RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to testify at Emergencies Act inquiry

OTTAWA—Canada’s top Mountie is one of three senior RCMP officers slated to appear at the ongoing Emergencies Act inquiry on Tuesday, as the process continues to probe how and why the never-before-used law was invoked to deal with self-styled “Freedom Convoy” protests last winter. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki will testify Tuesday alongside Mike Duheme, one of her deputy commissioners, followed by Curtis Zablocki, the RCMP’s provincial commander in Alberta. Lucki and her role in the response to last winter’s protest crisis have already come up over 22 days of testimony at the inquiry. Evidence tabled at the process led by Ontario Justice Paul Rouleau shows she told the Ontario Provincial Police’s top cop on Feb. 5 that the federal government was “losing/lost confidence” in the Ottawa Police Service, which was struggling to deal with a protest occupation around Parliament Hill that was then entering its second week. The evidence showed Lucki was wary at the time that the government would invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the crisis, texting OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique that she did not want the RCMP or provincial police to take over leading the police response. The two top cops also discussed how to “calm” unnamed cabinet ministers about the situation and whether the Canadian military should get involved, the text messages show. The RCMP officers are also expected to discuss the police response to last winter’s border blockades, including one in southern Alberta where Mounties seized a cache of weapons and accused four people of conspiring to kill police officers. The crisis prompted the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, arguing the protests were an economically damaging and dangerous national crisis. It created special police powers to declare restricted areas, compel tow trucks to help clear blockading vehicles, and freeze protesters’ bank accounts, before the emergency order was lifted on Feb. 23. Critics of the decision say the Emergencies Act was not needed and that its use violated individual rights and could set a low bar for its use against future protests. More to come. Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballingaTonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc