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August 11th, 2022

Liberals refuse to be transparent on the use of the Emergencies Act

NDP Public Safety Critic Alistair MacGregor and NDP Ethics Critic Matthew Green made the following joint statement:

“Over the last two years, Canadians have all sacrificed so much to keep each other safe. We understand why people were frustrated, but the convoy back in January and the violence it incited created harm and danger for people living in Ottawa.

New Democrats supported swift action to ensure that the residents of Ottawa could once again feel safe in their homes. All while governments and police allowed the illegal occupation to go on.

But new revelations show that Justin Trudeau and the Liberals knew about a potential breakthrough prior to enacting the Emergencies Act. This is a clear failure of the Liberals to be transparent with Canadians and Parliamentarians.

We are also concerned by this government providing documents to the Federal Court that it refused to give the parliamentary committee that is studying the use of the Emergencies Act. Parliamentary oversight is critical to ensuring the Liberal government is being held to account for its actions. The committee must have full access to the information the government relied upon to decide to invoke the Emergencies Act.

We will continue our work to shed light on the decision-making process during the Parliamentary review. We will ensure that the Liberals are held to account and that Canadians receive the transparency they deserve.”