Lawyer for ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers kicked out of Emergencies Act inquiry
OTTAWA - A lawyer for some organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy" protests was ejected from the Emergencies Act inquiry on Tuesday after repeatedly interrupting the judge who is chairing the process.
Commissioner Paul Rouleau raised his voice and called on security to remove Brendan Miller, a lawyer for a charity created by protest leaders including Tamara Lich.
Miller was expressing frustration about how documents provided by the government were blacked out, and demanding that a staff member in the office of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino be called to testify.
You're speaking while I'm speaking," Rouleau said. I will take the break while you're asked to leave. I will return in five minutes, if security could deal with that counsel."
Outside the building, Miller said he questioned the fairness of Rouleau's inquiry process, arguing it had turned into a study of former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly's performance during the convoy occupation, rather than a probe of the federal government's controversial decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with last winter's protest crisis.
The government of Canada has continuously and every day dropped hundreds of documents on the parties (to the inquiry), and the parties are frustrated. It is not just myself," Miller said.
They have tried to turn this entire proceeding into an inquiry about the failures of Chief Sloly, as opposed to actually about the invocation of the Emergencies Act," he said. And my duty is to my clients, and my duty as a lawyer is to uncover the truth."
In addition to his demand to have Mendicino's staff member testify, Miller said he has two outstanding requests at the inquiry: to remove redactions of documents involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff Katie Telford, and that a man who works for a lobbying agency called Enterprise Canada be called to testify.
Miller has accused the man - by name - of carrying a Nazi flag during the protests, without providing evidence. He made the allegation while cross-examining officials from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service on Monday, when he tried to suggest the government was trying to craft a narrative" that the convoy protests were threatening and hateful before they even arrived in Ottawa.
The inquiry has heard evidence of death threats against public officials during the protests. There were symbols of hate at the occupation over its first weekend in late January, including Nazi and Confederate flags.
Asked to explain the accusation against the Enterprise employee on Tuesday, Miller said he has a witness who claims to have met the man carrying the Nazi flag at the protests. He then challenged Enterprise to follow through on its statement Monday in response to his allegation, in which the company said it was looking at legal options following what it described as Miller's absurd and despicable accusation."
I don't care about Enterprise's little announcement yesterday," Miller said. I could care less. If they want to bring that (lawsuit), I would be happy to do so and defend it and get discovery and get their records."
Miller also falsely claimed that a freelance news photographer in Ottawa works for the prime minister.
He finished speaking when Lich, one of the main convoy organizers facing criminal charges for her role in the protests, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the media.
It was not immediately clear if Miller would be allowed to return to the inquiry on Tuesday. Before the lunch break, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms - a pro-convoy organization - expressed support for Miller's return and asked Rouleau to consider it.
Rouleau said he'd think about it if Miller requests to return himself.
Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga
Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc