Ontario’s premier and a senior minister will not have to testify at the Emergencies Act inquiry in Ottawa because of the immunity afforded to them by parliamentary privilege, said a Federal Court judge on Monday.
Judge Simon Fothergill said a summons issued to Prime Minister Doug Ford and Deputy Prime Minister Sylvia Jones by the Public Order Emergency Commission is valid, but both men can resist the summons by invoking their parliamentary privilege.
“The subpoenas issued by the Commission to (Ford and Jones) are valid,” Fothergill wrote.
“However, as long as the Legislative Assembly of Ontario remains in session, applicants may resist subpoenas on the basis of parliamentary privilege and the Commission cannot take steps to enforce their presence and compel them to testify.”
Parliamentary privilege is part of the Constitution, but has its roots in the English House of Commons. It was designed to protect the House and its members from interference by the King and the House of Lords, says the House of Commons of Canada website. When applied, it protects parliamentarians from judicial scrutiny, experts say.
The Public Order Emergency Commission is examining the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to end so-called Freedom Convoy protests last winter in Ottawa and Windsor, Ontario .
Commissioner Paul Rouleau called Ford and Jones to testify at the inquest because he wanted to know their role in the crisis that left downtown Ottawa busy for weeks and traffic blocked from entering Canada on the way. busiest border crossing in the country.
Ford’s office declined to comment after the decision.
At a press conference earlier Monday, Ford repeated earlier comments that the investigation is a federal, not a provincial matter.
“This is a federal investigation based on the federal government calling for the Emergencies Act,” he said. “It’s a federal matter.”
Ford and Jones had filed for judicial review and requested a stay of the subpoena.
They argued the subpoena should be quashed because they cannot testify due to parliamentary privilege which allows them to focus on their duties at Queen’s Park.
The commissioner had argued that Ford and Jones had “exaggerated” the extent of parliamentary privilege.
“There is no general privilege to refuse to testify; it is only a temporal privilege,” the commissioner argued in court documents.
The Federal Court judge said the commissioner had jurisdiction to issue the subpoena to Ford and Jones, which the province argued he had not done.
“The matters on which the prime minister and minister were called to testify fall within the mandate of the commissioner, and it appears both witnesses may have valuable evidence to offer,” Fothergill wrote.
Fothergill heard evidence last week in an Ottawa court.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on November 7, 2022.
“Coffeeaholic. Lifelong alcohol fanatic. Typical travel expert. Prone to fits of apathy. Internet trailblazer.”