday night, beating the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-1 in Game 6 of their second-round series.
The eight most expensive homes for sale in Ottawa this spring
Ottawa's ultra luxury housing market is blooming like the tulips this spring, with a significant increase in the number of homes sold worth more than $2 million.
B.C. pipeline company argues its 'haulers' are not trucks, for tax purposes
A contractor working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline has been denied more than $333,000 worth of tax rebates because pieces of machinery it purchased – and claimed were not trucks – were deemed sufficiently truck-like in B.C. Supreme Court.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Usyk beats Fury by split decision, becomes undisputed heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years.
To plant or not to plant? Gardening tips for May long weekend
May long weekend is finally here, and with the extra time off you may be getting the itch to head out to your garden and plant. However, the old debate whether you should plant now, or wait, is still ever-present.
Local Spotlight
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.