An “exceptional” situation that “risked becoming dangerous and unmanageable”: Justin Trudeau’s government was right to resort to exceptional measures to end the freight crisis in the winter of 2022, an independent commission of inquiry said on Friday, AFP reported.

The truck drivers’ protest in the center of the Canadian capital lasted more than 3 weeksPhoto: Canadian Press / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

Canada’s leader invoked a law rarely used in peacetime to remove truckers from downtown Ottawa who have been mobilizing during three weeks of protests against medical restrictions related to Covid-19.

According to the more than 2,000-page report released on Friday, the prime minister had “reasonable fears that the situation he faced could escalate into a dangerous and unmanageable situation”.

“I have come to the conclusion that when the decision was made to apply the law, the cabinet had sufficient reason to believe that there was a national crisis (…) and that this crisis required temporary special measures,” Paul Rouleau said on Friday. head. investigation commission, after handing over its report.

Thus, the government faced “the threat of serious violence for political or ideological purposes. Extremists were present at the demonstrations and encouraged them,” the report said.

There were also “numerous threats” against government officials, including the prime minister, Rouleau said. Therefore, “the reference to the law was appropriate.” It was a “radical but not dictatorial” measure.

The commission met for six weeks to hear from dozens of protesters and government officials, including Trudeau, who has been sharply criticized by the opposition and rights groups for using the provision.

The commission also concluded that this crisis can be seen as a “failure of federalism”. The report therefore makes 56 recommendations to improve the exchange of information between services, the police response to large-scale demonstrations and the law on emergency measures itself.

The protest movement, initially played down by the authorities, began with a protest by truck drivers against the vaccination requirement to cross the border with the United States, and then expanded to a general rejection of health regulations in Canada.

Demonstrators went so far as to block downtown Ottawa for three weeks and then the bridge between the Canadian city of Windsor and the American city of Detroit, paralyzing a critical trade route for the industry, including the automobile industry.