Judge rules Doug Ford exempt from testifying in Emergency Act investigation

A federal judge said Monday that Ontario’s Prime Minister Doug Ford and Deputy Prime Minister Sylvia Jones will not be required to testify in the emergency law inquiry in Ottawa because they have been granted immunity by parliamentary privilege. made a verdict.

The commission issued subpoenas to Ford and Jones on Oct. 24 and was scheduled to testify before the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) on Thursday.

Ford and Jones contested the subpoena for the investigation, arguing that because the Ontario legislature was in session, parliamentary privilege protected them from testifying.

In his decision, Justice Simon Fothergill agreed.

“This privilege provides prime ministers and ministers with a legitimate excuse for not complying with the subpoena issued by the commissioner on 24 October 2022,” Fothergill wrote in the decision on Monday.

However, Fothergill disagreed with Ford and Jones’ contention that the subpoena for questioning was not lawfully issued.

“I am pleased that the Commissioner had the jurisdiction to issue the subpoena. Matters in which the Prime Minister and Ministers were called to testify were within the Commissioner’s authority and both witnesses provided You seem to have valuable evidence,” writes Forthergill.

The POEC investigation will hold public hearings in Ottawa to investigate the federal government’s decision to invoke emergency legislation to end protests of anti-vaccine orders that bogged down downtown Ottawa for weeks last winter. is being held.

At a news conference on Monday, Ford said he felt no need to testify before the investigation.

“This is a federal investigation and is based on the federal government’s request for emergency legislation. This is a federal matter,” Ford said.

Vision Roy, an attorney at Ottawa-based law firm Champ Low, who opposed Ford and Jones in the case, asked Ford and Jones to testify despite the decision.

“The Prime Minister has never adequately explained to Ottawa why he could not act sooner or what action he was considering,” Roy said in an email.

“The Court’s decision rests directly in the hands of Prime Minister Ford and Minister Jones, who have asked the Commission and the people of Ottawa to come to our city and explain their role in the troubling event. Indicates whether to show courtesy and respect.February 2022”