Judge: To use emergency powers during truck protest...

According to a public inquiry committee reviewing the declaration of an extraordinary emergency in canada last year, which followed the so-called Freedom Convoy's takeover of the nation's capital in protest of mandated vaccines tied to COVID-19, the government met the requirements for such action.

Yet, it also discovered that Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of canada, may have made matters worse by characterising the demonstrators as a "fringe minority."

Judge Paul Rouleau served as the chair of the Public Order Emergency Commission, which issued its report on friday after it was introduced in the house of Commons.

The Commissioner wrote in the report that "lawful protest deteriorated into lawlessness, resulting in a national emergency." Before the Emergency Act was initially put into effect in canada on february 14, 2022, protests started in late january and went into February.

Though he did not mention so, Rouleau continued that Trudeau's use of the term "fringe minority" may have "worked to galvanise the protestors, sharpening their determination and further embitter them towards government authority."

"The report of the Public Order Emergency Commission says that the very high threshold to invoke the Emergencies Act was reached," said Trudeau in a statement issued by the PMO. The Commissioner concluded that the events of last year constituted a national emergency that endangered Canadians' security. Invoking the Emergencies Act was required to protect people because it is our responsibility as the government to always keep people safe.

At an interview with the media in Ottawa, Trudeau expressed sorrow about the phrase "fringe minority." He admitted, "I wish I had phrased it better, and I think things would have been simpler if I had picked my words more carefully." Rouleau stated in the report that while using the Emergencies Act was a severe measure, it wasn't a dictatorial one.