Rejecting unproven claims prevents 'mob' takeover of convoy inquiry: Murray Sinclair
The commissioner presiding over the public inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act will not allow a lawyer for "Freedom Convoy" organizers to explore an unsubstantiated claim that hateful imagery spotted at the Ottawa protests last winter was staged.
Justice Paul Rouleau released a written response to a request by Freedom Corp. lawyer Brendan Miller, who wanted to call new witnesses, saying his claims are "troubling" and have "little foundation in evidence."
Miller accused lobbying firm Enterprise Canada of planting Nazi and Confederate flags at the protest -- an accusation the company called "absurd and despicable" as well as untrue. It also sent a cease-and-desist letter that said it intends to serve Miller with a formal libel notice.
Rouleau said it makes no sense to call witnesses to test claims Miller is making without evidence, and he questioned why the lawyer only raised the issue at the end of the Public Order Emergency Commission's six weeks of public hearings.
He also rejected Miller's request to have police do a licence-plate search on a truck seen carrying a Confederate flag. "This is, in essence, a fishing expedition," Rouleau wrote.
The decision came a day after Rouleau had Miller briefly removed from the hearing room for speaking over him as he argued to call a last-minute witness.
Murray Sinclair, the former senator and judge who has presided over three inquiries, said Rouleau's response is the right way to handle unproven claims and prevent the process from getting derailed.
"The way he addresses it is the approach I would have taken, and that most people who run inquiries probably would have taken," said Sinclair, who is now a lawyer with the Winnipeg firm Cochrane Saxberg.
Sinclair recalled an inquiry he led in the late 1990s into the deaths of a dozen babies at a Winnipeg hospital. The lawyer for a doctor accused of wrongdoing sought to discredit the testimony of nurses by claiming one had been in a relationship with the doctor, without any evidence.
Sinclair disallowed the questioning at the time, saying it was not relevant to the mandate of that inquiry and didn't seem to be grounded in fact.
He saw a parallel in Miller's request.
"To give them free reign to call evidence on something that they want to get evidence on, because they have a particular viewpoint about something, would be tantamount to surrendering control to the mob, so to speak," Sinclair said.
"The primary responsibility you have when you're running an inquiry is to keep it focused, because you have so many possibilities and so many possible areas of interest."
Sinclair said lawyers do bring up information in the course of their questioning that "can be totally wrong, or can be based upon misinformation, or based upon lies."
It's simply part of the duty of judges and commissioners to test allegations and decide whether they deserve a platform, Sinclair said.
"If people are coming forward and making allegations of misinformation in the course of their submissions, or in the course of their cross-examination of witnesses, that's almost part of the judicial process in the broadest sense of the term."
Sinclair made a similar assessment as a senator in 2017, during a committee study of a bill that ultimately added transgender people into the protections of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Some witnesses testified that the change would legally compel people to use pronouns and gender terms they do not agree with.
"The concerns expressed, while strongly and legitimately held, were not well founded, and in fact were contrary to the intention of the bill," Sinclair told his colleagues at the time.
Wayne MacKay, a professor emeritus at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, agreed Rouleau made the right call in his Wednesday decision.
"I think he could have been more blunt, and in some ways more harsh than he was," said MacKay.
He noted that it's relatively new to see what he called "the conspiracy element and the extremist-group element" come up in a public inquiry.
"This may be the first public airing of that," said MacKay, who will be moderating a panel next Tuesday for the commission, which he says will involve the role of misinformation on social media and extremist groups.
MacKay said the Mass Casualty Commission into the April 2020 shootings in Nova Scotia made an early decision not to entertain theories that the gunman's common-law spouse was complicit in the shootings. He said the commissioners argued that the evidence did not support that theory.
Both Sinclair and MacKay also said Rouleau made an important point in noting that Miller made his claims in the final week of the commission's fact-finding phase.
Sinclair said it's rare commissioners would allow new arguments so late in the process.
"That might result in further delay or a sidetracking of the inquiry," Sinclair said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2022.
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
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Millions of cyberattacks per hour as B.C. government investigates multiple breaches
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Debate on abortion rights erupts on Parliament Hill, Poilievre vows he won't legislate
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
New 'Lord of the Rings' film coming in 2026
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
Local Spotlight
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Toronto-area dessert shop featured by Keith Lee forced to move after zoning complaint
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
'Oh Crap!' New exhibit at Canada Science and Technology Museum explores human waste
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
Regina police hope new biometric monitoring system will save lives in detention facility
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors bet on who will win Round 2 of the playoffs. Here's what's at stake
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
'No other life taken': Mother leads ATV helmet drive to honour daughter's legacy
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
P.E.I. lighthouse, N.B. river spotlighted in Canada Post series
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.