Top federal bureaucrat says there was ‘great reluctance to invoke’ the Emergencies Act, inquiry notes reveal

OTTAWA-A top federal bureaucrat responsible for public safety told his Ontario counterpart there was great reluctance to invoke" the federal Emergencies Act the day before the federal government invoked it.

Rob Stewart, federal deputy minister of Public Safety, spoke to Ontario's deputy solicitor general Mario Di Tommaso who took notes of the call on Feb. 13, that were presented at the public inquiry into the use of the act.

It was Sunday, after OPP and Windsor Police with the aid of several other forces had swooped in and cleared truck blockades at Windsor's Ambassador Bridge. The next day, the Trudeau government declared a federal public order emergency.

On Monday, commission counsel to Justice Paul Rouleau who is leading the inquiry will present new overview reports, and will begin examining key federal officials for the first time since the public hearings began.

Already, some of the tensions at the heart of the federal government's decision have been on display.

Stewart indicated to Di Tommaso on Feb. 13 the Federal Emergencies Act is being discussed(,) is on the table but great reluctance to invoke," according to the Ontario official's notes.

Primarily becaus (sic) provincial penalties under EOs (emergency orders) are much greater than what is available under Fed Emergencies Act."

It is not clear who exactly in the Trudeau cabinet was reluctant to invoke the federal act, or whether the reluctance came from the RCMP or civil servants.

Emails already in evidence show RCMP Comm. Brenda Lucki told a top staffer to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino on Feb. 14 that she did not believe all legislative tools had been exhausted.

Ontario had declared its own provincial emergency and issued emergency orders on Feb. 12. Di Tommaso testified that nevertheless, the federal emergency measures provided greater tools to compel tow truck services and to offer those tow operators indemnification for their services.

Stewart testifies Monday, as the Rouleau inquiry begins a fourth week of testimony into whether the federal government was justified in resorting to emergency measures to end last winter's so-called Freedom Convoy" blockades.

Last week, Di Tommaso testified that he believed the federal government was washing its hands" of having to act to clear the blockades in Ottawa, which he said were on Parliament's doorstep."

Di Tommaso testified he pushed back at suggestions by Trudeau's national security adviser Jody Thomas that the Ontario government should do more to end the Ottawa protests, which had morphed into a three-week occupation.

The Ontario official said the protests were about federal vaccine mandates, and the federal government could have modified or dropped those mandates, offered to meet with protesters or provided more police resources to Ottawa police.

However, he later testified that he believed both levels of government had a responsibility to address the convoy blockades.

Di Tommaso was the most senior Ontario official to testify. Premier Doug Ford and former solicitor-general Sylvia Jones have declined to testify at the inquiry.

Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc

Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga